PP-OTD Student Profiles

Doctoral Project Topic: TBD

Practice experience
School-based, home-care and outpatient pediatric population, ages birth to 21

Current clinical and research interests
Providing culturally sensitive occupational therapy, feeding therapy including G-tube weans, pediatric constraint-induced movement therapy, pediatric mental health, health and wellness across the lifespan

Education
2010 – MA in Occupational Therapy, St. Catherine University
2007 – BA in Psychology and Community Health Education, Bethel University

Background
Kirsten grew up and lives in the Twin Cities, Minn. She discovered and fell in love with occupational therapy during her undergraduate education. Kirsten has worked in a variety of settings with the pediatric population. She loves working with and learning from people of varied cultural backgrounds (and the impact on occupation), loves seeing kids progress in their skills and confidence with eating, and loves adapting to the environment and problem-solving through a variety of sensory-behavioral concerns, to help kids of all ages live life to the fullest.

Reason for entering PP-OTD program
Kirsten seeks to learn more about evidence-based practice, leadership, and occupational participation across the lifespan, specifically in the pediatric population. In the future, she hopes to continue to provide high-quality occupational therapy services to her clients, teach and mentor other occupational therapists, and grow as a practitioner to help others and further her profession.

Doctoral Project Topic: TBD

Practice experience
Community based mental health and inpatient psychiatric rehabilitation

Current clinical and research interests
Serious mental illness and early episode psychosis; co-occurring disorders; OTs role with individuals experiencing homelessness

Education
2019 – MOT in Occupational Therapy, Saint Louis University
2018 – BS in Occupational Science, Saint Louis University

Background
While attending OT school at Saint Louis University, Serena was exposed to occupational therapy services in a justice based setting which sparked her interest in community based mental health. Serena has worked with individuals experiencing homelessness to increase access to sustainable housing, employment and health care services in the St. Louis region. She has also completed an AOTA fellowship in psychosocial rehabilitation at the Durham VA. Serena recently relocated to Omaha where she is currently providing occupational therapy services in an inpatient psychiatric rehabilitation center.

Reason for entering PP-OTD program
Serena seeks to grow her understanding of developing and implementing evidenced based practices in community based and inpatient mental health settings. In the future, she hopes to transition to a role in academia.

Doctoral Project Topic: My doctoral project will have a focus on fieldwork education.

Practice experience
Mostly school-based pediatrics, but also a variety of adult settings with some outpatient pediatrics

Current clinical and research interests
Fieldwork education; Pediatric OT and School-based OT

Education
2007 – MS in Occupational Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine
2006 – BS in Occupational Therapy, McKendree College

Reason for entering PP-OTD program
Jenny grew up in a suburb of Chicago in which she always had an interest in the medical field. Jenny’s mom, a nurse, helped spark her interest in occupational therapy and she was able to observe her grandmother receive OT after a stroke. Jenny’s high school counselor helped her find the 3-2 program with McKendree College and Washington University. She has worked in a variety of settings and in five different states as an occupational therapist. Jenny’s passion in the clinical setting is in pediatric OT and school-based OT. She enjoys working with OT students in the fieldwork office as it is a way to bridge the gap between the academic setting and the clinic setting.
Jenny lives in Illinois with her husband and two children, and they enjoy doing a variety of activities as well as going to Rend Lake on their boat in the summertime.

Doctoral Project Topic: TBD

Practice experience
Early access, early childhood, and school-based practice; inpatient, acute rehabilitation in neurology/traumatic brain injury, outpatient, home health, and skilled nursing

Current clinical and research interests
Clinical education and academia; Advocacy, education and program development—evidence-based practice and service delivery models in schools and community-based settings

Education
2008 – Master of Public Administration (MPA, health-care emphasis), Drake University
1993 – MS in Occupational Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine
1991 – BS in Psychology, Iowa State University

Background

Vicki is a seasoned occupational therapist with over 30 years of clinical experience in a variety of diverse health-care and educational settings. For the past 15 years, she has focused her work in providing early access, early childhood, and school-based services through graduation to support children, families and school districts in both rural and metropolitan areas in Iowa. She has participated in statewide lead workgroups commissioned collaboratively with Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEA) and the Iowa Department of Education (DE) in recent years and has completed the School-Based Practice Professional Certificate (from the American Occupational Therapy Association).

