KEYNOTE PRESENTERS

Penelope A. Moyers, EdD, OTR/L, BCMH, FAOTA is the 27th president of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Moyers was elected in 2006 by the direct vote of association members and took office during the 87th Annual Conference and Expo in St. Louis, MO.

Dr. Moyers has been a strong advocate for the profession of occupational therapy. She has 29 years of experience, having developed expertise in mental health practice at Central State Hospital in Louisville, KY and in upper extremity rehabilitation at Plastic Surgery Associates in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Dr. Moyers has also met the requirements developed by AOTA to be Board Certified in Mental Health (BCMH). In addition, she has extensive experience working with persons with substance use disorders; she also has research experience in measurement of upper extremity function.  Currently, Dr. Moyers is serving as professor and chair of the Occupational Therapy Department at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

Prior to joining UAB, Dr. Moyers was dean of the School of Occupational Therapy at the University of Indianapolis. Dr. Moyers co-leads a support group for persons with HIV and AIDS. Dr. Moyers has published extensively on the topic of substance use disorders and has worked with AOTA to systematically review the evidence to identify effective interventions. This work has led to creation of AOTA evidence briefs designed to help practitioners select interventions for facilitating recovery and return to successful occupational performance. Dr. Moyers has also written articles in OT Practice on the topic of continuing competence and professional development, an outgrowth of her previous AOTA role as Chair of the Commission on Continuing Competence and Professional Development.

Dr. Moyers has an extensive academic resume. She has an EdD in Adult Education, with a major in public administration from Ball State University, and a master's degree in community development from the University of Louisville. Her bachelor's degree is in occupational therapy from the University of Missouri.

Diana Ramsay, MPP, OTR serves as the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Sheppard Pratt Health System which is headquartered in Baltimore, MD. She is responsible for overall program operations and delivery of clinical and administrative services for the hospitals, day hospitals, acute care general hospital programs, outpatient services, schools, child and adolescent residential treatment centers, professional services, joint ventures, and community-based psychiatric rehabilitation subsidiaries. In this capacity she establishes overall strategic directives and policies to optimize the service quality, resource allocation and program efficiency of the Health System. Ms. Ramsay also is the past president and current member of the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy. She serves on the boards of the National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems and the American Occupational Therapy Foundation.

BREAKOUT SESSION PRESENTERS

Karen Alter , MS, OTR is an Assistant Professor at CSU, with expertise in clinical reasoning, fieldwork, and OT proactice: evidence-based, occupational-based, reflective.  She is on the doctoral journey, and serves as OTAC's PRofessional Development and Continuing Education Chair (yep, she's the true OT geek!).

Kalya Beryl Cotkin, MS, OTR/L is a graduate of the Ayurvedic Institute, Certified Yoga Instructor.  She provides a full range of Adult and Pediatric Occupational Therapy services that include advanced Cranial Sacral Treatments, Therapeutic Yoga, Ayurvedic Treatments and Energy Medicine/Psychology (i.e., using the body’s own energy to maximize a person’s  physical and mental health.)

Janice Hinds, MS, OTR practices OT in adult behavioral health, as a clinician and fieldwork educator, with an emphasis in cognative disabilities and recovery models.  She is the current President of CO's OT Association (OTAC).  And she teaches in the general education department of a business and technology university (just so she is not such an OT geek).

Claudia Leonard, OTD, MBA, OT/L started her OT career in 1983 after graduating from Eastern Michigan University. She started teaching at Blackfeet Community College, which led to teaching and fieldwork coordination at Western New Mexico University(WNMU) in 1997 in the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program. Ms Leonard ’s moves to West Virginia and Washington State added to her academic experience. She returned to WNMU in 2005.

Cheryl McMullen, OTR/L has worked inearly intervention in rural NEw MExico.  She has also provided occupational therapy services for the Developmental Disabilities waiver program, in school districts and in hospital settings.

Diane Parham, PhD, OTR, FAOTA is professor and director of the Occupational Therapy Program at the University of New Mexico. She moved to New Mexico in 2007, after 22 years on the faculty at the University of Southern California. She received her BS in occupational therapy from the University of Florida, her M.A. in Occupational Therapy from the University of Southern California, and her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). She is known for her research and scholarship in the fields of sensory integration, play, and occupational science, and lectures nationally and internationally on these topics. Among her publications are a textbook, Play in Occupational Therapy for Children, now in its second edition, and a nationally standardized parent/teacher questionnaire, the Sensory Processing Measure. Dr. Parham is a founding member of the Sensory Integration Research Collaborative (SIRC), a national work group dedicated to multi-site research designed to systematically develop knowledge in sensory integration and its applications to intervention for children with disabilities.

Yvonne M. Randall, EdD, OTR/L, FAOTA is an associate professor and academic clinical coordinator at Touro University Nevada – School of Occupational Therapy.  She is the current chairperson of the AOTA Nominations Committee and has served in a variety of occupational therapy leadership positions at the local, state and national levels for over 20 years.  Prior to moving to Nevada, Ms. Randall has served in the New Mexico Occupational Therapy Association.

Carol Salisbury, BUS, CKTT is Seminar Coordinator for the Kinesio Taping Association.  She has completed CKTT training (Certified Kinesio Taping Trainer), which certifies her to introduce the Kinesio Taping Method to medical therapists. 

Linda Siegle, BS is president of Resources for Change, a government relations and lobbying firm.  Ms. Siegle represents many health care clients including the Occupational Therapy Association,  the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, five nursing groups, dieticians, and others.  She has been a resident of New Mexico for 26 years.

Carol M Spizman, MOTR/L, CDRS is an Occupational Therapist with 14 years experience.  She is also a Certified Driver’s Rehab Specialist and is Coordinating the Adaptive Driving Program for the Governor’s Commission on Disability.

Gail Stockman, OTR/L. worked as a part-time faculty member for several years prior to becoming the Academic Fieldwork Coordinator for the UNM Occupational Therapy Graduate Program in 2005. Since graduating in 1988, Gail has worked with adults in rehabilitation and at VSA Art Center in Albuquerque and with children in the public school system. She has supervised many OT and OTA students during their fieldwork experiences. She is currently working on a Masters degree in Health Education.

Maritza Montiel Tafur MOTR/L owns Maritza Therapy Services (Albuquerque, NM) and works for Rio Rancho Public Schools (Robert Hobbs, P.C.) and is an occupational therapist for the New Mexico Developmental Disabilities Waiver Program (Deppa Therapy Services, P.C.).

Victoria Van Dame, OTR/L has worked in early intervention in rurual New Mexico.  She has also provided occupational therapy services for the Developmental Disabilities waiver program, in school districts and in hospital settings.