Meet the Advisory Council
ATF’s advisory council brings together nationally and internationally recognized leaders in aquatic rehabilitation science, water safety research, and clinical education. Their expertise informs ATF’s strategic priorities and lends credibility to our programs, publications, and partnerships.
Bruce Becker, MD, MS, FACSM
Physician & Researcher — Aquatic Rehabilitation Science
Dr. Bruce Becker’s interest in aquatic therapy began early. At age four, during the 1947 polio epidemic, he contracted poliomyelitis and spent several months hospitalized in Minneapolis under the care of Sister Elizabeth Kenny, an early and influential advocate of aquatic therapy, heat, and exercise.
Dr. Becker is one of the most published and widely recognized researchers in aquatic rehabilitation in the world. His career spans clinical practice, research, and academic leadership at institutions including the University of Washington School of Medicine, Wayne State University, St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute, and Washington State University, where he founded the National Aquatics and Sports Medicine Institute in 2008.
He is co-author of Comprehensive Aquatic Therapy, a foundational text now in its third edition and translated into multiple languages, and has lectured on aquatic therapy across four decades on five continents. His research — rooted in translating aerospace immersion science into clinical rehabilitation practice — forms part of the scientific foundation ATF’s programs are built on.
Dr. Becker has been recognized by the Aquatic Therapy and Rehabilitation Institute, Aquatics International, the International Swimming Hall of Fame, and the American Physical Therapy Association.
Emily Dunlap, PT, PhD
Physical Therapist, Researcher & Clinical Educator
Emily is a physical therapist and researcher whose work sits at the intersection of aquatic rehabilitation science, clinical education, and professional standards development.
She served as the inaugural chairperson of the APTA Academy of Aquatic Physical Therapy Clinical Competency Certificate Program, where she helped establish the national framework for how aquatic physical therapy knowledge is assessed, taught, and upheld across the profession. She has authored chapters in three aquatic therapy textbooks, published original research in aquatic rehabilitation, and leads an international aquatic rehabilitation journal club that fosters evidence-based dialogue among clinicians and researchers worldwide.
As owner of Aquatic Therapy Pro, she supports organizations in implementing evidence-based aquatic programming with consistency and integrity. Her service on the ATF Advisory Council reflects a commitment to rigorous, sustainable, research-informed growth of the field.
Thomas Lachocki, PhD
Water Safety Researcher & Aquatic Health Strategist
Dr. Lachocki served as CEO of the National Swimming Pool Foundation for 15 years, during which he led more than $4 million in research funding to universities and nonprofits, oversaw the development of national pool safety standards and training programs, and grew the Foundation’s educational reach to more than 45,000 professionals in 70 countries.
He holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Louisiana State University and earlier in his career invented eight patents that displaced more than 200 million pounds of hazardous pool chemicals annually with safer alternatives — work that reflected both scientific rigor and large-scale public health impact.
Thomas has been named one of the most influential people in aquatics three times and has received the Blue Mind Award and the International Swimming Hall of Fame Paragon Award. He brings to ATF deep expertise in population-level aquatic safety strategy, research infrastructure, and the institutional frameworks needed to advance aquatic health at national scale.