Leader Spotlight Archive
CAPA’s growth over the past 50 years has been shaped by dedicated leaders who helped guide the organization and advance the Physician Associate profession across California. This archive highlights previously featured CAPA leaders whose contributions have left a lasting impact on CAPA and the PA profession.
CAPA Leader Spotlight: Julie Theriault
By: Christy Eskes, DHSc, MPA, PA-C, CAPA Secretary
The Road to the PA Profession
Julie Theriault, PA-C, DFAAPA, was working as a clinical laboratory scientist in the early 1980s when she first encountered the Physician Associate (PA) profession. She knew she wanted a career in medicine and explored multiple paths from nursing to medical school. While working in the hospital, she met her first PA, Pat Kelly, who became a mentor as she began pursuing PA school. She was accepted into her local program at the University of California, Davis on her first attempt and recalls that “it felt like love at first sight.” She had found her future career and put everything she had into her education. While at UC Davis, she was given opportunities to complete additional rotations in hospital settings and experienced the full breadth of what PAs were able to do at the time. This exposure ultimately led her to choose family medicine as her clinical specialty.
As a PA student, she was eager to become involved in the growth of the profession, which was still relatively new and continually evolving. PA Theriault recognized that her personality was well suited for policy work, and she wanted not only to help shape the profession, but also to steward the profession that had captured her heart. At her first California Academy of Physician Associates (CAPA) meeting, she was encouraged to apply for the Student Representative role and was subsequently elected.
A Leader Emerges
This experience set her on a leadership and advocacy pathway that included numerous roles within CAPA: Director at Large, Secretary, Vice President, President Elect, President, and Immediate Past President. She chaired multiple CAPA committees and served for many years in the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) House of Delegates, including as Chief Delegate. The reputation she built through these roles led to her appointment as Chair of the AAPA Constituent Relations Committee, where she helped unite and empower constituent organizations nationwide in advancing the profession. She was later elected to the AAPA Board of Directors, serving as Director at Large, President Elect, President, and ultimately Immediate Past President and Chair of the Board.
“Money was not the reason I became a PA. It was a privilege for me to do what I was doing and to save people’s lives. That transcends money.”
Her ascent into leadership was not without challenges. During her tenure at CAPA, PAs in California faced significant limitations in prescribing authority and disaster response privileges. Through persistent dialogue with leaders from other medical disciplines and intentional advocacy with policymakers, she helped secure written prescribing rights and enabled PAs to work during disasters without requiring their supervising physician to be on site.
As she rose within AAPA leadership, PA Theriault initially encountered skepticism from PAs outside of California. However, her message of unity resonated nationwide. As she explains, “I was a very open leader, not closed off or ostentatious. I came to every meeting with an attitude of ‘we’re all in this together.’” Her approach helped build trust and advance the profession on a national scale. She continued to serve in the AAPA House of Delegates representing CAPA until her retirement.
A Legacy of Advocacy and Leadership
Reflecting on her career, PA Theriault shared an anecdote that illustrates her “why” for entering the profession. While in PA school, she was told that physicians were reluctant to work with PAs; yet by graduation, she had received six job offers due to her diligence during clinical rotations. Her first family medicine position paid $13 per hour, and a $0.25 raise the following year felt momentous. Compared to current PA compensation, she looks back and laughs. Still, as she states, “Money was not the reason I became a PA. It was a privilege for me to do what I was doing and to save people’s lives. That transcends money.”
Her advice to all PAs is simple yet powerful:
Your profession is only as strong as you help make it. The stronger we make our profession, the more we can do for our patients. Being part of the profession, our academy, even volunteering in small ways, should be like breathing; it should simply be something we do. If the profession is important to you, you will want to preserve it and help it grow. If it were not for those who came before us, we would not be where we are today. Being involved does not have to mean holding a presidency or a formal position. It can be volunteering on a committee, helping at a registration desk, or talking with leaders. Leaders need to be present, approachable, and engaged, sitting with people, listening, and building familiarity. When you see an opportunity, take it. Don’t wait for someone to offer it.
