A $10,000 Challenge to Invest in the Next Generation of O&P Leaders

NAAOP is proud to announce a $10,000 challenge grant from Jim Brinson in honor of the 10th George and Dena Breece Fellow. Jim has made a generous commitment to help ensure that the Breece Fellowship and the next generation of O&P advocates has a strong future.

Now, we’re challenging NAAOP members, Board members, friends, and supporters to collectively match his $10,000 gift.

Since its inception, the Breece Fellowship has given orthotic and prosthetic users the opportunity to develop leadership skills, step beyond the clinical, research, and patient perspectives of O&P, and learn how policy and advocacy shape the care patients receive. Through this paid, 10-week fellowship in Washington, D.C., Fellows gain firsthand experience with federal O&P policy, advocacy, government relations, and the broader disability and rehabilitation policy landscape—while also gaining exposure to clinical, business, and state advocacy settings.

The results are already visible in the remarkable careers and continued advocacy of our Fellows. From the inaugural Fellow, Nicole Ver Kuilen, to our 2026 Fellow, Elijah Brummond, the program has helped cultivate advocates who are committed to improving access to quality O&P care and advancing the interests of people with limb loss and limb difference.

Ten Fellows by 2027 is a milestone. But this should be a beginning, not an ending.

Your contribution will help NAAOP sustain this program for years to come and ensure that talented, passionate emerging leaders have the opportunity to develop the knowledge, relationships, and advocacy skills needed to carry the O&P profession forward.

Help us meet Jim’s $10,000 challenge and invest in the future of O&P advocacy.

George and Dena Breece Fellowship Challenge Grant