Meet the experts

Kate is a co-founder of Day Undefined, an online marketplace that reviews everyday products for accessible living. Kate’s older sister, Jen, has a rare disease called spinocerebellar ataxia, and while helping her shop for household products, they discovered that many of the ones that best met Jen's needs and preferences were not the ones sold as "adaptive.” It was clear that a lot could (and should) be done to re-think how products are curated, focusing on their use, and user experiences, rather than their label. Most recently, Kate was a German Chancellor Fellow. Prior to that, she helped launch Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania and was a Fulbright Public Policy Fellow in Haiti. She has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MPhil from the University of Oxford. 

Elizabeth Alicea Torres MS OTR/L has been a dedicated practicing occupational therapist (OT) for the past 14 years working in a variety of settings including outpatient, short term rehabilitation/SNF, inpatient hospital acute care and home health. Elizabeth’s clinical interests include working with those at the end of life, working with those in the intensive care or critical care unit, wound care, and community-based practice. Currently, Elizabeth is an OT in a SNF in Massachusetts, and is driven by improving the quality of life, and functional abilities of the residents within the facility. In addition to her primary job functions, she has focused effort on improving the quality of life, and addressing function and occupational identity for those within or approaching the end of life stage. Elizabeth is currently enrolled in the Post Professional OTD program at American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts with a graduation date set for May 2021. When she is not working, or engaged in academia Elizabeth enjoys time with her family and friends, baking, exercise, yardwork/gardening, as well as a good “Netflix and chill”!

Teresa graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Occupational Therapy in 1992. She has been an occupational therapist practicing with children birth to 21 in the Iowa school setting for 30 years. She has served multiple school districts as well as served children in the home intervention setting. Teresa served as the state-lead occupational therapist in Iowa for 7 years where she lead many state projects and delivered continuing education to school-based OT and PT staff across Iowa. She currently continues to practice in the Iowa Area Educational Association setting serving children birth to 21 in rural central Iowa.