Professional Standards Board

Mike Osborn, ATP, CRTS is the managing parnter at Alliance Rehab & Medical Equipment LLC. Mike received his B.S. in Business Administration in 1991. He entered the healthcare industry in 1994 working for a small DME, Home Medical Supply in Southeast Missouri. Mike received his ATS (ATP) certification through RESNA in 1997 and obtained the CRTS credential throught NRRTS in 2001. Mike continued to work in the Rehab Technology Supplier role for Home Medical Supply through late 2006. Mike and his partners founded and opened Alliance Rehab & Medical Equipment in 2006 and now have 5 locations servicing all of Missouri and parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Illinois. Mike has also been very active with NRRTS for the past 20 years. He was a part of the NRRTS Board of Directors filling mulitple positions including the Presidents role. Mike was awarded the Simon Margolis Fellow Award in 2019. He has been apart of the Region D MAC committee as well as sitting on the Christain County Developmental Disabilities SB40 Board of Directors. Mike has been a proactive advoacate for the Complex Rehab Technology industry both on the Federal level as well as the State level. Mike has a passion for the Complex Rehab Technology and the many individuals that are impacted by CRT.

David is a seasoned Assistive Technology Specialist at Children’s Specialized Hospital, an RWJBarnabas Health facility. With over 30 years of experience in the field, David provides seating, positioning, and mobility solutions for patients in the hospital’s acute inpatient rehabilitation unit through assessment and application of off the shelf components through the design and construction of custom systems.

Prior to working in the Assistive Technology Field, he worked in technical theater and screen for organizations including Gateway Playhouse, Showman Fabricators, The Roundabout Theater, and Macy’s Parade Studio. David worked on such projects as building the sets for Nickelodeon’s “Double Dare” and MTV’s “Remote Control.” In fact, he still participates annually to set up and dismantle the floats for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. David holds a Bachelor of English degree from Wagner College and served as editor for the college’s literary magazine and built scenery for the college theater.

David began working in the field of Assistive Technology in 1991 working with organizations such as The Matheny School and Special Hospital and The Center for Rehabilitation Technology at Helen Hayes Hospital. In these roles he provided seating and mobility for the residents and outpatients by customizing seating products and by interfacing with augmentative communication and computer access. He provided services for inpatient rehabilitation patients and outpatient seating clinics as well as designing and fabricating custom fixtures for research projects. David has also worked at Quantum Rehab as a Project Manager in the development of new products and served as an RTS for National Seating and Mobility serving clients in Eastern Pennsylvania and Northern New Jersey.

David joined Fondacion Manos al la Ayuda for a medical mission in Ecuador where he led a team assessing and setting up seating and mobility systems for the students at two specialized schools. David has also participated in an NYU medical mission to Haiti, providing services at Ruth’s Home for Thrown Away Children and Wings of Hope in Port-au-Prince. David is a RESNA Certified Assistive Technology Professional (1998), Rehabilitation Engineering Technologist (2003), and Seating and Mobility Specialist (2012). He is a member of the RESNA ATSC Emergency Stair Travel Devices Standards Committee. David co-authored the RESNA Position on the Application of Wheelchairs, Seating Systems, and Secondary Supports for Positioning vs Restraint. He has participated in item writing for the original RET and SMS examinations, and participated in an item writing workshop for a revision of the ATP examination. In his current role, David calls Children’s Specialized Hospital “home”, where he is part of a team serving the nation’s leading provider of inpatient and outpatient care for children from birth to 21 years of age facing special health challenges. There, he has partnered with other hospitals within the heath system on special projects to customize post-surgical equipment for exceptional children. In his spare time, David can be found at the Blue Mountain Antique Gas and Steam Engine Association cutting shingles on a vintage Oliver shingle mill from 1896 or working in his barn shop or garden. He lives in an early 19th century farmhouse in Lower Nazareth Township, Pennsylvania with his wife, youngest daughter, a cocker spaniel, three guinea fowl, and too many cats.

Marcia J. Scherer is a rehabilitation psychologist and founding President of the Institute for Matching Person & Technology She is also Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Rochester Medical Center where she received both her Ph.D. and MPH degrees. She is a past member of the National Advisory Board on Medical Rehabilitation Research, National Institutes of Health, and is Editor of the journal Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology. She is Co-Editor of the book series for CRC Press, Rehabilitation Science in Practice Series. Dr. Scherer is Fellow of the American Psychological Association, American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, and the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA). Dr. Scherer has authored, edited, or co-edited twelve book titles and has published over 90 articles in peer-reviewed journals, 55 published proceedings papers, and 35 book chapters on disability and technology. Her research has been cited 7500 times by others. She has received numerous awards for her work in assistive technology.

