22nd Annual Evening with a Leader in Occupational Therapy
(Virtual Event)
Featured Speaker:
Cristina R. Smith, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Learn More About Our Speaker
Dr. Cristina Reyes Smith is the current Vice President (2024 to present) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). She previously served in several national leadership roles including the AOTA Board of Directors as a Director (2020 to 2023) and Editorial Board of the Journal of Occupational Therapy Education (JOTE) (2020 to 2024). She was the Founder and Business Development Coordinator (2012 to 2020) for Vida Bella Services, LLC, a pediatric agency providing early intervention and outpatient occupational therapy and physical therapy services with a focus on access to quality care with the local and surrounding rural communities. Dr. Smith is an Associate Professor in the College of Health Professions (CHP) Division Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) program at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). She teaches courses on Leadership & Management, advises student organizations, and mentors doctoral capstone project students in the Entry-Level and Post-Professional OTD programs there. Her accomplishments include publications and presentations across the U.S. and internationally. She has also served as the Chair of the CHP Faculty Assembly (2023 to 2024), Chair of the MUSC Faculty Senate Institutional Advancement Committee (2021 to 2023), and Co-Director of the HRSA-MUSC Occupational Therapy Scholarship program (2020 to present).
For more information, call 419-434-6936 or email
[email protected].
Previous Visiting Scholars
2025 - Varleisha (Gibbs) Lyons, PhD, OTD, OTR/L, ASDCS, FAOTA, FNAP
vice president of diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, access & belonging and governance at AOTA
2024 -Jennifer Summers, OTD, OT/L
Associate Professor and Doctoral Capstone Coordinator for the
entry level OTD program at University of Illinois Chicago
2023 - Alyson Stover, MOT, JD, OTR/L, BCP
Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Pittsburgh
AOTA Board Certification in Pediatrics
2022 - Arameh Anvarizadeh, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Director of Admissions and Associate Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy at the
USC Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
2021 - Catherine Verrier Piersol, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA
Professor and Chair, Department of Occupational Therapy, Thomas Jefferson University
Director, Jefferson Elder Care, Jefferson College of Rehabilitation Sciences
2020 - Wendy Hildenbrand, Ph.D., MPH, OTR/L, FAOTA
Rise Above! Role Conflict at the Intersection of Policy and Frontline Practice
Population Health and Occupational Therapy: Yes, We Can…and We Do!
2019 - Tina Champagne, OTD, OTR/L, CCAP, FAOTA
A nonlinear dynamic approach to integrating sensory processing, trauma-informed care and occupational therapy practice across practice areas
Navigating sensory processing across the lifespan
2018 - Janice P. Burke, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA
Productivity, Outcomes & Evidence in the Clinic: Protecting the Future of the Therapeutic Encounter
How Conceptual Ideas Take Hold & Endure: The Model of Human Occupation
2017 - Michael Iwama Ph.D. OT(C)
Addressing Diversity: Occupational Therapy's Promise of Cultural Relevance
An Introduction to the Kawa Model
2016 - Dr. Virginia Stoffel
Dr. Virginia (Ginny) Stoffel, current president of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), addressed a large gathering of students, clinicians, and educators on February 4th and 5th, 2016. Her presentations were entitled: Leadership in Mental Health Occupational Therapy: Building Capacity and Workforce Development and Leadership in Mental Health Occupational Therapy: Becoming a Change agent Promoting Mental Health.
2015 - Dr. Neil Harvison
Practice after 2017: What are Driving the Changes in How We Will Be Practicing Occupational Therapy?
Leading Occupational Therapy Into its Second Hundred Years: What Will Our Future Leaders Need to Know?
2014 - Dr. Jaime Muñoz
Culturally Responsive Caring: What, Why, How?
The Scholarship of Practice in Community-Based Programs
2013 - Dr. Amy Lamb
Health Reform: Strategies for health care professionals on the frontline
Advocacy in policy: Making the Occupational Therapy Voice Heard
2012 - Dr. Diane Parham
Why Play? The Serious Nature of Play in Health and Development
Play: A Powerful Tool in Occupational Therapy
2011 - Dr. Renee Taylor
The Intentional Relationship: Reinvigorating the Vision for Client-Centered Practice in Occupational Therapy
The Intentional Relationship: Clinical Tools for Navigating the Challenges of Fieldwork and Beyond
2010 - Dr. Roxie Black
Is Culturally Competent Care Achievable?
Becoming Culturally Competent Students: Focus on Self
2009 - Dr. Karen Jacobs
How Full is Your Backpack?
Being an Occupation FANATIC
2008 - Dr. Florence Clark
AOTA's Centennial Vision: What is it and What Does it Mean for Practice?
The Centennial Vision and Occupational Therapy in Health and Wellness: Lifestyle Redesign
2007 - Dr. Charles Christiansen
Occupational Therapy's Vision for 2017 and Beyond
Promoting Resilience Through Life-Style Intervention
2006 - Dr. Winnie Dunn
Going Public: We're Not Just About Disability Anymore
Creating a 'Sensational' Practice
2005 - Dr. Carolyn Baum
The Future of Occupational Therapy
The Older Adult
Students Making a Difference Engagement in Everyday Activity