Stephanie Weyrauch, PT, DPT, MS is a solopreneur pelvic health and orthopedic physical therapist at MovementX in Billings, MT. She has served as Chair of the APTA Nominating Committee, Vice President of APTA Connecticut, and in national leadership roles, including within APTA Private Practice. A published researcher and national speaker, Stephanie brings a strong track record in advocacy, leadership, and entrepreneurial experience making her an ideal candidate to serve as your board member.

Candidate Statement

My earliest lesson in business came when I was ten years old. My dad, who owned a company that provided speech, occupational, and physical therapy services to rural hospitals and skilled nursing facilities across North Dakota, brought me to a negotiation meeting. He told me to observe the CEO’s body language and tone and how it changed during the discussion. It was my first experience in understanding and meeting others' needs through thoughtful questions and servant leadership.

That early lesson laid the foundation for the kind of leader I strive to be today. Over the last decade, I’ve worked in private practice as an employee, clinical leader, and now as a solopreneur. Currently, I operate MovementX in Billings, MT—a mobile concierge pelvic health practice—where I’m the sole provider, growing a new market from the ground up. I treat patients, build relationships in my community, and navigate the challenges of rural healthcare each day. I’m also a mom of two young children and co-host of the Healthy, Wealthy & Smart podcast. My personal and professional experiences give me a grounded, multidimensional perspective that I would bring to the APTA Private Practice Board of Directors.

Beyond the clinic, I’ve held high-level leadership roles that mirror the strategic demands of a board position. As the immediate past Chair of the APTA Nominating Committee, I led a multi-year initiative to plan for the association’s future leadership needs. This effort involved analyzing research on board effectiveness, collaborating with APTA members, staff, and Board members, and identifying five essential leadership qualities that have since guided our leadership identification processes. This work not only strengthened the association’s leadership pipeline, it shaped my understanding of what constitutes a high-functioning board.

Qualities like adaptability, vision, strategic thinking, collaboration, and curiosity are central to my leadership style. As Vice President of APTA Connecticut, I helped guide strategic planning initiatives that strengthened the chapter’s impact and relevance. In my current role on the APTA Montana legislative committee, I’ve contributed to successful advocacy campaigns that have increased Medicaid payments, reduced administrative burdens for rural providers, and achieved first-in-the-nation recognition of physical therapists as primary care providers for Workers' Compensation cases.

My career-long involvement with APTA Private Practice includes serving on the Leadership Development Task Force, Marketing and PR Committee, Nominating Committee, and the Impact Editorial Board. I've been a Key Contact in three states and served as the Federal Affairs Liaison on the AOPT Practice Committee. These roles provided me with a comprehensive understanding of the organization's strategic priorities, including work with the Payment Consortium to enhance payment systems and reduce administrative burdens.

Through this work, I believe we must act decisively in three key areas to champion the success of the physical therapist in business: (1) declining payment, (2) workforce shortages, and (3) administrative barriers to care.

1. Declining Payment for Services
Reimbursement cuts continue to threaten the financial viability of private practice. From the Board, I would support:

  • Strategic advocacy partnerships to influence CMS and commercial payer policy
  • Promotion of innovative payment models like direct-to-employer contracting
  • Investment in data-driven storytelling to highlight our value

2. Workforce Shortages
To retain top talent and meet future demand, we must rethink how we attract, support, and invest in our workforce. I would champion:

  • Innovation in workforce payment models that reward long-term value
  • Flexible scheduling, hybrid roles, and paid admin or mentorship time
  • Family-friendly policies that support caregivers
  • Proactive burnout prevention
  • Shifting the narrative from viewing the workforce as a commodity to seeing it as an investment and a mission

3. Payer Burden and Access Restrictions
Administrative barriers hinder care delivery and provider well-being. I would:

  • Champion payer reform focused on transparency, access, and simplification
  • Support ethical, clinician-centered AI tools to streamline documentation
  • Amplify member voices through real-world data and storytelling

Leadership, as I learned from my dad, begins with listening, asking the right questions, and serving with purpose. The future of private practice hinges not only on policy reform but also on reimagining how we build our businesses, support our teams, and deliver value to our communities.

As someone who has led from the treatment table and in the boardroom, I am ready to help APTA Private Practice lead that transformation.