Cheryl has been practicing as an occupational therapist for over 25 years in both Canada and the USA. She has a post-professional Doctorate in Occupational Therapy. Cheryl has experience working with all ages and diagnositic groups providing assistive technology solutions to help maximize communication, mobility, and functional independence. She currently works as a travel occupational therapist and as an adjunct faculty member for the University of St. Augustine. She is also an independent contractor providing care for clients who have complex seating and mobility needs and/or home accessibility issues.

Beth Speaker-Christensen earned both her undergraduate (communicative disorders) and graduate degrees (speech/language pathology) at Northern Illinois University. She has worked in a variety of settings in her 27 years of practice, including skilled nursing facilities, special education cooperatives, Shriners' Hospitals for Children-Chicago, and non-profit clinics. She now owns her own private practice focused on AAC support and interventions. While working at Shriners Hospital, Beth began to explore her passion for assistive technology and Augmentative/Alternate Communication. Beth completed the Assistive Technology Certificate at the University of Illinois at Chicago and went on to obtain the ATP (Assistive Technology Professional) Certification through RESNA (Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America). Currently, Beth sits on the Professional Standards Board of RESNA. She is a member of ASHA Sig 12, a member of RESNA, and a member and Chair of the Membership Committee of USSAAC (United States Society of Augmentative/Alternate Communication- the US chapter of ISAAC- the International Society of Augmentative/Alternate Communication). Beth enjoys presenting at local, state, national and international conferences to help share an overall understanding of AAC and AT. Beth has a passion for providing comprehensive services for those needing AAC to improve their communication, relationships, their independence and overall quality of life.

Antoinette Verdone has been in the AT industry for over 20 years. She has a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering, with a focus on Rehabilitation Engineering. Antoinette has worked in government, non-profit, and private settings providing a wide range of assistive technologies for people with a wide range of disabilities. Antoinette is the Founder and Lead Consultant for ImproveAbility, based in Austin, TX.

Michael is actively involved with pediatric and adult wheelchair clinics. He has worked within the CRT industry for over 35 years. Michael specializes in “passive & active” custom manual wheelchairs, powered mobility, specialty drive controls, powered seating systems and custom molded seating. Michael is inspired by the “team” approach when working with physicians and therapists that will bring patients the "Best quality of life" while using custom mobility equipment. Born and raised in Northwest Ohio, Michael applied for a new opportunity to start as a wheelchair repair technician for one of the area’s largest Oxygen – DME provider. Soon afterwards he knew what his career path would be. Michael relied on his training in automotive repair and his love of mechanical engineering and motorized devices to learn everything he could about wheelchairs! Michael has attended several clinics within the last 15 years here in the Houston, Texas Medical Center. Rehab facilities like TIRR - Memorial Hermann, Methodist, Baylor ALS, Texas Children’s Hospital, Encompass and MD Anderson. Michael has had the honor to be part of the rehab mobility team for a past U.S. President (GHWB “41”) and for a U.S. House Representative. Michael volunteers with a local Houston based, non-profit, Rehabilitation Services Volunteer Project (RSVP) mobility equipment loan closet. Michael is married to Dana, his bride of 37 years. They have 4 children, currently 6 grandchildren and when he's able, loves road trips to Gulf Shores AL, Astros baseball games and motorcycle riding in the "Hill Country" area of San Antonio, TX.

Alisa Brownlee, ATP, CLIPP, CAPS, WPS, is the Manager of Assistive Technology Services for the ALS Association, Greater Philadelphia Chapter and is also a Consultant to the National ALS Association. She has been in the field of assistive technology for over 20 years. Alisa speaks, blogs, writes articles and uses social media to increase awareness of ALS and the use of assistive technology. Her specialty areas are communication, computer access, electronic aids for daily living and home modifications. Alisa is a Board Member and Faculty Member for RESNA and is an instructor for RESNA’s two day Fundamentals of Assistive Technology course. She was honored to be selected to teach this class in August of 2019 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This was the first ever AT course taught in Eastern Africa. Professionals from around the country attend the class and for her, this was a life altering experience. Alisa has always been passionate about assistive technology and the impact it has on quality of life for people with disabilities but traveling to Africa changed her entire perspective and made her want to focus more of her energy on international AT services.