Power Women 2021: Teressa Brown PT, DPT, PHD
Dean, School of Physical Therapy
Arkansas Colleges of Health Education
What’s your secret to success?
First, I don’t really consider myself a success; maybe that’s an important component to it! To be successful, I think it’s important to constantly pursue your next challenge. Doing the same thing over and over doesn’t allow you or anyone around you to progress. It’s also important to surround yourself with people who help fuel your passion and inspire you to keep moving forward.
How did you get started in your field?
I discovered physical therapy, quite simply, by breaking myself when I was a 15-year-old basketball player. PT was the perfect combination of an academically challenging, movement-based, people-oriented profession for me. I discovered academia when I realized I loved helping others become physical therapists even more than practicing physical therapy. Once I started my career in education, I knew I had found my passion.
Which of your accomplishments are you most proud?
Easily, I’m most proud of developing the School of Physical Therapy here at the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE). It has been such a rewarding experience to build something from the ground up — an opportunity I’ve never had before. On my first day at ACHE, they had just started putting up sheet rock in the College of Health Sciences Building. Now, those same rooms are filled with students learning a curriculum I helped develop. This has truly been a once in a lifetime opportunity.
How do you maintain a work/life balance?
I often hear our president and CEO say he doesn’t have a job, he has a calling. I feel the same way. When you love what you do, who you are doing it with, and who you are doing it for, you really never feel like you are working. Your work should always fill you up, not deplete you.
