Leadership

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Academy Officers/Executive Committee

Ashley Parish, PT, DPT, PhD, CRT, CCS

President, 2025-2028

Bio: Ashley Parish PT, DPT, PhD, CRT, ABPTS Board Certified Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Clinical Specialist, is an Assistant Professor at UAB. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Therapy, Doctor of Physical Therapy, Certificate of Applications of Mixed Methods Research and PhD in Health Behavior from UAB. She has over a decade of experience in cardiovascular and pulmonary physical therapy, specifically in pediatrics, and remains in clinical practice part time. She has teaching experience at the undergraduate, pre-professional, and graduate levels. Parish has served in a multitude of leadership roles within several academies of the APTA including the Academy of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Physical Therapy, APTA Acute Care, Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy, and APTA Alabama. She was awarded as the 2022 recipient of the Emerging Leader Award from Academy of Cardiovascular & Pulmonary Physical Therapy, 2021 and 2022 Emerging Leader Award from the APTA, and the 2022 Emerging Educator Award from ACAPT.

Morgan Johanson, PT, MSPT, CCS

Vice President, 2024-2027

Bio: Morgan Johanson, PT, MSPT, CCS Morgan is the President of Good Heart Education. She w a Level 3 Acute Care PT at the California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) and the Coordinator for the Inpatient and Outpatient Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Programs at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System (VAAAHS). In addition, she was a Co-Director of the VAAAHS CVP PT Residency Program. She received the Service Star for excellence in patient care from CPMC. In 2022, she received the Merit Award from the Academy of CVP PT. She is a contributing author to the 4th and 5th Edition of the Essentials of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Physical Therapy. She was the lead investigator for the Entry-Level Physical Therapist Competencies in Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Physical Therapy.

Sean Lowers PT, DPT

Treasurer, 2026-2029

Bio: Sean Lowers, PT, DPT is the Manager of Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation at Duke Health in Durham, NC and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He has been board certified in Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Physical Therapy since 2011. Dr. Lowers has served on Nominating Committee for the Academy from 2013 – 2015, the Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Speciality Council, the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties, and as a task force member for the revalidation of the Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Physical Therapy Description of Speciality Practice in 2017.

Sean is the Chair of the Finance Committee.

Jennifer Sharp, PT, DPT, CCS

Secretary 2026-2027

Bio: Coming Soon

Rich Severin, PT, DPT, PhD, CCS

Chief Delegate 2024-2027

Bio: Rich Severin PT, DPT, PhD is a board-certified cardiovascular and pulmonary clinical specialist. Dr. Severin serves as DPT program coordinator and clinical assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has served the academy in various roles since 2013 including chair of both the visibility/awareness and nominating committees. In addition to serving as Chief Delegate for the academy, he is an associate editor of Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy Journal and is a member of the APTA Science and Practice Affairs Committee.

Rich is also Chair of the Advocacy Committee.

Academy Officers/Board of Directors

John W. Connell PT, MSBS, CCS

Director of Education 2025-2028

Bio: John William Connell, PT, MSBS, CCS has been a practicing Physical Therapist for more than 20 years across various practice settings. He became board-certified in 2018 and became the Coordinator of Pulmonary Rehabilitation at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center (CVAMC) the same year. He now coordinates both facility-based and home-based Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation and COVID-19 rehabilitation for CVAMC. In 2019, he organized and presented at the 1st Annual Marci Moreno Pulmonary Rehab Conference at CVAMC that offers CEU’s from 11 differing accrediting bodies. Now in its fifth year, the conference has more than doubled in attendance and increased the scope to include Cardiac Rehab. In 2022, he became Program Coordinator for the first accredited Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Physical Therapy Residency in the state of Ohio. In 2024, he was named the Chair of a national Pulmonary and Critical Care medicine Field Advisory Board for Cardiac and Pulmonary rehabilitation within VHA.

John was the Federal Affairs Liaison for the Academy of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary PT in 2021 and was appointed as the Chair of the Education committee in 2022. In April of 2022, he was awarded the Physical Therapist of the year award for 2021 by the Ohio Physical Therapy Association. He was awarded the Merit Award by the APTA Academy of CVP PT in 2024. In 2023, he led the team that organized and facilitated the first Academy of CVP PT fall conference.

Crystal Gluch, PT, DPT, CCS

Director of Membership Engagement 2025-2028

Bio: Crystal Gluch is a Board-Certified Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Clinical Specialist. She earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree from Grand Valley State University and completed a post-professional Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Physical Therapy Residency with the Veterans Affairs (VA) Ann Arbor Healthcare System. During her time as a resident, she was recognized nationally by the American Physical Therapy Association for her contributions to the profession with the Outstanding Physical Therapist Resident Award. Her clinical practice includes cardiopulmonary patient management across settings including cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, and critical care. Dr. Gluch has recently transitioned to an assistant professor at Grand Valley State University’s DPT program and continues to serve as adjunct faculty for the VA – Ann Arbor Cardiovascular and Pulmonary PT Residency.

Aaron Thrush, PT, DPT, MPH, CCS

Director of Research/EBP 2024-2027

Bio: Aaron Thrush earned board certified specialization in 2016, and has contributed to the Academy though service on the Specialty Council (2016-2020) and as a Clinical Content Expert (2020 to present). He has multiple roles at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, where he is the rehabilitation department Education Specialist, a clinical researcher, and a senior clinician working within the 84-bed critical care units. He is a graduate of Arcadia University (DPT) and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (MPH).

Molly Piech PT, DPT, CCS

Director of Visibility & Awareness 2025-2028

Bio: Molly Piech is a board-certified cardiovascular and pulmonary clinical specialist serving as the lead physical therapist for the cardiothoracic surgery programs at University of Chicago Medicine in Chicago, IL. She received her DPT degree from Saint Louis University in Saint Louis, Missouri. Molly is a contract faculty member of Good Heart Education, providing mentoring and continuing education lectures. She is a full time faculty member of the UCM Acute Care Physical Therapy Residency. Molly also assists with the University of Illinois at Chicago Program in Physical Therapy’s cardiopulmonary lab. She is passionate about education, quality improvement, and interdisciplinary collaboration.