AO NA Board of Directors

Dr. Amy Kapatkin is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and she specializes in small animal orthopedic surgery. Dr. Kapatkin graduated from the Gregorio Araneta University Foundation in the Philippines in 1981. After graduation from veterinary school, she entered private practice in general small animal medicine for four years. Dr. Kapatkin then completed a rotating internship and small animal surgical residency at the Animal Medical Center in New York City from 1986 - 1990. After her specialty training, she stayed on as a staff member at the Animal Medical Center. In 1996, Dr. Kapatkin accepted a faculty position at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2004, she came to the University of California - Davis as an Associate Professor with tenure, and during that time, completed a Master’s degree in Clinical Research. She is now a Full Professor. Her clinical orthopedic research is done in the Veterinary Orthopedic Research Laboratory. Dr. Kapatkin is an AO Faculty member, a Past-Chair of the AO VET North America Education Committee, served on the AO VET NA Board, AO VET Education International Board, AO NA Educational Advisory Committee, Faculty Alignment Committee, present Chair of the working group on Opportunity, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative and the President of AO NA. Dr. Kapatkin teaches AO VET courses both nationally and internationally.

Milton Lee (Chip) Routt, Jr., M.D. is the Dr. Andrew R. Burgess Endowed Chair and Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at The University of Texas McGovern Medical School at Houston, The Texas Trauma Institute, and Memorial Hermann Hospital – Texas Medical Center. He currently serves as the President of the Surgeon’s Council and Chairman of the Quality Assurance Committee, and on the Medical Executive Committee at Memorial Hermann Hospital – Texas Medical Center. Dr. Routt is a native of Chappell Hill, Texas, graduating Summa Cum Laude from Texas A&M University. Following medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, he completed a Surgical Internship and Orthopaedic Residency at Vanderbilt University. His Orthopaedic Traumatology fellowship was at the University of Washington’s Harborview Medical Center. He remained there as faculty from 1989 through 2012. Dr. Routt has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and other educational contributions including book chapters. He is best known as a tireless and devoted physician-surgeon, and passionate teacher. Dr. Routt has received a variety of awards including the 2024 AONA Educator of the Year, 2019 Leonard Tow Award for Humanism and Education, the 2019 James Red Duke Physician Leadership Award, 2018 MHH Physician of the Year, Orthopedic Resident Teaching awards at UT Houston and the University of Washington, and the Jack McDaniels Traveling Fellowship. Dr. Routt is an Ashbel Smith Distinguished Alumnus of UTMB and a Distinguished Alumnus of Brenham High School. He has directly mentored, educated, and hosted hundreds of Orthopaedic Traumatologists from the United States and Canada, and from across the globe. He is recognized nationally and internationally for his work with pelvic and acetabular injuries. Dr. Routt is an AO North America past President. He is a member of the Orthopedic Trauma Association, the AO Alumni Association and the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, among others. Dr. Routt is board certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgeons.

Dr. Herford is currently Professor and Chair of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Loma Linda University. Dr. Herford completed an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residency training program at Parkland Hospital in Dallas Texas. He serves on numerous committees and Boards. He is a Fellow of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons as well as the American College of Surgeons. He recently served on the Board of Directors for the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (ABOMS). He is a past president of the ABOMS, CALAOMS, and the North American Craniomaxillofacial Trauma Education Board (NACMF). Dr Herford is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the AONA. Dr. Herford has a strong interest in utilizing technology in treating trauma and orthognathic patients.

Dr. Daniel Sciubba is Professor and Chair of neurological surgery the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. He is the Co-Director of the Institute of Neurology & Neurosurgery and the Executive Director of the Spine Institute at Northwell. He specializes in the surgical treatment of complex spinal conditions including tumors, degenerative spine diseases, spinal deformities and scoliosis.

Dr. Timothy S. Achor is the Director of the Orthopaedic Trauma Fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center/Memorial Hermann—Texas Medical Center, and Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery for the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. Dr. Achor was born in Upstate New York, but lived most of his childhood outside Toledo, Ohio. He obtained an undergraduate degree at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He attended medical school at the Medical College of Ohio and completed a five year orthopaedic surgery residency at New York Medical College. He went on to complete an orthopaedic trauma fellowship in New York City at the Hospital for Special Surgery under the direction of Dr. David Helfet. He has lived and worked in Houston since completing his training, where he has become one of the busiest orthopaedic trauma surgeons in the country. His current interests include treating severe musculoskeletal injuries about the pelvis, hip, knee and ankle, as well as treating nonunions and complications of fractures. He also is active in the education of medical students, residents and fellows both in Houston and at conferences nationwide. He is an active member of many professional societies, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Orthopaedic Trauma Association, and AO Trauma North America. Dr. Achor is board-certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. When not at the hospital, Dr. Achor enjoys spending time with his family and going to car shows.

Dr. Mark Lee is Professor and Vice Chairman of Administration in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. His clinical specialty focus is orthopaedic trauma, especially lower extremity trauma, and he oversees a national and regional referral practice for complex nonunions and malunions. He is a longtime member of the AOTK (AOTC) Lower Extremity Expert Groups. He has an active research program that focuses on bone regeneration utilizing mesenchymal stem cells, especially for long bone defects, and on the interplay between biomechanics and fracture healing responses. Dr. Lee has a special interest in graduate medical education. He is past Chairman of the Education Advisory Board for AO North America and a multi-term member of the AO Foundation Residents Task Force. He served two terms on the AOTNA Education Committee. He is the Chief of the Orthopaedic Trauma Service and Fellowship Director at UC Davis and is past Chair of the Fellowship and Career Choices Committee of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA).  Dr. Lee currently sits on the Board of Directors of AO North America.”

Dr. José M. García-López, VMD, Dipl. ACVS, Dipl. ACVSMR American College of Veterinary Surgeons American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Associate Professor Large Animal Surgery Department of Clinical Studies - New Bolton Center University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine José obtained his VMD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1996 and went on to complete a 1-year Equine Internship at Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center (Ringoes, New Jersey, USA) followed by a 3-year Large Animal Surgical Residency with a special focus on Equine Sports Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton, Massachusetts. He became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2001. Following his residency, José obtained a Lecturer position in the Section of Equine Sports Medicine and Imaging at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania where he remained for 2 years. From 2002 through 2022, he returned to Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine as an Assistant, then Associate Professor in Large Animal Surgery, where he helped develop the Equine Sports Medicine and Surgery Service of which he served as its Director from 2014-2022. He became board certified by the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation in 2013. While at Tufts, he focused his work on the diagnosis and management of musculoskeletal disorders as well as the use of advanced imaging in the equine athlete. In 2022, he returned to the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center, where he is currently a Clinical Associate Professor of Large Animal Surgery, focusing on equine orthopedics, including arthroscopy and fracture repair, lameness diagnosis and treatment, and advanced imaging. Dr. García-López is also a faculty member of AO VET North America (AO VET NA), having served as Chair from 2021-2024. He regularly lectures and provides consultations at the national and international level.