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Alumni Awards

We celebrate the accomplishments of our alumni with awards for Distinguished Alumni and Emerging Leader. Duke Doctor of Physical Therapy Alumni Association presented the awards to these individuals on January 24, 2019. 

 

Distinguished Alumni Award 

Kelly Kubota '94

Senior Clinician, PT Supervisor, Research PT, Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center
Chapter Board Director - California Physical Therapy Association

Kelley Kubota, PT, MS, NCS, CBIS, received a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California Berkeley, and she is a Board Certified Specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy. She has 20 years of experience at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation.

She was nominated for this award by and with support from:

  • Duke PT Class of 1994 Classmates: Alan Lee, Mike Billings, Sean Gallivan, Tricia Lupi Agnoli, Shannon Luttrell Bowling, Elizabeth Foster Neuder, Cindy Kirby
  • Lilli Thompson, Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center Chief of PT Department and Rehabilitation Therapy Division
  • Walt Weiss, Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center Associate Director PT Professional Education Institute
  • Dan Dore, Duke Department of PT&OT Director
  • Carol Casper Figuers ‘81, Duke DPT Professor
  • Patient Gerardo Garay
  • Mentee Marcus Roll ’11
     
  • 2018-2021: CPTA Rose Parade Float Task Force Chairperson
  • 2018-2020: CPTA Membership and Communications Committee
  • 2015-2020: CPTA Chapter Board Director
  • 2015: Joseph F. Dowling Memorial Distinguished Service Award, Professional Staff Association, Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center
  • 2014-current: CPTA Education Committee
  • 2011: CPTA Annual Conference Task Force
  • 2010: Certified Brain Injury Specialist, Academy of Certified Brain Injury Specialists, Brain Injury Association of America
  • 2009, 2011-2018: California Chapter Delegate to APTA House of Delegates
  • 2006-2012: Long Beach- South Bay District Chief Assembly Representative to CPTA
  • 2005-present: G. Maureen Rodgers Lecture Planning Committee Chairperson 2005-2006: Specialization Academy of Content Experts, Neurology, APTA
  • 2003- current: Jacquelin Perry Gait Rounds Coordinator
  • 2002: Neuro-Developmental Treatment/Bobath Certification, Neuro-Developmental Treatment Association, Inc.
  • 2000, 2010: Neurologic Certified Specialist, American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties, American Physical Therapy Association

Emerging Leader Alumni Award 

Amy Arundale '11

Physical Therapist at Brooklyn Nets
Board-Certified Specialist in Sports PT 

  • 2017: APTA Emerging Leader Award
  • 2017: APTA Sports Physical Therapy Section New Horizons Award
  • 2015: Foundation for Physical Therapy Promotion of Doctoral Studies (PODS) I Scholarship
  • 2015: APTA Sports Physical Therapy Section Legacy Grant 2012-2014: APTA Sports Physical Therapy Section Membership Committee Chair
  • 2011-2012 APTA Student Assembly New Professional Project Committee Chair
  • 2011: Duke DPT Outstanding Student Award
  • 2010-2011: APTA Student Assembly Director
     
  • “…her qualifications, character, and accomplishments in her short but productive career make her the ideal candidate for this award. She has shown repeatedly her ability to lead her peers and see many projects that are impactful to physical therapy to completion. To name a few of her accomplishments, she is already the recipient of the Emerging Leader Award of the APTA, serves on the Research Committee of the Sports section of the APTA, and has served on the Leadership Development Committee for the APTA. She already has 16 peer-reviewed publications, many of which she is first author and the recipient of several funding mechanisms for both travel and research.”
    ~Annalisa Na, PhD, PT, DPT, OCS; Duke DPT Class of 2009; Duke DPT Emerging Leader Award winner
     
  • “No one is more deserving of the recognition, as Amy’s contributions to the profession of physical therapy truly have a worldwide impact. I was fortunate enough to become Amy’s alumni mentee as a student a few years ago, and she has been instrumental in helping me talk through career options, the roadmap to our mutual goals, and all the while leading by example and achieving great accomplishments.. She completed her PhD at the University of Delaware, a post-doctoral fellowship through Linköping University in Sweden, recently published clinical practice guidelines for ACL injury prevention (among many others), and now works in the NBA with the Brooklyn Nets. Perhaps even more notable, though, is Amy’s willingness to go above and beyond for everyone she touches in the physical therapy community and beyond. I’ve had the pleasure of attending a few professional conferences with her, and it’s quite amazing to see her interactions…She’s the type of person that makes things happen, and she’s undoubtedly a flagbearer among the Duke DPT community for international outreach
    ~Matthew DeLang, PT, DPT, CSCS; Duke DPT Class of 2018