This message perfectly encapsulates PA Theriault’s career as both a clinician and a leader. She was a deeply impactful advocate who met people where they were and seized every opportunity to advance the profession. As we reflect on PA leadership over the past 50 years, we are profoundly grateful for Julie Theriault, PA-C, DFAAPA, and her many contributions to CAPA and to the physician associate profession as a whole.
For more information about PA Theriault’s leadership, please see her biography on the PA History Society website.
A Tribute to Rod Moser
First President, California Academy of Physician Associates
Pre-PA Journey
Rod Moser’s story is inseparable from the story of the physician associate profession itself, especially in California. His leadership did not begin from a place of privilege or established pathways, but from courage, determination, and a belief in a profession that had not yet been formally recognized.
In 1969, at just 18 years old, Rod entered one of the nation’s earliest four-year baccalaureate PA programs at Alderson-Broaddus College in Philippi, West Virginia. He came directly out of high school, from an impoverished Appalachian background, with no prior medical experience.
“When Rod graduated in 1973, the profession faced an uncertain future. No states had enabling legislation authorizing PAs to practice yet.”
Although accepted into a pre-medical program at the University of Pittsburgh, Rod chose Alderson-Broaddus after receiving a full scholarship, an economic decision that would ultimately place him at the forefront of a new medical profession. He first learned of the PA program through a recruitment letter sent to his high school guidance office, a small spark that would ignite a lifetime of impact.
One of the First 100 California PAs
When Rod graduated in 1973, the profession faced an uncertain future. No states had enabling legislation authorizing PAs to practice yet. Despite this, Rod accepted a position in San Francisco, took the first NCCPA board examinations, and practiced quietly, like many early PAs, while California slowly moved toward recognizing physician associates as a legitimate profession.
At the time, there were fewer than 100 PAs in California, and locating them was nearly impossible. The state would not release their names, and many PAs intentionally kept a low profile. As a member of the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA), Rod volunteered to organize a California state chapter. For nearly a year, he tracked down fellow PAs by contacting their supervising physicians, gradually building a network of professionals who shared the same challenges and hopes.
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1965
First PA program established at Duke University.
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1970
California formally recognizes the Physician Assistant profession in state law.
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1975
California’s Physician Assistant Practice Act is enacted, establishing the legal framework for regulation.
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1976
California issues its first Physician Assistant licenses.
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CAPA is Born
That effort culminated in a pivotal meeting in 1976 in Fresno, chosen for its central location. Approximately 50 to 60 PAs attended, becoming “members for a day” so the group could vote on officers, approve bylaws, adopt articles of incorporation, and establish a formal charter with the AAPA. There was no formal “first” meeting—only resolve and momentum. By a simple show of hands, Rod Moser became the first president of what would become the California Academy of Physician Associates. Annual dues were $20, and if you paid, you were an official member.
“All PAs should be joining their PA society if they aren’t already.”
Rod often said his greatest achievement was simply getting the ball rolling, but that modest assessment belies the magnitude of his contribution. At a time when California seemed reluctant to acknowledge the profession, Rod helped ensure that PAs would be recognized, licensed, and properly represented. His early leadership laid the groundwork for advocacy, legitimacy, and growth that future generations would build upon.
Rod also witnessed, and helped enable, the evolution of the profession itself. He saw physician associates grow from highly trained technicians constrained by rigid regulations and long lists of approved tasks into true medical professionals trusted for their knowledge, judgment, and patient care.
Above all, Rod believes that a PA license is a hard-earned and deeply cherished privilege. He consistently emphasizes the responsibility that comes with it: to follow the law, adhere to one’s scope of practice, know one’s limitations, practice with honesty and ethical integrity, and get involved in state and national organizations.
We honor Rod Moser not only as the first president of the California Academy of Physician Associates, but as a pioneer whose perseverance and quiet leadership helped transform a fledgling idea into a respected profession. His legacy continues through every PA who practices with professionalism, humility, and commitment to patients.
Sonny Cline
M.A., M.DIV., PA-C
CAPA President
