OPGA honors ‘rising leaders’ 

WATERLOO, Iowa – Orthotic Prosthetic Group of America (OPGA) and Össur have announced the recipients of two O&P grants. Kaleigh Neely has been selected as the 2023 recipient of the Russell Walker CP, LP Emerging Leader Grant; and Abbey Senczyszyn, CPO, has been selected as the recipient of the Todd Eagen Advocacy in Action Memorial Grant. “On behalf of Össur and OPGA, we are privileged to announce Kaleigh and Abbey as the recipients of these two grants that will provide professional development opportunities for the future leaders of O&P while memorializing the impact both these individuals left in the O&P profession,” said Adam Miller, president, OPGA. “Both Kaleigh and Abbey are rising leaders in the O&P profession and will be exceptional representatives at the AOPA Policy Forum and the Challenged Athletes Foundation Triathlon Challenge, two non-clinical events that are highly important to the O&P profession and the patients it serves.” Neely is an O&P resident with Geauga Rehabilitation Engineering, Inc. (GRE) in Ohio, and Senczyszyn is with Bremer Prosthetic Design in Michigan. Now in its second year, the Russell Walker CP, LP Emerging Leader Grant is designed to pay tribute to Russell (Rusty) Walker, a practitioner that was passionate about mentoring the next generation of O&P leaders. It’s the first year OPGA and Össur have teamed up to co-sponsor the Todd Eagen Advocacy in Action Memorial Grant, which honors Eagen, the former president of OPGA, who passed away unexpectedly on June 4, 2022. Both grants are designed to provide annual funding to a current O&P resident to attend and participate in two different events that are outside of the clinical setting but are highly important to the O&P profession and the patients it serves.