Dan Blocka served as President of ISPO from 2007 to 2010. Dan also served as an ISPO Education Committee member in various capacities from 1998 to 2019 including Chair of the Committee from 2004 to 2007. He currently serves on the Global Educators Meeting (GEM) Working Group.
In his roles with ISPO, Dan has been involved in over thirty ISPO evaluations and examination processes at various Prosthetic and Orthotic educational training programs worldwide and highly involved in the continued development of educational and professional standards and protocols for ISPO.
Since 1986, Dan has been a Professor and Coordinator of the George Brown College Prosthetic and Orthotic Educational Programs in Toronto and currently teaches in a part-time capacity. Dan has almost 35 years of experience as a teacher and clinical practitioner.
Since 1988, Dan has been the President and owner of Boundless Biomechanical Bracing Inc., a large clinical service provider in Orthotics in the Toronto area.
Dan was also on faculty as a lecturer in the School of Human Biology at the University of Guelph from 1985 to 2004.
In March 2011, Dan was appointed to the Board of Directors of Exceed (formerly Cambodia Trust), a UK based charity established in 1989 that works for equality for people with disabilities in the developing world.
Dan was also appointed to the Board of Directors of Human Study e.V. in 2018. Recently, Dan served as Vice-President of Orthotics Prosthetics Canada and also as the Chair of the OPC Professional Qualifications Committee.
Other Notable Achievements:
The inspiration behind the Zy Movement Foundation is Walter’s third son. “Zy was born with one complete left arm, half a right arm, no right leg, a malformed left leg with three toes and dislocated hip joints. He is otherwise just like any other child.”
“Over the years, we have been to numerous hospitals, sought assistance from different groups and associations, e-consulted from one continent to another, talking to pediatric orthopedic specialists about little Zy’s case and his chance of standing and walking. Time and again, we have been told to be patient, and to wait and see! I knew Zy would be able to get around fine in a wheelchair but that just wasn’t enough for me! I wanted him to have an option to stand and walk if he so chooses to. This desire of mine led me to make the following discovery.
“There is a pediatric orthopedic specialist, Professor Carstens at the University of Heidelberg who I visited in October 2007 in Germany. Prof. Carstens and his team of prosthetic specialists told me they were 80% confident they could enable little Zy to stand and walk. They showed me their work and gave me a prognosis of what, when and how they will be treating little Zy in the next few years. I was overwhelmed and hopeful again. That is exactly what I had been looking for.
“The thought of the millions of disabled children in Thailand and South East Asia came into my mind. If I should be spending all these resources to treat one child, why couldn’t the treatment process be properly documented and disseminated so that potentially millions of disabled children might benefit from it? The important thing is understanding and learning the fundamentals behind the treatment process. That was the seed of thought that gave birth to the Zy Movement Foundation.
“It always gives me pride and pleasure talking about a social enterprise like Human Study, willing the determination of only a few, to boldly growing from strength to strength in bringing quality of life to the people with movement challenges around the world!”
Walter is the CEO of Venturetec Marketing Co. Ltd., an international joint-venture which creates, markets and distributes its own brands of premium seafood and gourmet food products domestically and internationally; Director of Exquisine System Co., Ltd. an international joint-venture restaurant franchise and management company operating 68 restaurants in 21 countries; and founder of The V-School, a boutique culinary management institute specializing in the art and science of Japanese and Thai cuisine.
Bill began working as a Practitioner-clinician in Orthotic and Prosthetic practice in the early 70’s, following graduation from the (3rd) Northwestern University Prosthetic, Orthotic Education Program. On completion of required residencies and examinations by the American Board for Certification (ABC), Bill achieved the level of Certified Prosthetist (CP) and later, full accreditation as Certified Prosthetist-Orthotist (CPO). In addition, Bill was awarded credentials by the USA Veterans Administration as a VA-Qualified Prosthetist (VAQP).
In USA clinical practice for nearly three decades, Bill served as President of the American Board for Certification (ABC), the American Academy of Orthotists & Prosthetists (AAOP) and as Chairman of the Board of the Orthotic & Prosthetic National Office, Executive Committee, representing the ABC, AAOP and the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA).
In 2009, Bill was presented the prestigious Distinguished Practitioner Award by the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists in recognition of his dedication and leadership in the advancement of the ideals of the Academy.
