Retired Lt. Colonel Andrew Contreras the White House Physical Therapist in President Obama's administration

Profiles in Leadership

Drew Contreras PT, DPT, SCS, CMTPT received his Master of Physical Therapy from Gannon University in 1998 and his post-Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2008. He is an APTA board certified Sports Clinical Specialist since 2003. His professional interests are sports medicine; tactical athletes; manual therapy; blood flow restriction; bio-technology; musculoskeletal injury prevention, diagnosis and rehabilitation as well as human performance optimization.

Serving over 20 years on active duty as a career military officer and practicing physical therapist within the US Army & Department of Defense, Drew has served in a number of settings and military units throughout his career before his retirement in 2020. He spent his early career at Ft Benning, GA and then moved on to Ft Bragg, NC. He served in various roles within fixed medical facilities as well as with airborne and special operations units. His skills were put to work extensively in 2006-2007 during a 15 month continuous deployment during Operation Iraqi Freedom where he was the first physical therapist to serve in sustained combat operations with the 82nd Airborne Division. After returning Drew moved to Washington DC to work at the Pentagon Health Clinic where he served as the Director of Wellness and Physical Therapy. During this time he served as a consultant to the White House Medical Unit and was then chosen as a by name selection by President Obama to serve as the first ever full time physical therapist at the White House. There he served as the Physical Therapist to the White House Medical Unit and President of the United States Barack Obama from 2010 until the end of the administration in 2017. He finished his career returning to Ft Bragg to serve as the Chief of Physical Performance Service Line of the largest PT services in the DOD and the senior PT on Ft Bragg where he also assisted with the initial implementation and fielding of the US Army Holistic Health and Fitness program.

After retiring from the US Army, he returned to Washington DC and established a concierge PT and consulting practice. In 2021, he was asked to come back in a consulting and civilian advisory capacity to the White House Medical Unit, where he currently serves as the Physical Therapist to President Joe Biden. He continues to present various topics, techniques and concepts at various CEU opportunities across multiple platforms.