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The 9th Annual Saint Louis University Athletic Training Speakers Series and Recognition Ceremony Announces its Featured Speaker for 2020

The Saint Louis University (SLU) Athletic Training Program recently announced Mark Kaufman, PT, ATC, as the featured speaker for the annual SLU Athletic Training Speaker Series and Recognition Ceremony this spring. The event is presented by the SLU chapter of Iota Tau Alpha, the national Athletic Training honor society; SLU Athletic Training Society (SLATS); and SLU Student Government Association.

AT Speaker Series 2020

Founder and Executive Chairman of Athletico Physical Therapy Mark Kaufman, PT, ATC, will be the keynote speaker at the 2020 SLU Athletic Training Speaker Series and Recognition Ceremony on February 17.

Kaufman is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Athletico Physical Therapy. Kaufman’s speaker series presentation, Better for Every Body: Business Success Built on a Strong Foundation as a Health Professional, will take place Monday, February 17, 2020 at 7:00 PM in the Health Sciences Education Union auditorium on SLU’s medical campus.

Kaufman founded Athletico Physical Therapy in 1991 in the Chicago metropolitan area with a simple vision of helping as many people as possible. What began as Kaufman opening one center and providing athletic training services to local athletes has grown to become a company that is a leader in the field of physical therapy and athletic training services with over 500 locations across 12 states that employs over 5,000 clinical and administrative staff members. In addition to physical therapy services, Athletico now also provides athletic training, occupational therapy, specialty programs and fitness services to high schools, colleges and professional sports teams and various workplace environments.

Kaufman did not always plan to start a company that would span across an entire region of the country; initially, he thought he would be working for an athletics department at a university.

“In the beginning, my only professional experience was at the Division I level, so that is where I thought I’d end up,” Kaufman said. “After working some high school events, I figured out that I enjoyed that as much as anything, and that I just liked being around athletes. That was when I started connecting the dots related to how a strong athletic training-based field operation could support a physical therapy practice.”

Kaufman hopes the audience walks away from his speech understanding that, with hard work and an open mind, the possibilities for everyone are endless.

“There is an old adage: luck is when opportunity meets work,” Kaufman said. “This opportunity has given me so much and I never dreamed it would come this far, yet it did. I created a bit of a different path and it worked out. It was not something that happened overnight, and I tapped into some skill sets I had to have due to necessity and some that I did not know I even had in overseeing, managing and growing our business practice – Athletico.”

After the speaker, there will be a panel discussion expanding upon the topics addressed by the keynote speaker. The panel will include: KD Consulting Owner Karen Fennell, MS, ATC; Khazen AthletiKare Owner Lori Khazen, MS, ATC; and SLU Instructor of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training Mike Markee, PT, DPT, OCS, COMT, ATC.

SLU Athletic Training Program Director Anthony Breitbach, Ph.D., ATC, was very excited to be able to bring this group of health care professionals together for the speaker series event and for guests to see how closely health care and business can relate.

“Leadership and professional skills in health care are transferable to many other contexts,” Dr. Breitbach said. “We are fortunate to welcome Mark Kaufman and the outstanding panel to discuss the business of sports medicine.”

The 9th Annual Athletic Training Speaker Series and Recognition Ceremony, supported by the SLU Student Government Association, is free of charge and open to the public. In addition to the presentation, the event will also include the induction ceremony of SLU’s Alpha Iota Chapter of Iota Tau Alpha and recognition of the program scholarship recipients.

For more information, call (314) 977-8561 or email sluptat@health.slu.edu.

Saint Louis University is a Catholic, Jesuit institution that values academic excellence, life-changing research, compassionate health care, and a strong commitment to faith and service. Founded in 1818, the University fosters the intellectual and character development of nearly 13,000 students on two campuses in St. Louis and Madrid, Spain. Building on a legacy of more than 200 years, Saint Louis University continues to move forward with an unwavering commitment to a higher purpose, a greater good.