Since 1988, Bill has served as an (O&P) Working Group Member of Technical Committee 167-168, International Standards Organization.TC-167-168 develops O&P world standards, primarily related to nomenclature and surgical considerations. Bill has been a voting member of the FO-4 Medical Committee, American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM; USA Standards Development Organization) since 1990.
Following the war in The Balkans and the acquisition of his active O&P practice in the Boston area by an international company, Bill moved to Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina for Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere), a humanitarian NGO, to develop a Balkans Pediatric O&P Program. Following the close of the Balkans mission in late 2002, he then accepted the position of International Clinical Educator for Becker Orthopedic Co. (USA) and established residency in Germany and Austria to develop symposiums, seminars, scientific programs and patient consults throughout Eastern and Western Europe, South America and Asia for Physicians, Physical-Therapists and Orthotist-Prosthetists, until 2006, when he assisted in founding Human Study. He is a former Chair and remains a Board member and Consultant-Educator of Human Study.
In early 2012 Bill accepted a three + year teacher-educator assignment for the Nippon Foundation, during the final management/transition phase and close of a long term educational grant expiring in May 2015 at the Mahidol University, Faculty of Medicine, Siraraj Hospital, Sirindhorn School of Prosthetics & Orthotics (SSPO) in Bangkok, Thailand. He became Deputy Director of the Program during July 2012 and served in that capacity until close of the Nippon grant in May, 2015 when the Medical Faculty transitioned to total Thai management of the program.
Bill has remained in Thailand, where he is involved in continued program development, teaching and mentoring for Human Study.
Alain Plouffe is an Orthotics, Pedorthics, Prosthetics & Seating Operations Manager in the Public Health sector in British Columbia, Canada. He holds a BSc. in Human Kinetics, specializing in Biomechanics and a Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Orthotics & Prosthetics.
Involved in the Prosthetics & Orthotics industry since 1998, Alain has worked in research, clinical practice, education, and program management in various countries around the world. He draws on his experiences to enhance accessibility, quality, and sustainability of assistive technology services.
Alain is passionate about challenging best practice; viewing the P&O profession through a wide lens. Regularly pursuing ongoing clinical education, he has also pursued specialized development in Result Based Management, Strategic Leadership, Lean Design, Six Sigma, Systems & Design Thinking, and Global Health & Disability.
Alain has served as an examiner for the Canadian P&O national certification exams since 2005, an evaluator for ISPO accreditation since 2012 and has volunteered with Human Study since 2018 as an examiner and member of the Board.
Michael has been a member of the Human Study team since 2010 and member of the Board since 2016. He also teaches prosthetics and orthotics courses in many of our programs.
Michael has extensive experience in the treatment of Scoliosis, fabrication of lower limb and upper limb orthotics and fabrication and fitting of lower limb protheses. He started his career as an Assistent CPO with Prof.Hohmann (Erlangen), Prof. Henßge (Lübeck), Prof. Eichler (Wiesbaden), Prof. Heimann (Damp).
From 1994 to 1997, Michael was the manager of a manufacturing company and service provider with 50 employees, working in collaboration with University Clinic Heidelberg, Prof. Cotta.
From 1997 to 2006 Michael was the CEO of his own P&O company in Heidelberg with 60 employees. Since 2006 he has been a Consultant for Orthopedic Technology and Organizational Development.
Dr Mary Scott is a Prosthetist/Orthotist, MSc., PhD and MBA. Now retired, Mary has been involved in prosthetics and orthotics for more than 30 years – primarily in education and training in Africa (Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Ethiopia), the Middle East (Afghanistan, Iraq and Jordan) and Asia (Cambodia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines).
Mary has worked with the British Government Aid Programme (ODA), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Exceed Worldwide. She was appointed to the Board of Directors of Human Study in 2022.
EDUCATION – University of Strathclyde, Scotland:
2017 Master of Business Administration (MBA)
2005 Doctorate in Prosthetics and Orthotics (PhD)
1990 Master’s Degree in Bioengineering (MSc)
1980 Higher Diploma in Prosthetics and Orthotics
Notable Achievements:
First female Prosthetist/Orthotist:
Mary has been involved with the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) in various roles for more than a decade.
Mary contributed to the World Health Organisation (WHO) World Report on Disability 2011 as a representative of South-East Asia Region/Western Pacific Region.
