Eddie Perez Named Treasurer; Deb Kovacs-Sturdevant, Helen Driver Join The Board
McLean, Virginia – January 24, 2013 – The Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT) named Theresa Krupski, RPSGT, RRT, President-Elect of the Board of Directors. Her two-year term as President will begin in January 2014, following the completion of current President Cindy Altman’s term. Krupski has been a member of the BRPT Board since 2011 serving as Chair of the Scholarship Committee, as well as an active participant on the Exam Development Committee. Krupski is the Neurodiagnostic Technology program director at the Community College of Denver in Denver, Colorado.
“It’s an honor to be elected President-Elect of the BRPT Board,” said Theresa Krupski. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with, and learning from, this dedicated Board of Directors. Their leadership and innovative approach to effectively serving our credential holders, coupled with their devotion to the field, is remarkable.”
Said BRPT President Cindy Altman, RPSGT, R. EEG/EP T., “Theresa has served on the Board through a busy and dynamic period – she is well-positioned to take the helm in 2014. Her experience in the education arena will serve the organization well as it continues to build on these offerings. This year, I look forward to working even more closely with Theresa as we enhance our advocacy efforts while strengthening the RPSGT credential.”
BRPT Board member Eddie Perez, RPSGT, will serve as Treasurer. Perez has been a BRPT Board member since 2010. He oversees the Continuing Sleep Technology Education (CSTE) Program and serves on the Exam Development Committee.
“I’m excited to expand my role with the Board by serving as its Treasurer,” said Eddie Perez. “As a new member of the Executive Committee, I remain committed to maintaining the high standards set by the BRPT leadership. And, I look forward to continuing my work on educational initiatives and the exam development process.”
Current Board member Daniel Goya-Lane, RPSGT, received the 2012 BRPT President’s Shining Star Award for his leadership and dedicated service to the organization. Said Altman, “I was thrilled to recognize Daniel with the Shining Star Award. His efforts in support of the exam development process and his leadership in overseeing the STAR program have been invaluable.”
The change in Board leadership is effective immediately, but an official installation will take place at the next BRPT Board meeting in Los Angeles on February 23rd.
New Members of The Board
Deb Kovacs-Sturdevant, RPSGT, RRT is the Manager of the Sleep Center at Mercy Health Anderson Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is a Registered Polysomnographic Technologist and Registered Respiratory Therapist with a career spanning more than 30 years. She is past Program Coordinator for the University of Cincinnati Clermont College Respiratory Care program and was a Clinical Instructor in pediatric respiratory care with the Bowling Green State University Firelands Campus Respiratory Care Program. She holds a Master’s Certificate in Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Healthcare, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and is credentialed as a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt. Kovacs-Sturdevant is also a member of the BRPT Exam Development Committee.
Helen S. Driver, PhD, RPSGT, DABSM, Somnologist, of Canada, currently manages a 6-bed sleep disorders laboratory at Kingston General Hospital and is an adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at Queen’s University. She is past-president of the Canadian Sleep Society (CSS) and has been an active member of their Board for 14 years. She obtained a PhD in Physiology from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. During a post-doctoral fellowship in Zurich, Switzerland she pursued her research interest in women’s sleep and has contributed to publications on this topic. Dr. Driver trained in clinical sleep medicine in Toronto and Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Continuing Members of The Board
BRPT Board member Donna Arand, PhD, of the Sleep Disorders Center at Kettering Hospital in Dayton, Ohio serves as Secretary. Other continuing Board members of the BRPT include: Charles Atwood, MD, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA; Mike Brennen, RPSGT, the Center for Seep and Alertness at McLaren Lansing, the Midwest Center for Sleep Disorders in Lansing, MI and the St. Joseph Mercy Sleep Disorders Center in Ypsilanti, MI; Daniel Goya-Lane, RPSGT, Arkona Diagnostic Services in Long Beach, CA; and, Daniel Mobley, RPSGT, Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA. Biographies of all BRPT Board members can be found at www.brpt.org.
The BRPT Board of Directors is comprised of volunteer members, all of whom serve four-year terms. The Board is international in scope and blends the expertise of the sleep community representing the interests of the consumer and patient.
The BRPT develops and administers credentialing exams for polysomnographic technologists and technicians. The RPSGT is respected worldwide as the leading credential for polysomnographic technologists. Since the first credentialing exam administration in 1979, BRPT has credentialed nearly 20,000 RPSGTs worldwide. In 2012, BRPT launched its Clinical Sleep Educator (CSE) Program, offering an assessment-based certificate to qualifying individuals.
Headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the BRPT is an independent, non-profit certification board that cultivates the highest professional and ethical standards for polysomnographic technologists. In addition to administering the RPSGT and CPSGT exams in the United States and internationally, the BRPT also maintains the RPSGT registry and CPSGT roster. The BRPT also provides its Continuing Sleep Technology Education (CSTE) Program for educational providers seeking continuing education credits for their offerings. For more information, please visit www.brpt.org.