Kai Kennedy, PT, DPT

Vice Chair of Equity and Full Professor

Oakland, California

United States, North America

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Cohort Year:

2018

Bio

Dr. Kai Kennedy serves as Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Equity in the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She also serves jointly on faculty at the Global Brain Health Institute at UCSF and Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. She teaches in the areas of professional identity, leadership and change-making, and interprofessional collaboration.

An outpatient orthopedic physical therapist in practice, Kai has extensive experience in scaling up rehabilitative care and educational equity in the health professions in the United States, the Caribbean, West Africa, and Europe. She has keen interest in applying an equity lens to leadership, curriculum development, and clinical practice. Her research aims to identify innovative strategies to prepare clinicians to provide effective care in community-centered programs.

Kai has a long-standing record of professional service, and currently serves as Director of Social Responsibility and Global Health in the American Physical Therapy Association’s Academy of Leadership and Innovation. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiological Sciences at the University of Maryland, College Park; her Doctor of Physical Therapy training at Virginia Commonwealth University; and her fellowship training at the George Washington University. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Health Professions Education at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

Professional Interests & Expertise

Advocacy,Education,Healthcare Innovation and Transformation,Rehabilitation

Organization

Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science at UCSF

Equity Talk

Learn more about Kai's work:

Publication

Cultural Responsiveness in Academic Physical Therapy: An Administrative Case Report

Journal Article

National Benchmarks to Understand how Doctor of Physical Therapy Learners from Minoritized Race and Ethnicity Groups Perceive their Physical Therapist Education Program

Book Chapter

Commentary on Chapter 20: Perspective from the School of Physical Therapy, University of California, San Francisco - Remediation in Medical Education

Video

2023 UCSF Last Lecture

Perspective

Thinking Beyond Pipelines: Creating More Person-Centered Career Pathways

Webinar

Anti-Racism and Culturally-Responsive Practice in Physical Therapy

Video

APTA Live: DEI Discussions: Race and Racism

Perspective

Adopting Population Health Frameworks in Physical Therapist Practice, Research, and Education: The Urgency of Now

See All of Kai's Work