Become a Key Contact: Interview with Dr. Andy Seraphin, PT, DPT

I met Andy during my second year of PT school at the Federal Advocacy Forum (FAF). I honestly never heard of the FAF until my state chapter was offering to pay for registration and travel to students who were interested. Andy was on the same boat and even though we both didn’t know what the three days were going to consist of we decided, “why not?” Free trip to D.C AND we get to miss class? LET’S GO. During the FAF we learned what issues the APTA was focusing on that year and how to speak to U.S Senators, Representatives, and members of their staff. I sadly couldn’t attend the last day (THE most important day as Andy recalls) in which teams of PTs make their way to Congress to advocate for the profession. Being in the presence of PTs that were so dedicated to the profession that they were willing to travel for miles to advocate was inspiring and I can’t wait for the next FAF!

After FAF, I didn’t see Andy again, but when I decided to apply for the key contact role I realized that he beat me to it! Since we live in the same district, we now both share the responsibility to network with our U.S Senators/Representatives. Before I became a key contact this year, Andy was the only one in our district and we are making it our mission to increase the numbers of key contacts in all districts!

One of the motivating factors to becoming a key contact for Andy was the fact that he was the only one in his district and he felt that it was his responsibility as a PT to network with the U.S Representative in his congressional district. Andy states that, "nobody is going to move the profession forward for us. If we have complaints then we have to be the ones to do something about it.”

Being a key contact isn’t as hard as it seems. From personal experience, Andy says that the role is,”really what you make of it. Barely 2 hours a month and the APTA really appreciates just having a person in each district to send an email to.”

During the last congressional recess, Andy had a virtual meeting with a member of Congresswoman Mikie Sherill’s staff. Even though he was the only one in his district at the time, he really put himself out there for the profession and that is truly admirable!

Andy currently works in the outpatient orthopedic setting and is a physical therapist for soccer teams. His hobbies are playing Fifa, anime, and travel.

If you are interested in serving in this role, email advocacy@apta.org.