NATIONAL COALITION FOR AMPUTEES - Key Persons
Albert Rappoport is a Certified Prosthetist and Orthotist with an extensive clinical and research background.
Larry Radford, founder of National Coalition For Amputees (a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation), has a passion and skills for assisting those in need of prosthetics. He is a highly motivated and enthusiastic individual with a keen desire to help those in need. His achievements and dedication to his country and his craft are evidence that he is loyal, hard working, dependable and trustworthy. He sets goals and achieves them.
Radford brings a strong sense of commitment to the organization that he founded in 2007. This dedication empowers him to begin a course of action and work through it until it's finished. He is truly not one to rest on his laurels or to take the safe or easy road. He has a very strong drive and motivation to continually develop his professional skills and to provide those skills to those in need to improve the quality of their life. He is able to motivate and engage others through his outgoing and enthusiastic personality and he is determined and eager to make progress in all that he does.
As Executive Director and the driving force at the Coalition, he is professional, confident, efficient, and goal orientated with the proven ability to not only use his initiative to achieve goals but to also work as part of a team. He possesses honesty and integrity; maintaining high professional standards and strives to be fair and truthful in everything that he embarks upon.
Radford brings humor and a sense of teamwork to helping others, using his talents, spending time with family and participating in friendly activities. He brings this same positive motivation and passion in the pursuit of his hobbies of Golf, Basketball, Fine Art, Politics, Grassroots projects, Science, Real Estate Development and Business Consulting.
Radford, a 30% Service Connected Disabled Persian Gulf Veteran, served four years in the United States Navy aboard the historical battleship USS Missouri BB-63 which was the site for the Japanese surrender in World War II. Before his honorable discharge from the Navy he traveled the world and visited more than 32 countries.
Born and raised in Cleveland Ohio, he moved to California when he joined the United States Navy in 1985. He was stationed in Long Beach. Returning from his world travels, and as a civilian, he served as a federal corrections officer at Terminal Island. California. From there he was a plastic fabricator at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, until it was closed due to base closures. He has worked for the federal government for more than 22 years.
After the base closure he was admitted to a two-year internship program at the Veterans Hospital West Los Angeles. With the completion of the internship, he was hired by the Department of Veterans Affairs in the Prosthetic Department as a Prosthetist/Orthotist. He held this position for thirteen years. This experience afforded him an extensive clinical background in Prosthetics and Orthotics. He excelled to a Certified ABC and BOC Fitter and is board eligible to become a Certified Prosthetist/Orthotist at the current time.
He was responsible for independently designing, fabricating, and fitting a wide variety of upper and lower extremity Prosthetic/Orthotic devices and appliances, as well as all types of spinal orthosis to include clinical assessments and patient management. He has performed and performs independent assessments and procedures under unusual and emergent conditions to insure appropriate Prosthesis/Orthosis to the specific and unique type of diagnosis.
These essential duties and responsibilities are done with a culture of teamwork and cooperation. He is knowledgeable regarding prosthetic applications, human anatomy, physiology and kinesiology to design and develop custom fabricated devices. This work has ignited his passion to provide on-going services to the under-
served and un-served. Amputee all over the world. He and his Board have every expectation that those who are in need for services that they are unable to afford will be well served through the generosity of the Coalition's supporters and donors.
His educational endeavors include: