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By Kate Hunger

When the American Occupational Therapy Association holds its annual conference in San Antonio this spring, members of the Department of Occupational Therapy faculty will be involved in numerous ways — from presenting short courses to supporting the event.

will run March 31-April 3 and will offer registrants the option of attending in person or virtually. More than 6,000 practitioners, educators, students, administrators and researchers are expected to attend this year’s conference.

“The last time the conference was in San Antonio was in the 1990s,” said Bridgett Piernik-Yoder, PhD, OTR, chair and associate professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy. “It will be very exciting to have our colleagues in San Antonio for the first AOTA annual conference with an in-person component since 2019, due to COVID-19.”

Assistant Professor Laura Novak, OTD, OTR, BCG, Assistant Professor Mei-Ling Lin, PhD, OTR, and Associate Professor Ricky Joseph, PhD, OT, are scheduled to present at the conference, and Dr. Novak and Associate Professor Ana Allegretti, PhD, OTR, ATP, and, serve on the local conference planning committee.

Recent Doctor of Occupational Therapy graduates Janna Roberts and Taylor Buchanan will present about a project that helps adolescents and young adults with disabilities develop independent life skills, such as making meals and doing laundry. The project served as Buchanan’s doctoral capstone, Dr. Piernik-Yoder said.

The Department of Occupational Therapy has multiple collaborations with accessible theme park Morgan’s Wonderland, which is the nonprofit group AOTA is supporting this year, Dr. Piernik-Yoder noted.