PAs Go Beyond

PA Kirsten Brondstater was told she would never work in medicine because of her hearing impairment. This only fueled her resolve, and she has since become a PA and earned a Doctor of Medical Science degree. Now, she advocates for appropriate accommodations and inclusivity in medical settings and beyond for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities.

As a young adult, Ashley Tolliver was surprised to learn that people in small rural towns and big cities experience the same barriers to healthcare. Now a physician associate in Maryland, Tolliver founded Redicare to provide urgent care and primary care services in the home—an important step in beginning to tackle these barriers.

Howard Straker, EdD, MPH, PA-C, is the 2026 recipient of the Eugene A. Stead Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award. The honor—AAPA’s highest distinction—recognizes individuals whose work has made a lasting, far-reaching impact on the physician associate profession.

EDGE-PA, the recipient of AAPA’s 2026 Diversity Award, began as a pipeline program to increase the representation of African American men in the PA profession. In 2025, the program expanded to support students of all genders, races, and ethnicities who have faced significant challenges on their path to PA education.