Deborah Lechner is founder and President of ErgoScience, Inc. From 1988 to 1993 she developed and validated a state of the art FCE, the Physical Work Performance Evaluation (PWPE), as part of her research responsibilities as a research associate professor with the Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at UAB. When the results of the research were found positive, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Research Foundation encouraged her to market the evaluation. ErgoScience® was formed to commercialize the service. Lechner brings to the FCE process a solid grounding in biomechanics and kinesiology from her experience with computerized gait analysis and instruction in kinesiology. Another powerful influence on her approach to FCE development was her graduate training at the Massachusetts General Institute. The program emphasized standardization, objectivity, reliability, and validity in clinical measurement. In the PWPE, as with other ErgoScience® products and courses, she combines her research background with 25+ years of clinical experience. Deborah graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with her B.S. in Physical Therapy and later received her post-professional masters from the Massachusetts General Institute in Boston.