She is an Iowa native and is married with adult children in a blended family with five grandchildren and extended family throughout Iowa. Vicki and her husband have been renovating an older lake home in Lake City, Minn., where Vicki especially enjoys boating, biking and hiking. She would love to explore opportunities to travel more domestically, and abroad.

Reason for entering PP-OTD program
Vicki seeks to advance her leadership capabilities and innovative teaching approaches in preparation for transition into academia. Drawing from her extensive clinical experience, she aims to serve as a bridge between her varied clinical practice experience and academic preparation by implementing evidence-based practices. Vicki intends to strengthen her expertise in educational theory and instructional design, ultimately contributing to the advancement of occupational therapy education through evidence-based teaching practices and meaningful clinical integration.

Doctoral Project Topic: Best practices in intervention for treatment of pediatric medical trauma

Practice experience
School-based therapy, outpatient pediatrics, pediatric clinical diagnostics, inpatient acute (adults and pediatrics)

Current clinical and research interests
Autism, cerebral palsy, RASopathies, medical trauma, cancer, family-centered care, the integration of art and animals into patient care

Education
2023 – MS in Occupational Therapy, Belmont University
2021 – Certified Ambassador of Trauma-Informed Care, DePaul University
2007 – BS in Business, Indiana University, Kelley School of Business

Background
Anne lives in Champaign, Ill., and works primarily in the pediatric outpatient setting. She also serves in the hospital setting as the evaluating therapist for a multidisciplinary child diagnostic team and in a PRN capacity in adult acute care. Additionally, Anne has experience working with families in crisis through a Children’s Advocacy Center and is certified in trauma-informed care. She recently joined the Adjunct Clinical Faculty for Pediatrics at Parkland College.

As part of her graduate-level rotations, Anne was a clinical intern at Washington University to Dr. Katie Bogan, where she received training in ITAP (Infants & Toddlers with Autism Program) and the MC2 (Motivation, Communication and Connection) intervention. As an intern, Anne also worked alongside Dr. Bogan to see patients in the Baby Bridge Program, providing transitional therapy services to graduates of the St. Louis Children’s Hospital neonatal intensive care unit, as well as assisting in mentoring student lab groups for WashU Medicine Program in Occupational Therapy’s pediatrics course.

Before beginning her career in occupational therapy, Anne split her time between Chicago, Ill., and Portland, Ore., working for seven years in brand marketing for Nike Inc. Her transition to the health professions/occupational therapy was influenced by her own family experiences with her brother, Cole, who has cerebral palsy.

While at Indiana University, Anne was a four-year letter winner in volleyball, team captain and a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.

Her additional interests include painting, photography and interior design.

Reason for entering PP-OTD program
Anne’s doctoral education will focus on enhancing clinical excellence in pediatric care, expanding her ability to apply evidence-based practice to selecting treatment interventions and improving patient outcomes.

Doctoral Project Topic: TBD

Practice experience
Community mental health, outpatient pediatrics, acute care and home health

Current clinical and research interests
Interprofessional collaboration; Community-centered wellness and health promotion, DEI within academia; Political advocacy; Empowering Black people through a holistic and occupation-based lens

Education
2020 – MS in Occupational Therapy, Washington University in St. Louis
2015 – BS in Exercise Science, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville

Background
Mario is a native of the St. Louis Metro East area who learned about occupational therapy after finishing his undergraduate degree. While working as a rehabilitation aide, he was drawn to the profession after recognizing the importance and emotional impact of returning to day-to-day activities after a significant injury while working with patients.
In his spare time, Mario enjoys practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jiu, going to art museums, and is still trying to finish One Piece.

Reason for entering PP-OTD program
Mario desires to make a large-scale difference in transforming lives by utilizing my occupation-based lens to holistically help underserved communities in their quality of life – making OT indeed for everyone. He believes having a deeper understanding of program development and research is essential to seeking the answers to his many questions.

Doctoral Project Topic: Comprehensive fieldwork educator/student manual for outpatient neurological center

Practice experience
Outpatient center for people with brain injury, stroke, and other neurological conditions

Current clinical and research interests
Clinical fieldwork education, outpatient neurology, chronic neurological conditions, functional vision, spatial neglect, Parkinson’s disease

Education
1998 – MA in Occupational Therapy, St. Catherine University
1991 – BA in Art, University of Northern Iowa

Background
Sue grew up in a small town in southwestern Iowa. She earned her bachelor’s degree in art at the University of Northern Iowa in 1991. While she was considering her future, she decided to explore options in the health-care field. Initially she considered art therapy but ultimately chose to pursue a master’s degree in occupational therapy from St. Catherine University.

