Warrior Games 2019
U.S. Special Operations Command will host the 2019 Department of Defense (DoD) Warrior Games June 21-30 in Tampa Bay, Florida. Approximately 300 wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans will participate in the competition. The athletes will represent the United States Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Special Operations Command. Athletes from the United Kingdom Armed Forces, Australian Defence Force, Canadian Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Netherlands, and the Danish Armed Forces will also compete. Teams include active military service members and veterans with upper-body, lower-body, and spinal cord injuries; traumatic brain injuries; visual impairment; serious illnesses; and post-traumatic stress.
IIOP will be volunteering daily at the events for O&P support. We are thankful to Lazydays RV for providing an RV onsite for the week.
Thank you Wright’s Gourmet House and Panera Bread for providing lunch to our volunteers!
Secretary
Treasurer
As VP of Product for 
Helen is gifted with a mind that is equal parts business woman and technical director. She precisely forecasts her clients’ web‐based needs and as a result, delivers technology solutions that fit like a glove. A trustworthy collaborator, Helen consistently provides higher education organizations with innovative tools to help automate manual tasks, increase efficiency, as well as collect and mine their data.
A typical teenager in Brazil, Pedro studied and participated in sports with his friends. He enjoyed an extensive social life and healthy lifestyle until, suddenly, he began to feel sick on September 11, 2009. No one will forget where they witnessed the tragic events of September 11th, but this day is particularly emotional for Pedro and his loved ones as he was admitted to the hospital to fight for his life.
José Miguel Gómez, Profesor, MD, LO. Received his degree as Medical Surgeon at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia. He attended Northeast Metro Technical Institute in White Bear Lake, Minnesota for Orthotic program, and completed his orthotic residency at Gillette Children’s Hospital in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Licensed in Orthotics
Angela Courtade CPO, LPO, is a certified and licensed prosthetist and orthotist. She is currently an instructor of Orthotics and Prosthetics at St. Petersburg College.
As a result of a snowboarding accident, Jennifer French became a quadriplegic due to a spinal cord injury in 1998. She is an active user of the Implantable Stand & Transfer System provided by the Cleveland FES Center, MetroHealth Medical Center and Veterans Administration; the first women to receive such a system. As a user of neurotechnology who has reaped its benefits, she is the Co-founder and Executive Director of a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Neurotech Network.
Charles W. Kuffel, MSM, CPO, FAAOP is a founding owner and the current president and clinical director of Arise Orthotics & Prosthetics, Inc. in Blaine, MN. Charles serves as current Chairman of the National Commission on Orthotics and Prosthetic Education (NCOPE) and has been part of its board for the past eight years. During that same time he served two terms as president of the Northern Plains Chapter of the American Academy of Orthotists Prosthetists & Pedorthists (AAOP). Charles advocates for those with limb loss and limb impairments in the political arena in both his home state of Minnesota and at our nation’s capital.
Susan Kapp, M.Ed., CPO, LPO, FAAOP has been in the profession for over 30 years and is the director of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, School of Health Profession’s, Prosthetics-Orthotics Program. She received her bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and Masters from the University of Texas. In addition to teaching she is actively involved in patient care and resident mentoring. She has co-authored several papers and book chapters and her current research interest relates to socket pressure and prosthetic component selection. She is active within the profession and has served on several boards and committees. Ms. Kapp is currently a board member for the American Association of Orthotists and Prosthetists. She views each new class as an opportunity to share her excitement about the profession and pass on knowledge through innovative teaching and patient care.
Dr. Maola graduated as summa cum laude with a Doctorate degree from National College of Chiropractic in 1999. Since acquiring his doctorate degree, Dr. Maola successfully practiced for several years while continuing academia as a contributing author for eight chapters in the world renowned two volume radiology text, “Yochum and Rowe’s Essentials of Skeletal Radiology” Edition 3. He still continues to publish in peer-reviewed journals as well as provide educational articles for professional magazines. His latest peer reviewed publication was entitled Chiropractic Management of Low Back Pain in a Patient with a Transfemoral Amputation.
Sondra Flemming is the Vice President of Community and Economic Development at El Centro College in Dallas, Texas. She oversees three major areas including Health and Legal Studies, Workforce and Continuing Education and Business, Design and Public Service. In this role she is responsible for major curricular initiatives involving workforce, career pathways and community partnerships. She has been at El Centro for 40 years and has served in several capacities including Vice President of Academic Affairs, Vice President of Health and Continuing Workforce Education, Dean of Continuing Education, Interim Dean of Nursing, Associate Dean of Allied Health and as nursing faculty. She continues to teach in the six course health core curriculum that was developed in 1996 and has presented this concept with Dr. LaCheeta McPherson throughout the United States. This core now serves as the competency model for the Department of Labor’s competency model for health care.
Journey Led Solutions (JLS), LLC is a consulting firm committed to the design and development of curriculum based on professional skills and knowledge competencies, with a major focus on health programming. JLS consults on program accreditation and application process to assist colleges with issues related to programmatic accreditation. JLS also provides facilitation services to organizations and groups to create forward thinking goals and resolutions. The members of Journey Led Solutions, LLC are Ms. Sondra Flemming, MSN, Vice President of Academic Affairs for El Centro College, Ms. Joan Becker, MSN, Dean of Nursing for El Centro College and M. LaCheeta McPherson, Ph.D., Executive Dean for Health and Legal Studies for El Centro College. recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the Nationals Health Skills Standards, and the PEW Commission.
Nelson LeMarquand MS,CO,FAAOP/ATP. Nelson has been actively involved in the rehabilitation industry for over thirty years, specializing in adaptive technology for the physically challenged. He received his orthotic certification and became a member of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists in 1990, a Fellow of the Academy in 2001, and certification as an Assistive Technology Practitioner in 1997. He is also a Florida Licensed Orthotist and serves on the board of the Florida Chapter of the Academy. Nelson holds both an M.S. and B.S. degree in Health Care Management. Nelson is employed by Allard USA, Rockaway, New Jersey, as South Florida Territory Manager and SWASH® (Standing, Walking, and Sitting Hip Orthosis) specialist.
The Institute is the brainchild of our founder, Arlene Gillis, CP, LPO, M.Ed. Ms. Gillis is a noteworthy O&P professional with over 25 years of experience, including 10 years as a practitioner, followed by 15 years as an educator and O&P program director at St. Petersburg College in Florida. Ms. Gillis has served on numerous national boards and committees, as well as participated in a variety of O&P research studies with combat injured veterans.