Colonel Matthew St. Laurent has served on active duty for 22 years in various leadership capacities in which he has built a reputation for instilling comprehensive and enduring rehabilitation best practices.
St. Laurent began his military career in the New Hampshire Army National Guard as a field artilleryman before pursuing his life’s passion as a clinician, caring for America’s service men and women, their families, and retirees. Over the past 10 years he has focused on providing care to America’s wounded, ill, and injured Soldiers, utilizing complementary and alternative rehabilitation practices to support an evolution in combating physical and mental diseases that have persistently challenged the medical community. He was recently assigned as chief of occupational therapy (OT) within the Department of Rehabilitation at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), the DoD’s largest and most comprehensive rehabilitation mission.
Upon obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology as well as a Bachelor of Science in OT, both from the University of New Hampshire, St. Laurent began his active duty service as an intern at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), Washington, DC in1994. He went on to earn a Master of Science in OT from the Medical College of GA in 2005.
While serving in several clinical leadership positions as a young military officer St. Laurent was awarded the first-ever Army Medical Specialist Corps, Chief of Excellence Award. Prior to that he managed rehab clinics at Fort Knox, KY, Heidelberg, Germany, and Fort Gordon, GA.
Early in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts St Laurent was transferred to WRAMC to support the influx of wounded, ill and injured. He has remained at Walter Reed ever since, providing clinical expertise and leadership in support of Walter Reed’s vital warrior care mission. At Walter Reed, he served in multiple capacities including a seven month deployment to Iraq with the 85th Combat Operational Stress Control Detachment. He also worked closely on issues such as Base Realignment and Closure, the transition to the National Naval Medical Center as well as the integration of Joint Services in establishing WRNMMC.
St. Laurent was named chief of OT services and, in 2008, served for one year as part of the newly developed Command and General Staff College, Interagency Fellowship Program, attached to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veteran’s Health Administration, Rehabilitation Services, in Washington, D.C. In addition to his service at Walter Reed, St. Laurent chaired the Army Medical Specialist Corps OT Branch Deployment and Operations Cabinet from 2007-2012, providing rehab training and personnel deployment recommendations to the OT consultant to the Surgeon General of the Army.
Having received numerous awards, St. Laurent is a frequent guest speaker at professional conferences and universities, sharing his vast experience as an Army rehabilitation subject matter expert. In 2014 to the present he has been an assistant professor at the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Uniformed Services University of the Sciences, Bethesda, MD.
St. Laurent resides in Maryland where he and his wife are raising three children.
