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Advisory Board
Salvador Bondoc
Topic: Physical Disabilities/Neuro
Dr. Salvador Bondoc is an occupational therapist specializing in rehabilitating the upper extremity with 25+ years of clinical and academic experience. He has published and presented nationally and internationally on topics including shoulder rehabilitation, orthotics, neurological hand, and occupation-based UE rehab. Currently, he is the Dean of Chatham University’s School of Health Sciences and serves as a Board Member of the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education.
Tere Bowen-Irish
Topic: Pediatrics
Tere Bowen- Irish has practiced Occupational Therapy in pediatrics and psychiatry for over 40 years. Through her business, All the Possibilities, she continues to provide treatment, assessment, and consultation for clients. Workshops for therapists, educators, and parents are offered privately or publicly on a variety of topics such as inclusion, child development, classroom management, behavioral challenges, executive function, and other topics relevant to the 21st-century educational system. The focus is on common sense and a practical approach toward empowering educators and students to create a climate of learning, understanding, and inclusiveness for all abilities.
Tere is also the creator/author of The Drive Thru Menu Suite of Exercises, which is an initiative to bring movement and mindfulness into today’s classrooms. She is a certified YogaKids teacher and a Certified Mindful Schools Instructor. She is the author of Yoga and Me, Come be a Tree and co-authored My Mindful Music with Mary Ann Harman. Feel free to contact Tere at tereirish@gmail.com
Valeri Calhoun
Topic: Hand/Upper Extremity/Orthopedics
Valeri Calhoun is an Occupational Therapist with over 40 years of experience in various settings. Valeri obtained her BS in OT from Indiana University and an MS in Community Health from the University of Kansas Medical Center. She obtained her CHT in 1994 and has spent 16 years in pediatric hand therapy settings. She maintains current with the adult population by providing PRN Occupational Therapy services. Valeri has taught and lectured nationally and internationally on various topics and was the internationally invited Guest lecturer for the South African Society of Hand Therapists in 2013. She has taught graduate OT courses at multiple universities. Valeri recently returned from her third medical mission trip to the Eastern Caribbean through the World Pediatric Project and Touching Hands organization through the ASSH.
Krista Covell-Pierson
Topic: Community/Home Health
Krista Covell-Pierson, OTR/L, BCB-PMD, founded her private practice, Covell Care and Rehabilitation, which helps clients of all ages become safer, more independent, and engaged in their homes and communities through a mobile outpatient model. Krista developed this model from the ground up. It allows clients to access OT, PT, SLP, Driving Rehabilitation, Pelvic Health Therapy, Fitness Instructors, and Massage Therapy in their home and community settings. It allows therapists to have ownership in their practice, which improves the work-life balance we all strive for. She is always open to speaking to interested therapists about business opportunities. She graduated from Colorado State University with a social work and occupational therapy degree and is also board-certified in biofeedback for pelvic muscle dysfunction. Krista is the former president of the Occupational Therapy Association of Colorado and has been a speaker at the association's annual conference for pelvic health and entrepreneurship. She speaks regularly at community events, senior centers, health fairs, and professional organizations. In addition to her deep passion for working with her clients, Krista enjoys providing coaching services to therapists to assist in developing their private practices, cultivating their passions, and thriving in their careers.
Debora Davidson
Topic: Mental Health
Dr. Davidson has practiced mental health and psychosocial occupational therapy since 1979, providing OT to individuals aged 5 to 65 years in acute care psychiatry, outpatient psychiatry, community mental health, therapeutic schools, and clients’ homes and communities. She has taught OT in Mental Health to hundreds of graduate OT students and consults with OT practitioners who are developing independent practices. She has published in OT textbooks and professional journals and presented at international, national, and state conferences on topics in mental health OT.
Winnie Dunn
Topic: Sensory Processing
Dr. Dunn is Distinguished Professor of the Department of Occupational Therapy Education at the University of Missouri. She is also a Certified Positive Psychology Coach and co-founder of Dunn & Pope Strengths Based Coaching. She is an internationally known expert for her studies about sensory processing in everyday life. She has published more than 100 research articles, book chapters and books, and has spoken around the world about her work. She is the author/ coauthor of all the Sensory Profile measures, which capture people’s responses to sensory events in everyday life. These assessments have been translated into dozens of languages and are used for both professional practice and in research programs. She has received top honors in her field, including the Award of Merit for outstanding overall contributions and the Eleanor Clark Slagle Lectureship for outstanding academic contributions. She is a member of the Academy of Research for the American Occupational Therapy Foundation and has received the A. Jean Ayres research award.
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Zara Dureno
Topic: Pain
Zara Dureno is an Occupational Therapist with extensive experience and training in Mental Health, ME/CFS, long COVID, chronic pain, and concussion recovery. With a compassionate, holistic, and evidence-based approach, she helps clients regulate their nervous systems, build resilience, and reclaim their lives. Informed by her recovery from fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and multiple concussions, Zara integrates many holistic and evidence-based to support lasting change. As a presenter, she is passionate about sharing practical strategies that empower clients and clinicians in their journey toward healing and well-being.
