Teresa Allison was appointed academic fieldwork coordinator for the MOT program on June 1. She has been part of the department of occupational therapy and fieldwork program since 2012 when she joined as the fieldwork outreach developer. Prior to coming to UM, she worked at St. Boniface Hospital in various OT roles for over 20 years. In addition to supporting the fieldwork program, Teresa has taught in several academic courses in the MOT program and was the chair of the department of occupational therapy awards committee. She has been an essential part of the MOT fieldwork program’s success over the past decade.
Welcome to Katherine (Kat) Dillena who joined the CoRS June 18 as the department of occupational therapy administrative coordinator following Lori Muzychka’s retirement on June 23, 2023. Previously, she worked at the College of Dentistry as the pediatric care coordinator. Prior to taking on this role, she worked in the community as a dental assistant.
Welcome to Madeline Burghardt who joined the department of occupational therapy on July 1 as an assistant professor in a probationary tenure track appointment that includes a .5 EFT research role with St. Amant. Burghardt has a degree in occupational therapy (University of Toronto), a master of science in rural extension studies (University of Guelph), and a PhD in critical disability studies (York University). She is the author of Broken: Institutions, Families, and the Construction of Intellectual Disability, McGill-Queen’s University Press (2018), which explores the effects of institutionalization on institutional survivors and members of their families. A collaborator on many artistic and scholarly projects, she has worked extensively with people labelled/with intellectual disabilities in professional and artistic capacities and is an ally of the institutional survivor community. Her research interests include the geopolitics, histories and lived experiences of difference and disability.
Congratulations to Aya El-Alawi, fieldwork outreach developer, who will be on maternity/parental leave from September 1, 2023 to March 1, 2025. Julie Braga will be replacing her during this time. Braga will be joining the fieldwork program in a .6 capacity until February 28, 2025. Braga graduated from the UM MOT program in 2015. Since then, she has worked at the Deer Lodge Centre in long-term care where she worked with many MOT students over the past eight years. She has worked as a sessional instructor in the department of occupational therapy since 2018 in various courses contributing primarily to the OT Process 1 & 2 courses and advanced communication skills content. In 2021, Braga joined Therapy First as a private practice occupational therapist.
Lisa Diamond Burchuk was elected president of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists beginning October 1, 2024.
Congratulations to Gayle Restall and Pamela Wener who were named Professor Emerita.
Congratulations to Jacquie Ripat who was promoted to professor and appointed Vice-Dean, Academic Affairs for the RFHS as of July 1.
Several faculty members were honoured on May 12 at the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists Awards Ceremony held during the 2023 Annual Scientific Conference in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan:
- Gayle Restall was awarded the Muriel Driver Memorial Lectureship Award (to be delivered in 2024).
- Natalie MacLeod-Schroeder was the recipient of the Dr. Helen P. LeVesconte Award for Volunteerism.
- Leanne Leclair was the recipient of the Award for Leadership in Occupational Therapy.
- Margaret Anne Campbell-Rempel, Juliette Cooper, Lisa Diamond-Burchuk, Susan Hales, Leslie Johnson, Leanne Leclair, and Natalie MacLeod Schroeder received a Certificate of Appreciation for volunteerism.