Award Recipients
Live in Motion Foundation is proud to announce the inaugural recipients of the 2026 OP&P Healthcare Quality Fellowship, the first program of its kind dedicated to advancing healthcare quality expertise and initaitives within the orthotics, prosthetics, and pedorthics profession.
Jacob Thomas has been selected for the Healthcare Quality Credentialing Fellowship, and Emily Dinelli has been selected for the Healthcare Quality Education Fellowship. Through specialized credentialing and advanced education, these fellows will develop the expertise needed to integrate established healthcare quality principles and standards into OP&P practice. As healthcare moves toward an increasingly value-based environment, their leadership will help strengthen clinical practice, advance quality improvement, demonstrate the value of OP&P services, and promote better outcomes for patients.
Jacob Thomas, MS, CPed., CFo is a Senior Program Manager for Pedorthic Strategy at Hanger Clinic, where he leads national initiatives focused on advancing pedorthic care through innovation, operational excellence, and program design. He is responsible for strategy development, education, and workflow transformation across the organization’s pedorthic services.
Jacob plays a key role in building scalable clinical programs, improving patient experience, and driving standardization across people, processes, and systems. He also leads national education efforts, including continuing education programming and workforce development initiatives for certified pedorthists.
He is actively involved in the profession, serving on the Pedorthic Footcare Association (PFA) Executive Committee and contributing to the American Board for Certification (ABC) through its Pedorthic and PreCERT SME committees. Jacob holds a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership and is currently pursuing an MBA with an emphasis in Business Analytics.Jacob will be using his fellowship award to support receiving his Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) credential from the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ).
“This fellowship represents an opportunity to deepen my ability to translate quality principles into practical, scalable improvements that directly impact patient care. Throughout my career, I’ve been driven by the belief that quality is not a program, but a responsibility—and this experience would allow me to strengthen that responsibility through formal training, collaboration, and measurable action within the OP&P profession. I’m excited for the opportunity to pursue my Certified Professional Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) certification, as it has been a goal of mine for quite some time. The Fellowship provides the means to follow a structured path to advance that goal while allowing me to contribute in a meaningful and broader scope to the pedorthic profession, ultimately improving outcomes for both patients and clinicians. I’m grateful to the Live in Motion Foundation and its donors for their support in making this opportunity possible.“
Emily Dinelli PhD, MPO, CPO, earned her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from West Texas A&M University and her M.P.O. from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Emily recently completed her Ph.D. in Health Services and Outcomes Research as part of the Health Sciences Integrated Program at Northwestern University.
Her dissertation investigated social determinants of health and health outcomes among Black individuals living with dysvascular amputation. Emily will be starting a postdoctoral fellowship position this Fall at Johns Hopkins University. She will be using the fellowship award to support her enrollment in the Quality, Patient Safety, and Outcomes Research Certificate Program through the Department of Health Policy and Management at Johns Hopkins University.
“The Live in Motion Foundation’s support of my knowledge and growth in health care quality will advance my goal of becoming a leading health services researcher in the O&P field. Advancing health care quality for O&P will serve patients by ensuring they receive the best care possible. I am honored to receive support from the Live in Motion Foundation to further my training in healthcare quality and patient safety within orthotics and prosthetics. As a clinician and researcher dedicated to O&P, this fellowship will provide the training and resources needed to advance quality improvement efforts and strengthen the value of care delivered to those we serve. I am grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Live in Motion Foundation to help shape the future of high-quality O&P care.”