Teresa Fair-Field
Topic: Geriatrics
Teresa Fair-Field is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Baylor University Doctor of Occupational Therapy program. Dr. Fair-Field earned her B.S. in Occupational Therapy at Pacific University (OR, 1993) and her Occupational Therapy Doctorate at Chatham University (PA, 2016).
Lenore Frost
Topic: Ergonomics/Industrial Rehab
Dr. Lenore Frost, PhD, OTR/L, CHT is clinical assistant professor at Sacred Heart University in the Department of Occupational Therapy and Health Sciences. She is an occupational therapist with over 30 years experience in upper quadrant disorders and adult rehabilitation. Dr. Frost’s primary research agenda investigates the integration of Safe Patient Handling (SPH) curriculum in occupational, physical, and nursing academic programs.
Barbara Kornblau
Topic: Professional Issues
Barbara L. Kornblau, JD, OTR/L, FAOTA, DASPE, CCM, CDMS, CPE is an attorney, an occupational therapist, a certified case manager, a certified disability management specialist, and a person with a disability. She is a Professor, (working remotely) and Program Director of Idaho State University’s Occupational Therapy Program and a consultant to the United Spinal Association’s Pathways to Employment Program
Dr. Kornblau is a former Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow in the U.S. Senate, where she worked on disability issues. She is a Past President of the American Occupational Therapy Association and a past chair of the AOTA Commission on Standards and Ethics. She is the current Advocacy and Policy Coordinator of AOTA’s Rehabilitation and Disability Special Interest Section. As an attorney, she litigated cases under the Americans with Disabilities Act, involving discrimination in employment, state and local government services, and health care services. Dr. Kornblau has presented nationally and internationally and is widely published.
Michelle Lange
Topic: Seating & Positioning/Mobility/Environmental Modifications
Michelle Lange is an occupational therapist with over 38 years of experience and has been in private practice, Access to Independence, for over 19 years, where she currently focuses on education and consultation. She is a well-respected lecturer, both nationally and internationally, and has authored numerous texts, chapters, and articles. She is the co-editor of Seating and Wheeled Mobility: a clinical resource guide (1st & 2nd eds). Michelle is a RESNA Fellow and a RESNA-certified ATP and SMS. She is also a member of the Clinician Task Force.
Adrienne Lauer
Topic: Assistive Technology
Dr. Lauer has 27 years experience in occupational therapy in both clinical and academic settings. She has worked with a broad spectrum of clients and has particular interest in technology and how it assists clients to maintain or regain independence in occupations.
Angela Reimer
Dr. Reimer received her Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences and Master of Occupational Therapy, both from The University of Findlay and her Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Indiana University. She boasts over 20 years of clinical experience with geriatric and neurologically impaired populations, including serving as a regional manager and educator for several rehabilitation organizations. Additionally, Ms. Reimer co-developed and teaches the only certification in stroke rehabilitation, the CSRS certification. She is a member of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, the Indiana Occupational Therapy Association, The American Occupational Therapy Association, the International Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Society, American Physical Therapy Association Neuro Section, and is a member of several regional and national practice committees. Dr. Reimer has presented courses across North America on acquired brain injury, stroke rehabilitation, and kinesiology taping and has lectured extensively for PT and OT programs across the United States.
Kathleen Weissberg
Topic: Compliance
Dr. Kathleen Weissberg, (MS in OT, 1993; Doctoral 2014) in her 30+ years of practice, has worked in rehabilitation and long-term care as an executive, researcher and educator. She provides continuing education support to over 30,000 therapists, nurses, and administrators nationwide as National Director of Education for Select Rehabilitation. She is a Certified Dementia Care Practitioner, Certified Montessori Dementia Care Practitioner, Certified Fall Prevention Specialist, and a Certified Geriatric Care Practitioner. She serves as the Region 1 Director for the American Occupational Therapy Association Political Action Committee and is an adjunct professor at Gannon University in Erie, PA.
Elsa Zavoda
Topic: Vision
Elsa Zavoda, MS OTR/L, SCLV, CLVT is an Occupational Therapist with 19 years of clinical experience, serving in a variety of settings. Ms. Zavoda originally graduated from the University of Indianapolis with a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy. Ms. Zavoda obtained a Graduate Certificate in Low Vision Rehabilitation from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2007 under the leadership of Mary Warren, MS OTR/L, FAOTA, SCLV. She has since served as a teaching assistant, working directly with Ms. Warren. Ms. Zavoda has been concentrating in the field of Low Vision Rehabilitation since 2006. Ms. Zavoda is the 16th Occupational Therapist in the U.S, and the first in NJ to be awarded Specialty Certification in Low Vision (SCLV) from AOTA in January 2010. She also has earned her Certified Low Vision Therapist (CLVT) credential from ACVREP in September 2010. Ms. Zavoda has successfully established and implemented 3 low vision programs in NJ, and currently practices at The Low Vision Center of Central NJ. Ms. Zavoda currently serves on the Advisory Panel as a Vision Expert for Occupational Therapy.com.