Upon graduation from St. Catherine University in 1998, Sue began treating in acute hospital settings. She worked mostly with people who had orthopedic conditions, and occasionally with people who had experienced stroke. While working with people who had experienced stroke, Sue found her favorite area of practice. She is currently working at On with Life in Ankeny, Iowa, in the outpatient center and has been there since 2014. She works with people who have a wide range of neurological conditions from acquired brain injury to traumatic brain injury and Parkinson’s disease, among many other conditions.

Reason for entering PP-OTD program
When Sue learned about the online PP-OTD program at WashU Medicine she did some research. The fact that the program has a specific Teach Track, is online and fits into her current work and life schedule helped her decide that now is the right time to pursue her career goal of teaching in academia.

Doctoral Project Topic: Improving clinical instructor and student experience during Level II Fieldwork

Practice experience
Inpatient acute care, MDA/ALS clinic, and student coordinator

Current clinical and research interests
Best practice in academia; Improving student outcomes; Student mental health; Maternal/postpartum mental health; Neonatal development

Education
2017 – MS in Occupational Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine
2015 – BS in Psychology, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana

Background
Lisa started her career primarily interested in occupational therapy’s role in supporting neonatal development through parent interactions and supporting maternal mental health. She has a publication in the Early Human Development Journal investigating the impact of parent participation in the NICU on developmental outcomes. However, the vast majority of Lisa’s clinical experience has been at an academic medical center treating a wide variety of adult populations within the acute care setting. For the past several years she has served as a student coordinator where she oversees students’ Level II Fieldwork progress and promotes a successful student/clinical instructor experience. In her spare time, she enjoys exercising at group fitness classes, reading all genres (especially thrillers), and attending Broadway musicals.

Reason for entering PP-OTD program
Lisa's professional goal is to join the world of academia. She is seeking guidance to implement best practice in improving student outcomes and to have a greater impact on growing the occupational therapy profession forward.

Doctoral Project Topic: Occupational therapy in a community-based re-entry program

Practice experience
Inpatient acute, skilled nursing, community-based mental health, unhoused and justice-involved populations, nonprofit project management

Current clinical and research interests
Functional cognition; holistic wellness; health promotion; community re-entry; social and occupational justice; occupational therapy’s role in developing strategies towards reducing recidivism

Education
2020 – MA in Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California
2018 – BS in Health Science, Springfield College

Background
Morgan is originally from Connecticut and relocated to Southern California to attend OT school at the University of Southern California. Although Morgan started practicing in physical rehabilitation and acute care, the opportunity arose to work as an OT and program manager at a community-based non-profit with unhoused and justice-involved populations. This experience helped Morgan realize the need for OT services with these populations. When not working, Morgan enjoys hiking, rock climbing, reading, and dancing with a local community company.

Reason for entering PP-OTD program
Morgan is interested in learning about program development and implementation to enhance the role of occupational therapy services in community-based re-entry programs, with the aim of serving underrepresented and marginalized populations more effectively. Morgan also aspires to continue advocating for occupational therapy for these populations.

Doctoral Project Topic: Neurodivergent post-secondary learners

Practice experience
Academic and vocational pursuits for those with learning differences

Current clinical and research interests
Her clinical and research interests include identifying evidence-based practices that address the comprehensive needs of individuals with learning differences, particularly neurodivergent post-secondary learners. She plans to focus on academic and vocational pursuits to better understand and implement research-informed strategies that lead to effective, outcome-based interventions.

Education
1998 – MS in Occupational Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine
1996 – BS in Recreational Therapy, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.

Reason for entering PP-OTD program
Janell seeks to deepen her understanding of how evidence-based practice validates or challenges her treatment approaches. Specifically, she wants to explore whether executive function models fully encompass the factors driving her practice or if alternative models align better with the needs of her clients. By integrating occupational therapy foundational theories with practical frames of reference, she aims to identify the most effective strategies and models that align with her practice area, ensuring that her interventions are both evidence-informed and impactful.