Dr. Richardson also served as the founding chair/professor of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, and executive director and chief executive officer for the Institute for Health Care and Research at Slippery Rock University, Pennsylvania. She has been in consulting and advisory positions with One Source, a board member of the U.S. Bone and Joint Institute representing the ACR, and serves as an expert witness.
Dr. Richardson earned a doctorate and a Master of Science from the University of Pittsburgh. She completed her post-graduate physical therapy education from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and a Bachelor of Science from Pennsylvania State University, State College.
Active in the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) at both the national and local levels, Dr. Richardson was APTA president, served as the U.S. delegate to the World Confederation of Physical Therapy, was a member of the executive committee of the APTA Board of Directors, served as chair of the national TriAlliance of the APTA/American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)/American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and was a member of the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (ABPTS) Task Force for Specialization.
Dr. Richardson has also served as the president of the ARP and on the Executive Committee of the ACR. Additionally, she initiated the physical therapy component of the Global Health Outreach Initiative at Duke University, traveling to India and Kuwait in the process. She served as a volunteer with a healthcare system in western Pennsylvania and with the Western Pennsylvania Hospital Council.
Dr. Richardson has received numerous awards and honors throughout her career, including the Catherine Worthingham Fellow Award (APTA), Lucy Blair Service Award (APTA) and the Stanley Paris Award (AOPTA/APTA) and was selected nationally as an Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Fellow (ELAM).
With her co-investigator, Chad Cook, PT, PhD, MBA, FAPTA, Dr. Richardson pioneered early work in the establishment of valid and reliable scales for pain and disability. Further areas of research included validation of an item bank in community-dwelling survivors of stroke, looking into the meta-analyses of HIV treatments supported by biomedical oncology and the use of physical therapy in patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of generalized weakness.
“It is an honor to be the 2023 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award [because] it represents a long history of members who have made lasting contributions to rheumatology,” says Dr. Richardson. “I have gleaned more in return from the national and international network of colleagues I have met and worked with in the profession. I want to especially thank my family for allowing me the time to serve and supporting me during my career. Additionally, I want to thank the ARP and ACR for the privilege of serving in many leadership roles to advance the mission of the College.”
