ASRT Names 2025 Student to Leadership Development Program Alumni of the Year

The American Society of Radiologic Technologists named TJ Gardner, B.Arch., B.S., R.T.(T), of Gilbert, Arizona, as the 2025 Student to Leadership Development Program Alumni of the Year.

Selected in 2023 to participate in the SLDP three-year program, Gardner served as a licensed architect for 25 years involved in the design, planning and renovation of medical facilities such as hospitals and clinics. In 2020, he made a career transition to study radiation therapy. He graduated from the MD Anderson School of Health Professions in Houston, earning membership in the Lambda Nu and Alpha Eta honor societies.

As a radiation therapist at Ironwood Cancer and Research Center in Chandler, Arizona, he focuses on connecting with patients and leans on the knowledge that physical and psychological environments influence treatment quality, safety and staff well-being.

Gardner is an active volunteer nationally and locally. He served as a member for the Sergeant-at-Arms Committee for the 2024 ASRT Annual Governance and House of Delegates Meeting and a 2025 ASRT Committee on Bylaws member. He was one of 50 recipients to receive the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists Education and Professional Growth Grant, administered by the ASRT Foundation in 2024. He is currently a professional mentor for two SLDP participants.

For the Arizona Society of Radiologic Technologists, Gardner is a member-at-large and serves on its advocacy committee. As chair of AZSRT Committee on Bylaws, he led the effort to bring its bylaws current with national standards and remains committed to working on its revitalization.