Amputee Coalition

Chairman
Marshall J. Cohen*
New York, New York

Marshall J. Cohen is a partner in the law firm Cohen & Perfetto. Before becoming a lawyer, Cohen received a PhD in American History from Harvard. He has taught at Harvard, MIT, and Columbia Law School. Cohen lives with his wife, Jean Keh, in New York City and Great Barrington, Massachusetts. His passions are opera and tennis. Born with a malformed and enlarged right hip and leg, at 64, Cohen and his orthopedist decided that amputation was the best solution for the deteriorating condition of his right leg. On September 11, 2003, he had the amputation, and on October 13, 2003, he received a C-leg for field testing. He is now back on the tennis court and is actively involved in his legal practice. His ambition for the Amputee Coalition is to raise money and to lobby for more equitable insurance coverage for prostheses.

 

Vice Chair
Pat Chelf
Edina, Minnesota

Currently at Argo Medical Technologies, Pat Chelf is vice president of marketing and business development. For 9 years, he was vice president of marketing and business development at Otto Bock HealthCare, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of prosthetic devices. Prior to joining Otto Bock HealthCare, Chelf worked for the 3M Company in a variety of marketing and management positions in the company’s healthcare business sector. Before joining 3M, Chelf worked extensively in the advertising and communications industries. A graduate of the University of Illinois and the University of Minnesota, Chelf is married and has one son. He is a full-time resident of Edina, Minnesota.

 

Vice Chair
Dennis Strickland*
Atlanta, Georgia

Thomas Dennis Strickland, III, is an upper-limb amputee due to trauma. He is retired from the BellSouth Corporation after a 30-year career in which he held a variety of executive positions, including executive director; president, Bellsouth Information Systems; vice president, International Operations; general network manager; chief engineer; and assistant vice president, Human Resources. He served on the boards of several multinational companies and several BellSouth subsidiaries. Strickland has had significant experience in the nonprofit arena, having served as a volunteer in a variety of positions for over 25 years with the American Heart Association, including chairman of the Georgia Affiliate of the AHA. In addition, Strickland served as chief financial officer of the Amputee Foundation of Greater Atlanta. He currently serves on several committees with the Amputee Coalition. Strickland's education consists of a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech, an MBA degree from Georgia State University, and attendance at advanced management programs at both Harvard and Williams Colleges. He spends his spare time with his children and grandchildren in a variety of settings.

 

Treasurer
Jeffrey S. Lutz
Lafayette, Louisiana

Jeffrey S. Lutz, CPO, is the regional vice president and market leader of Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics, Inc., in Lafayette, Louisiana. He joined Hanger as a staff prosthetist in 1986 in Orlando, Florida, and subsequently worked as a manager and area manager in Louisiana and Texas. Previously, Lutz worked for Southern Prosthetic Supply (SPS), Bethesda, Maryland. Lutz holds a bachelor of science degree from Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, with postgraduate work in prosthetics and orthotics at the department of orthopedics at Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois. He completed an orthotic residency at Children’s Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, and a prosthetic residency at the Myoelectric Institute of Orlando, Florida.

 

Leslie Pitt Schneider*
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Pitt Schneider is the clinical and regulatory affairs manager for Otto Bock Healthcare in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she directs the development and management of the U.S.-based Clinical and Regulatory Affairs Department. She is key in Otto Bock's government relations and lobbying efforts as well. She also holds certifications as a clinical researcher and a histologic technician. Pitt Schneider cofounded and was director of Amputees Getting Into Life Energetically (AGILE) in St. Louis, Missouri. In this organization, first of its kind in the regional area, she developed a community outreach program and established a peer visitor program with local hospitals and rehabilitation centers. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from St. Olaf College, an Associate's Degree in Nursing from Washington University College of Nursing (Summa Cum Laude) and a Juris Doctor from Concord University School of Law.

 

Terrence P. Sheehan, MD
Rockville, Maryland

Dr. Sheehan is the chief medical officer of Adventist Rehabilitation Hospital of Maryland, an acute rehabilitation facility specializing in traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, strokes, amputations, orthopedic injuries and surgeries, and neurological disorders. Dr. Sheehan is the director of the amputee program and has worked for more than 15 years in the care of patients with limb loss. He is also the Amputee Coalition’s medical director and chair of the Amputee Coalition’s Medical Advisory Committee. Dr. Sheehan received his medical degree from State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine and completed his residency in Boston at Tufts University – New England Medical Center Hospitals.

 

Charles Steele*
New York, New York

Charlie Steele has been a below-knee amputee since 1990. Before retiring from IBM, he held numerous management positions during his 28 years of service. He is currently active with ASPIRE in New York City and is a support group leader. Steele is a peer visitor/trainer and served on the National Consumer Advisory Panel for the Limb Loss Research & Statistics Program (LLRSP). He is also an advocate for literacy and mentor programs and enjoys the arts, reading, writing, traveling and health/fitness.