• News & Culture
    • Arts & Events
    • Great Reads
    • Atlanta 500
    • Block by Block: Stories from the streets that connect us
    • Women Making a Mark
    • Pride Guide 2022
  • Food & Drink
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • 75 Best Restaurants in Atlanta
    • 50 Best Tacos
    • 123 Things to Eat on Buford Highway
    • 50 Best Bars
    • Best Barbecue
    • Best Breakfast
    • The TOUR Championship Cocktail Contest
  • Home
    • Artists & Galleries
    • Design Advice
    • Design News
    • Gardens
    • Real Estate
    • Neighborhoods
    • Real Estate All-Stars
    • Sponsored: Preferred HOME Partner
  • Life & Style
    • Style
    • School Guide
    • Health & Wellness
    • Top Doctors
    • Top Dentists
    • Sponsored: Physician & Dentist Profiles
    • Buckhead Guidebook
  • Travel
    • Southbound
    • 50 Best Things to Do in Georgia
    • Hidden Georgia
    • North Georgia Mountains
    • Great Georgia Hikes
    • Jekyll Island
    • Georgia Travel Guide
    • Gilmer: Ellijay Visitors Guide 2022
    • Alabama Vacation Guide 2023
  • Best of ATL
    • Eat
    • Drink
    • Do
    • Buy
    • Readers’ Choice
  • Magazine
    • Subscription Center
    • Newsletters
    • Digital Editions
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Pitch Us
    • Advertise
    • Custom Media
    • Give Atlanta
    • Employment
      • Careers
      • Internships
    • Archives
    • Where to Find
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • Atlanta Magazine Whiskey Festival 2022
      • 2020 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Designer Showhouse
      • Atlanta Baby and Beyond
      • Atlanta Magazine Whiskey Festival 2019
      • DINES: A Taste of the City’s Best Restaurants
      • 2019 Modern Style Showhome
      • Best Burger Battle
      • Pinewood Forest Idea Home
      • 2018 Modern Style Showhouses
    • Event Photos
Sign in
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Create an account
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Sign up
Welcome!Register for an account
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
Search
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Issue Archive
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Atlanta 500
  • Give Atlanta
  • GaBiz Magazine
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Create an account
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Create an account
Welcome! Register for an account
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Atlanta Magazine Atlanta Magazine
Atlanta Magazine Atlanta Magazine
  • News & Culture
    • Arts & Events
    • Great Reads
    • Atlanta 500
    • Block by Block: Stories from the streets that connect us
    • Women Making a Mark
    • Pride Guide 2022
  • Food & Drink
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • 75 Best Restaurants in Atlanta
    • 50 Best Tacos
    • 123 Things to Eat on Buford Highway
    • 50 Best Bars
    • Best Barbecue
    • Best Breakfast
    • The TOUR Championship Cocktail Contest
  • Home
    • Artists & Galleries
    • Design Advice
    • Design News
    • Gardens
    • Real Estate
    • Neighborhoods
    • Real Estate All-Stars
    • Sponsored: Preferred HOME Partner
  • Life & Style
    • Style
    • School Guide
    • Health & Wellness
    • Top Doctors
    • Top Dentists
    • Sponsored: Physician & Dentist Profiles
    • Buckhead Guidebook
  • Travel
    • Southbound
    • 50 Best Things to Do in Georgia
    • Hidden Georgia
    • North Georgia Mountains
    • Great Georgia Hikes
    • Jekyll Island
    • Georgia Travel Guide
    • Gilmer: Ellijay Visitors Guide 2022
    • Alabama Vacation Guide 2023
  • Best of ATL
    • Eat
    • Drink
    • Do
    • Buy
    • Readers’ Choice
  • Magazine
    • Subscription Center
    • Newsletters
    • Digital Editions
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Pitch Us
    • Advertise
    • Custom Media
    • Give Atlanta
    • Employment
      • Careers
      • Internships
    • Archives
    • Where to Find
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • Atlanta Magazine Whiskey Festival 2022
      • 2020 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Designer Showhouse
      • Atlanta Baby and Beyond
      • Atlanta Magazine Whiskey Festival 2019
      • DINES: A Taste of the City’s Best Restaurants
      • 2019 Modern Style Showhome
      • Best Burger Battle
      • Pinewood Forest Idea Home
      • 2018 Modern Style Showhouses
    • Event Photos
Home Women Making A Mark Sarah Morrison
Custom Publication

Sarah Morrison

She’s helping people regain their independence after life-changing accidents
By
Jennifer Senator
-
May 30, 2018
2036

When Sarah Morrison first applied for a physical therapist position at Shepherd Center in 1984, she didn’t get the job. “I was a new grad and was told, ‘Why don’t you go out and get some experience and come back in a year or two?’” Morrison recalls. She got a call back when several positions unexpectedly opened and “a new grad wasn’t looking so bad anymore,” she laughs.

Morrison quickly rose through the ranks at the private, not-for-profit hospital specializing in treating brain and spinal cord injuries. She worked in a range of leadership roles, earned advanced degrees, and last year, when then-CEO Gary Ulicny retired after 22 years, she became president and CEO. The world-renowned hospital is ranked as one of the top 10 rehabilitation hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. “My goal is to be number one,” says Morrison.

She’s proud of the culture she’s helped build. “People used to say, ‘Oh, you work at Shepherd Center, isn’t that so depressing?’ and I would say, ‘No, it really isn’t.’ It’s about hope and getting people back their lives,” Morrison says. “If I can give somebody back their independence or teach them how to do the things they were doing before their accident, it is so rewarding. And that is what has kept me here day in and day out.”

Outside of work, Morrison, 55, enjoys boating, fishing, and golfing with her family at their house on Lake Oconee. She was a competitive diver in college. She injured her back once during a dive and was in a body cast for nine months. That experience, as difficult as it was, became an inspiration. “I had to start all over,” Morrison recalls. She remembers being told something during her recovery that she’s now said to countless patients over the course of her long career: “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

Advertisement
  • TAGS
  • Women Making a Mark 2018
Jennifer Senator

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

Custom Publication

Adria Perez

Custom Publication

Alicia Philipp

Custom Publication

Colleen Doyle

Follow Us

69,386FansLike
144,836FollowersFollow
493,480FollowersFollow
Atlanta Magazine
Since 1961, Atlanta magazine, the city’s premier general interest publication, has served as the authority on Atlanta, providing its readers with a mix of long-form nonfiction, lively lifestyle coverage, in-depth service journalism, and literary essays, columns, and profiles.

Most recent

Sponsored

Hamilton Mill Endodontics

March 28, 2023
Sponsored

My Gum Doc

March 28, 2023
Sponsored

Shawn A. Walls, DDS

March 28, 2023

GREAT READS

Repurposing downtown Atlanta springs

The scent of water: Searching for hidden springs in downtown Atlanta

February 3, 2023
Abu Talib

Hell and high water: A harrowing journey from Myanmar to Clarkston, Georgia

February 1, 2023
Stop Cop City protestors South River Forest Atlanta

“The birds stopped singing”: Inside the battle for Atlanta’s South River Forest

January 20, 2023
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Issue Archive
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Business Forum
  • Privacy and Cookies Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • General Contest Rules
© 2023. All rights reserved.