O&P Woman of the Year

O&P Woman of the Year Award 2025

The O&P Woman of the Year Award is open to all women in the profession and is presented to someone who has made significant contributions to her patients, community, business, and the O&P profession throughout her career.

FINALISTSAWARD DETAILS AND SELECTION PROCESSPAST WINNERSSELECTION COMMITTEE

Meet the 2025 Finalists

Fanny Schultea, MS, MSEd, CPO, LP, FAAOP, Executive Director, The Orthotics and Prosthetics Foundation for Education and Research

Fanny Schultea MS, MSEd, CPO, LP, FAAOP, is the Executive Director of The Orthotics and Prosthetics Foundation for Education and Research. She is a certified ABC Orthotist/Prosthetist and Fellow with Distinction of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (AAOP). Prior to her role at The O&P Foundation, she most recently served as Assistant Professor in the Baylor College of Medicine Program in Houston, TX, and Director of AAOP’s O&PiQ. Fanny continues her service to the profession with the Limb Loss and Preservation Registry (LLPR) on the Scientific Committee. She is passionate about knowledge translation, healthcare quality, access, and innovation in O&P clinical care. Fanny is a post-9/11 U.S. Army Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) combat veteran with military police service in Baghdad, Iraq. In her free time, she enjoys weight training and exploring the great outdoors with her husband Austin and son Sterling.

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Lesleigh Sisson, CFo, CFm, Vice President & General Manager, O&P Insight

Lesleigh Sisson, the founder of O&P Insight, has been part of the orthotics and prosthetics profession since 1992. She started O&P Insight because she cares deeply about three things: helping people thrive in their professional lives, advancing the profession for patients & practitioners and leaving a legacy of lives impacted for the better. While she has always had a love of teaching and helping others, it was working in administrative and clinical support roles when Lesleigh recognized the desire to assist dedicated professionals working toward this common goal: providing excellent patient care while achieving the best possible health for the business. Lesleigh helps independent O&P practices to not only survive but also to thrive in today’s challenging and ever-changing healthcare environment with its demands for efficient work flow, revenue cycle solutions and successful compliance. 

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Arlene Gillis, Founder and President, International Institute of Orthotics and Prosthetics

Arlene Gillis is the founder of the IIOP and Veterans Stride Foundation. Her mother had multiple sclerosis, and as a young girl she helped with her physical therapy. She chose an academic path to become a physical therapist. While studying in that field, she was asked to translate for a Spanish-speaking patient living with amputation and watched that patient receive an artificial leg. That event changed his life – and hers.

She moved into the study of prosthetics and became a Practice Manager of Orthotics and Prosthetics and later established her own O&P clinic.

She then began to teach in the field but found the programs housed in large universities to be antiquated and not meeting the workforce needs. She decided to focus on improving the overall academic programs for orthotics and prosthetics in order to better serve people living with amputation worldwide. She established a program at St. Petersburg Community College, FSU, and FIU, but saw the need for higher degreed programs given the evolution of application of technology to the field of prosthetics and the increased need for services for people living with amputation. Single handedly, she founded the Veterans Stride Foundation, The Mobility Foundation, Mobility Clinic and Lab, and the International Institute of Orthotics and Prosthetics (IIOP), which is a non-profit university solely focused on graduate programs in orthotics and prosthetics.

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Radha Amrutia, Owner & CPO, Bakersfield Prosthetics and Orthotics Center

Radha Amrutia, ABC Prosthetist/Orthotist, BOC Mastectomy Fitter, and Cal State Dominguez Hills graduate, is the CEO of Bakersfield Prosthetics and Orthotics Center (BPOC)—the only female minority-owned O&P facility in California's Central Valley.

Her passion for O&P began early when her parents, Ashok Dhokia, CPO and Usha Dhokia, CMF, founded BPOC in 1998, making Radha a second-generation CPO and Mastectomy Fitter. Taking ownership of BPOC in 2019, she navigated the challenges of new leadership, motherhood, and the COVID-19 pandemic, which sparked her business acumen and innovative spirit. Her determination led to streamlined operations that not only preserved but also enhanced the quality of care for patients. To celebrate her family's business being in operation for over 25 years, she implemented an Amputee Success Program, which provides free adjustments, new shoes, and mental wellness coaching sessions for their patients.

This same passion has led to Radha receiving a grant in 2025 to enhance further accessibility for patients at her facility, including the creation of a Mastectomy Care Room and the investment in equipment to provide comprehensive care to all patients.

In addition to being a savvy business owner, Radha is also a dedicated volunteer and mentor. She has taught O&P business classes at Loma Linda University, presented at the CSU Bakersfield Sports Medicine Club, served as Residency director for hosted O&P residents, and presented to the local chapter of the California Association of Nurse Practitioners. She was instrumental in adding O&P site visits to a local family medicine residency program. In addition, she actively mentors and sponsors employees as they pursue certification as fitters. She also contributes her expertise as a committee member for the Limb Care Foundation, participating in the Scholarship Review Panel.

