Jennifer Mitton, OTD, OTR/L, Director of OT at DAWN Health

Session: Remixing OT: Moving Toward Prevention and Primary Care in the Community

Jennifer graduated from Creighton University's Doctor of Occupational Therapy program at their Denver/Regis Pathway in Spring 2020. In her past professional life, Jennifer was a Youth Treatment Counselor and Special Education Teacher at a residential treatment facility here in Denver. Jennifer turned to OT to gain a deeper and more clinical understanding of function and how to best support an optimal quality of life in her clients. Two years ago, Jennifer completed her Doctoral Capstone Experience at the DAWN clinic in Aurora. Today she is their OT Director.

Jenny Junker, OTD, OTR/L, LSVT-BIG Certified

Session: Collaborating for Success: Establishing Relationships as Part of the Occupational Therapy Entrepreneurial Process

Jenny received her OTD from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska in 2012. She is the co-owner of Thrive! Therapy, which is a mobile outpatient therapy provider in the Denver metro area specializing in treating older adults with an emphasis on wellness and holistic care. She also currently works as adjunct faculty in Creighton University’s distance OTD program at Regis University. She has extensive training in working with individuals affected by Parkinson’s disease including LSVT BIG and PWR! techniques.

Kylie Sleeth, MS, OTR/L, CLIPP, LSVT BIG Certified

Session: Collaborating for Success: Establishing Relationships as Part of the Occupational Therapy Entrepreneurial Process

Karen Freed Jackson, MS, COTA/L

Session: Rejuvenation Activity - Dance: Rock Your Body...Therapeutically!

Hayley O’Shields, OTR/L

Session: The Role of Occupational Therapy in Refugee Resettlement

Hayley graduated from Colorado State University with her Masters in Occupational Therapy and has been a practicing OT for six years. In December of 2021, she began working at the African Community Center as an Intensive Case Manager. Hayley reports learning about emerging practice fields in the profession during graduate school and took interest in the refugee resettlement setting. Since starting this job under the title of “case manager”, she has found a plethora of ways she is using her OT skills to help individuals gain independence in their new community. It is her dream to foster and help grow the role of OT in refugee resettlement and is excited to start taking Level I students in this setting in the fall.

Beth Liesenfeld, MOT, OTR/L

Session: Reconnecting with Occupation: How to Facilitate the Whole-Child IEPs within the Schools

Beth is the host of The Parent IEP Lab podcast and founder of The IEP Lab, an organization that provides online education for parents of children with disabilities to get an effective IEP (individualized education program) for their child without fighting with the school. Beth has worked as an equine based therapist in studies through CSU, has worked in early intervention, outpatient clinic and home based outpatient services, and schools serving on the Child Find team all the way up to the 18-21 programs. Through her school experience, she saw inequity in parents ability to advocate for a quality IEP for their child and now teaches parents a 4-step process to effectively advocate for their children within the schools through online workshops and interactive, supportive online courses.

Kathryn Seibert, OTR/L, DRS Heather Ackert, OTR/L, DRS

Session: Driving and Anxiety: How Anxiety Affects Driving and Techniques for Management

Kathryn is an occupational therapist with 30+ years of experience. Throughout her career she has had the pleasure and the honor of helping countless patients increase their independence in a wide variety of areas. For the past 3 years she has worked in the field of Driver Rehabilitation, and she is in the process of becoming a Certified Driver Rehabilitation Specialist. She is also an AARP Car-Fit technician as well as a Home-Fit presenter. Kathryn has extensive experience in low tech adaptive equipment for driving and is passionate about improving quality of life for her patients. She has given numerous presentations about driving fitness to doctors, assisted living facilities, the Parkinson’s Association of the Rockies, amputee support groups and rehabilitation professionals.

Carla Sue Wilhite, OTD, OTR/L FAOTA

Session: Farm Fresh: A Virtual Farm Visit and Assessment

Carla is an occupational therapist with 26 years of experience in delivering services to rural and agricultural communities. She is currently Program Director and Assistant Professor at Colorado Mesa University in the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy program. She has certifications in home modifications and agricultural health and safety. Carla previously served as Project Manager for state AgrAbility Projects in Colorado and Oklahoma and continues serving the National AgrAbility Project as an advisor and consultant. Her post-professional doctorate of occupational therapy is from Creighton University-Omaha, Master of Nonprofit Management from Regis University, Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of New Mexico.

Jennifer Fortuna, PhD, OTR/L

Session: Art as a Therapeutic Tool in Occupational Therapy

Session: Use of Pre-Visit Materials to Improve the Museum Experience for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Session: A Survey of Assistive Technology Preferences for Museum Visitors with Sensory Impairment

Jennifer is an Assistant Professor in the Occupational Therapy program at Colorado Mesa University. Dr. Fortuna has a PhD in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences from Western Michigan University. She is the Art Editor at the Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (OJOT). Dr. Fortuna’s research interests include health literacy, visual impairment, accessibility, and universal design. She has published in national and international journals and facilitated presentations around the world.

