Jazmine Tooles, assistant professor of instruction in the Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, has been voted president-elect of the American Physical Therapy Association Pennsylvania (APTA PA). In January 2025 she will begin a three-year term as president of APTA PA, a chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association that represents more than 5,700 physical therapy professionals and students across the state. 

“I'm shadowing the current president, getting up to speed on the issues,” she says.    

Tooles earned her bachelor of science in kinesiology at Temple and completed her doctorate in physical therapy at the University of Delaware.   

“I think my involvement in APTA is what allowed me to transition back to Temple,” she says. She began her career as a full-time clinician, working for Jefferson Moss Magee Rehabilitation, primarily with patients suffering from traumatic brain injury or vestibular dysfunction. In 2017, she became more involved in the American Physical Therapy Association, starting Minority Affairs Committees in the New Jersey and Pennsylvania chapters, where she worked on cultural competence education and trying to increase awareness of the profession to minority students. That work with APTA, combined her experience as a clinician, helped her return to Temple in a teaching role. 

Leading APTA PA, Tooles will work on strengthening the organization and its membership, advocating for the profession within the commonwealth, and widening awareness of the physical therapy field among potential clinicians and patients. 

“Many people don’t know the range of what physical therapists can do, so they may delay care, and then issues become chronic,” she says. “We work with folks who've had strokes or brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, that's probably more commonly known. Many folks don't know that you can go to a physical therapist if you have TMJ dysfunction, jaw pain issues. I have my vestibular certification, for folks who have issues with dizziness. We have practitioners who specialize in cardiovascular health. We can diagnose musculoskeletal conditions. A lot of people think of PT as massage and maybe sports.” 

Tooles still sees patients for Einstein and mentors students who treat patients at Temple’s pro bono clinic in North Philadelphia. A lifetime Girl Scout, Tooles created the physical therapy patch program for the Girl Scouts.