Outside of her daily clinical and owner responsibilities, Radha has dedicated years to building connections within the O&P community. In 2025, she used these connections to establish the first ever Kern Adaptive Sports Fair in Central California. The event has gained support from the local Chamber of Commerce, competitive adaptive athletes, including Paralympians, as well as founders of O&P companies and nonprofit organizations. It aims to bring adaptive sports to an underserved and low-income community.

As a mother and CEO in O&P, she has faced the unique challenges women encounter in the field and how it affects retaining women in the industry. In the future, she aims to further develop the O&P industry through new business ventures, creating more opportunities for women to join and stay.

When she is not living and breathing all things O&P, Radha usually spends time traveling with her husband, two sons, and their dog, Churro.

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Award Details and Selection Process

Every year, OPGA organizes the Woman of the Year award campaign, and a selection committee made up of O&P professionals is tasked to select the winner. The award will be presented during the 2025 AOPA National Assembly on Thursday, September 4, 2025, at 9:50 a.m. in the Product Preview Theater (PPT) located in the exhibit hall.

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Past Winners

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Selection Committee

Kenton R. Kaufman, Ph.D., P.E.

Dr. Kenton Kaufman is the W Hall Wendel Jr Musculoskeletal Research Professor, Director-Motion Analysis Laboratory, Professor of Bioengineering, Professor of Orthopedics, and Consultant in the Departments of Orthopedic Surgery, Physiology and Biomedical Engineering at Mayo Clinic. He is a registered professional engineer. He has published over 300 papers and holds 8 patents. He is a Fellow in the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, American Society of Biomechanics, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Orthopedic Research Society, and International Society of Biomechanics. Dr. Kaufman currently serves on the Medical Advisory Board for the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association. He is leading an effort to develop a national Limb Loss and Preservation Registry.

Sheryl Sachs

Sheryl Sachs is a dedicated Orthotist-Prosthetist from Maryland. She is a proud graduate of the University of Maryland where she earned a dual degree in Communication (BA) and Kinesiological Sciences (BS). She attended the P&O Program at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she earned her Master of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics (MSPO). Sheryl's professional path has been intertwined with Dankmeyer Inc., where she completed her residency and now works as a Certified Prosthetist-Orthotist (CPO) and residency mentor. Beyond her clinical role, Sheryl has previously taken on mentorship role within the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists' (AAOP) mentoring program. She is also a member of AOPA's Government Relations Committee and she is the lead advocate for Maryland's "So EveryBODY Can Move" initiative. Additionally, Sheryl serves on the NCOPE Board of Director's Executive Committee and is the chair of NCOPE's Residency Standards Committee.

Michael A. Sotak

Mike is currently President and CEO at PEL, LLC, the leading independent O&P distributor providing solutions to independent practitioners in the US.  Prior to joining PEL ten years ago, he was a senior executive and corporate officer with extensive domestic and international experience in manufacturing, distribution, service, and retail. He has more than 35 years of experience in the medical industry including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and orthotics and prosthetics. Michael is consistently recognized for his ability to articulate a vision and drive business solutions within complex and challenging environments to yield both top and bottom line growth. He is a business strategist with a unique ability to reposition businesses resulting in significant increases to both scale and efficiency.

Nicole Ver Kuilen

Nicole Ver Kuilen, Director of Impact Campaigns, So EveryBODY Can Move Lead at Amputee Coalition, lost her left leg to osteosarcoma at age 10 and has made it her life’s goal to raise the standard of care for all amputees. As a prosthesis user for over two decades, she knows firsthand how orthotic and prosthetic care transforms lives. It’s this experience that initially propelled her into the world of O&P, leading a grassroots effort to raise awareness on the lack of access to appropriate prosthetic and orthotic care necessary to support physical activity among people with disabilities, a campaign she called “Forrest Stump” after completing a 1,500-mile ultra-triathlon from Seattle to San Diego on a prosthesis built only for walking. Since then, she has taken her commitment to improving the quality of life for people with limb loss and limb difference nationally as the inaugural NAAOP health policy and advocacy fellow, and globally, through her work in Latin American countries with the Range of Motion Project. Nicole now serves as the Manager of Public Engagement with the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA) where she is helping to spearhead a new state-based policy initiative, So Kids Can Move, working to expand access to prostheses and orthoses utilized for physical activity as medically necessary healthcare. Prior to O&P, Nicole pursued a career in sustainability and is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business with a bachelors of business administration. When she's not attempting to move mountains, she enjoys hiking, biking, and skiing them with her fiancé, which is one of the many reasons she loves calling the PNW her home.