Abi Swidergal, MS, COTA/L, CKTP

Session: Fostering Intraprofessional Collaboration: OT/OTA 

Abi is the Academic Fieldwork Coordinator in the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program at Pima Medical Institute Las Vegas, and her clinical expertise is in pediatrics, specifically hippotherapy. Her love of the profession, and especially advocating for occupational therapy assistants, has led to many volunteer positions and pursuing the growth of her leadership skills. As a participant in the AOTA Emerging Leaders Program in 2016, her excitement for leadership within the profession expanded. Abi currently serves on the Illinois Leadership Development Committee, as the ILOTA Awards Chair, and AOTA’s Representative Assembly OTA-Representative, hoping to increase the national voice and engagement for all OTA members across the country. She is a participant  in the AOTA Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for 2022-2023.

Scott Beckett, OTS

Session: Addressing Equipment Abandonment Using the Trans-Theoretical Mode

Scott is an occupational therapy student and President of OTech at CSU. Scott's level II fieldwork was in complex rehab technology and has interests in assistive technology and working in ASD communities. The work Scott is presenting is a research project he did to aid his fieldwork instructor in presenting relevant evidence-based processes for equipment recommendations to avoid discontinuation of use and ineffective technology.

Melissa Mattner, MS, OTR/L

Session: Use of Pre-Visit Materials to Improve the Museum Experience for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Emily B. Tull, OTR/L, MSOT, EP-C

Session: The Impact of Outdoor Camp on Behavioral Regulation and Praxis in Children

Emily is a recent Colorado State University MSOT graduate interested in nature-based therapy, emerging settings, community accessibility, and pediatrics. Emily completed a thesis at CSU with her advisors, Shelly J. Lane, Ph.D., OTR, FAOTA, Anita C. Bundy, ScD, OTR, FAOTA, and Hannah Burke, OTR/L, MSOT, on the impact of an intensive outdoor camp on behavioral regulation and praxis in children. Emily completed her final fieldwork in August 2022, at a nature-based pediatric outpatient clinic in Washington state.

Natalie R. Rolle, MOT, OTR/L

Session: Occupational Therapy and the Assessment of Sleep Disorders – Let’s Learn Together!

Natalie began working at The Center for Community Partnerships in 2014 after achieving her master’s degree in Occupational Therapy (OT), with an undergrad in biology, from Colorado State University (CSU). She specializes in behavioral sleep treatments with advanced training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTI), which is the gold standard treatment today (not medications). Natalie developed and leads the Sleep Services Program out of CSU which treats the Northern Colorado community with chronic insomnia and other sleep disturbances. She has trained/consulted for many other providers and co-developed a 2.5-day CBTI course offered year-round through CSU. Lastly, Natalie was sought out and asked to be part of a national CBTI providers group called “CBTI Jedi Masters”, which has expert level CBTI providers doing grant work.

Dr. Julie Yaroni,  MS, OTD, OTR/L

Session: More Than Playdough: Multi-Sensory Play to Support Executive Functioning, Praxis, and Sensory Exploration for Pediatric Clients

Julie is a pediatric occupational therapist at Children's Hospital Colorado. Julie was born and raised in New Jersey and moved to Colorado in 2019. She received her Bachelor of Therapeutic Studies, Master of Occupational Therapy, and Post-Professional Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Boston University. Julie’s occupational therapy experience ranges from pediatric outpatient clinics, schools, and home health. She has advanced training in DIRFloorime and enjoys using play and relationships to guide therapy sessions. Julie also has extensive training in sensory processing from STAR Institute.

Brittany Becka, MOT, OTR/L

Session: More Than Playdough: Multi-Sensory Play to Support Executive Functioning, Praxis, and Sensory Exploration for Pediatric Clients

Brittany is pediatric occupational therapist at Children’s Hospital Colorado. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Athletic Training and Dance at Denison University and earned a Master of Occupational Therapy from Chatham University. Brittany’s OT career spans early intervention, outpatient pediatric clinics, private and public schools, and multidisciplinary evaluation teams. She is a basic DIRFloortime provider and is trained in feeding therapy through the Sequential Oral Sensory Approach, Feeding Littles, and Melanie Potock’s Picky Eater course.

Amy Solomon, OTD, MS, OTR/L

Session: Crafting and Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process 4 (OTPF-4)

Amy is a retired occupational therapist. Her main area of practice was OTA education and most recently, she was the OTA program director at Pima Medical Institute, Denver Campus. Her clinical background is in behavioral health. To continue her activity with the profession, Amy serves as an accreditation reviewer for AOTA, is a new educator mentor with the Academic Education Special Interest Section, and consults with education regarding accreditation, curriculum development, and other education topics.

Amanda Hoffman, MS, OTR/L, BCPR

Session: Equity, Diversity, Justice, and Inclusiveness in OT in Colorado: An Interactive Dialog with OTAC

Session: Rejuvenation Activity - YOGA

Amanda is an inpatient rehabilitation supervisor with fifteen years of clinical experience and a demonstrated history of empathetic and strategic leadership. She currently leads a team of diverse and highly skilled therapists at UCHealth’s University of Colorado Hospital, a large academic medical center in Aurora, CO. Amanda is dedicated to measuring outcomes in acute care and grateful for academic partners helping to achieve this through research. When not working, Amanda loves to cook while her husband plays piano and their daughter dances with their Australian Shepherd who enjoys standing guard over it all.

Thank you to this year's OTAC conference sponsors and exhibitors!