Judith M. Burnfield, PT, Ph.D., is a nationally recognized physical rehabilitation clinician, researcher and scholar. Burnfield is the vice president of research, director of the Institute for Rehabilitation Science and Engineering, and Clifton Chair in Physical Therapy and Movement Science at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals. She completed her BS in physical therapy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, her Ph.D. in Biokinesiology at the University of Southern California, and her postdoctoral studies at the Los Amigos Research and Education Institute in California. Burnfield draws on over three decades of physical rehabilitation clinical and research experience to direct Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals’ model system of rehabilitation care for patients post-COVID-19. She serves as an advisor for a multi-center study funded by the National Association of Long Term Hospitals (NALTH) examining rehabilitation outcomes following post-COVID-19 care in long-term acute care hospitals and as the Madonna site-PI for an NIH-funded study focused on the neurologic consequences of COVID-19.

Samantha Kelly, MS, serves at the general manager of Madonna ProActive Health and Fitness. She has served as GM for almost eight years and prior to that was a fitness manager at ProActive. Kelly is a strong innovator, leader, and collaborator. She received her master’s degree in nutrition science with a specialization in exercise physiology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and also completed her bachelor’s studies at UNL.

Natalie A. Williams, Ph.D., directs the Translational Health Psychology Research Center within the Institute for Rehabilitation Science and Engineering at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals. She earned a MA in psychology and a dual Ph.D. in clinical and developmental psychology from the University of Missouri. Dr. Williams completed an APA-accredited pre-doctoral clinical psychology internship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, followed by postdoctoral training in pediatric psychology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Williams has held academic positions at multiple universities and is an award-winning instructor and academic researcher in the area of family adaptation to chronic illness and injury in the United States and globally. Her current research focuses on psychological co-morbidities in long COVID, caregiver stress and coping in medical rehabilitation settings, and personality and social processes affecting the health and wellbeing of individuals with physical disabilities and chronic conditions. She has over 35 peer-reviewed publications in areas relevant to health psychology and currently serves as Site Project Coordinator for an NIH-funded study investigating neurologic comorbidities of COVID-19.

Carla Zedicher, PsyD, MS, MEd, BA, CPT, CFT, CMT, is a fitness manager and certified personal trainer at ProActive. Zedicher has doctorate degrees in health and wellness psychology and sport and performance psychology, a master’s degrees in both education and health and wellness promotion, and numerous certifications in areas of wellness, including personal training, health coaching, cancer and exercise, and medical exercise. She has worked with and learned from a vast array of clients and unique populations. Zedicher blends her research and fitness acumen to advance unique programming for ProActive’s clientele.

Virginia Chaidez, Ph.D., RD, directs the Translational Nutrition Sciences Research Center within the Institute for Rehabilitation Science and Engineering at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals. Chaidez is a registered dietitian with experience in clinical, research, teaching and community settings. She earned her Ph.D. in nutrition from the University of California, Davis (UCD) and completed her postdoctoral training with UCD’s Public Health Sciences Department and the Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (MIND) Institute. Chaidez’s extensive experiences provide her with a broad lens for advancing ecological approaches to address complex public health problems, with a specific focus on underlying social and community determinants of health. As a health disparities researcher, Chaidez blends her expertise in nutrition and public health to help promote the nutrition, health and wellbeing of individuals recovering from COVID-19 and other chronic conditions.

Lisa Graff, MS, holds a master’s degree in community nutrition and health promotion from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is a registered dietitian nutritionist, a certified health and wellness coach and a certified personal trainer. Graff has experience working in medical, business and community health settings. She enjoys helping individuals with a variety medical diagnoses and health concerns create a balanced nutrition, fitness and lifestyle plan to optimize health.

Dennis Scofield received his bachelor of science degree in physical education and his master of arts in education degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. He served as a Research Fellow and Research Physiologist in the Military Performance Division of the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine in Natick, MA. He has extensive clinical experience in the field of exercise physiology, having served as a personal trainer, health and wellness coordinator/specialist, and sports nutrition business owner. His clinical and research interests encompass human performance optimization, injury prevention, and endocrine adaptations to stress/exercise. Scofield blends his clinical and research background to advance care and outcomes for individuals with long COVID in the medical fitness environment.

Jade Bertsch, PT, DPT, ATRIC, CAPTCC, has been a practicing physical therapist for almost 10 years. During her career, she has developed specialized expertise in outpatient orthopedics, outpatient neurological disorders, aquatic physical therapy and pediatrics. She has been at Madonna’s Lincoln Campus since 2021 and joined Lincoln’s post-COVID outpatient team at its initiation in January 2022. Bertsch collaborates closely with clinicians and researchers within Madonna’s post-COVID model system of rehabilitation care.