Dr. Steven Kirshblum was elected to the Board of Directors in 2023. Prior to this, Steve served as a member of the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation’s Scientific Review Boards from 2011-2021.

Since 1990, Steve has practiced Spinal Cord Injury Medicine at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation (KIR) in West Orange, NJ, and has been a part of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at Rutgers NJ Medical School (RNJMS). He served as the Director of Spinal Cord Injury Program from 1994-2023, and is currently the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for KIR. He has served as the co-project director of the Northern NJ Model SCI System since 1999 (to the present), and is the CMO for Kessler Foundation, and Professor and Chair of the PM&R Department at RNJMS.

Steve has authored numerous articles and book chapters on topics in SCI and education, and is the Co-Editor of the text Spinal Cord Medicine. He previously served as President of the American Paraplegia Society and the Academy of Spinal Cord  Injury Professionals (2011-2015) and on the Board of Directors of the American Spinal Injury Association (2017-2023). He serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, is a member of Spinal Cord Outcomes Partnership Endeavor (SCOPE), and has received numerous awards to recognize his accomplishments.

Steve is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and has a sub-specialty certification in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine.