Clinical Associate Professor and Neurologic Residency Director Morris “Rick” Beato was inaugurated as the new Chair of the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (ABPTS) Board of Commissioners for 2026. Beato delivered the keynote speech at the ABPTS Recognition Ceremony during the Combined Sections Meeting in Anaheim, California, on Feb. 13. The ceremony honored newly board-certified and recertified specialists across 11 different specialty areas in physical therapy.
Beato brings a rare breadth of expertise to the role, holding dual board certification as a clinical specialist in both geriatric and neurologic physical therapy. His path to the chairmanship reflects years of sustained service to the ABPTS. Before being elected to the Board of Commissioners, he served as Chair of both the Neurologic Specialty Council and the Geriatric Specialty Council, a distinction that underscores his command of two of physical therapy’s biggest specialty practice areas.
He also contributed to the profession’s foundational standards as a task force member for the revalidation of both the Geriatric and the Neurologic Descriptions of Specialty Practice, a set of documents that define the scope and standards for specialists and residency programs in the two specialty areas.
As Chair, Beato now leads the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Commission, which is responsible for overseeing board certification across all physical therapy specialties in the U.S.
