Faculty honored, students share research at national OT conference

A group of faculty, students, and alumni from the University of New England Department of Occupational Therapy recently attended the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) INSPIRE Conference & Expo, held in Orlando, Florida, in March.

Faculty members in attendance included Kristin Winston, Ph.D., OTR/L, UNE program director and associate professor of Occupational Therapy; Adam DePrimo, Ph.D., OTR/L, assistant professor; Carol Lambdin-Pattavina, M.S.O.T., O.T.D., associate professor; Christopher Delenick, O.T.D., OTR/L, assistant clinical professor; and Elizabeth Crampsey, Ed.D., associate clinical professor and associate dean of Academic Affairs for the Westbrook College of Health Professions.

The group was joined by a group of current and former UNE Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (M.S.O.T.) students, including the Class of 2024’s Bailey Lynch, Taylor McPartlin, Michaela Svendsen, and Hannah Hutchins, as well as alum Kassandra Brandow, M.S.O.T. ’23.

Faculty, students, and alumni presented their own research, attended educational lectures and enjoyed comradery with their fellow occupational therapists from around the country and the world. 

During the conference’s annual awards reception, Lambdin-Pattavina was inducted into AOTA Roster of Fellows, which recognizes occupational therapist members of AOTA who, through their knowledge, expertise, leadership, advocacy, and guidance, have made a significant contribution over time to the profession with a measured impact on consumers of occupational therapy services and/or members of the association.

Lambdin-Pattavina was recognized for her longstanding and consistent advocacy for those with psychiatric labels and her passionate dedication to teaching students how to best support those with these labels. Her peers acknowledge her as a staunch advocate for those labeled with mental illness and someone who is actively involved in the community to improve systems of care, eradicate stigma, and foster practices that breed occupational injustice.  

“This is an incredible honor, and I am humbled to know that my commitment to supporting occupational therapy in dedicated mental health spaces has been recognized,” Lambdin-Pattavina said. “Bringing awareness to the impact occupational therapy can have in this practice area has been my mission since I began as an occupational therapy practitioner 25 years ago.” 

Lambdin-Pattavina joins Winston, former M.S.O.T. faculty member Jane O’Brien, and OT faculty emeriti Judy Kimball, Ph.D., OTR/L, and Regi Robnett, Ph.D., OTR/L; Kathryn Loukas, O.T.D., M.S., OTR/L; and Nancy MacRae, M.S., OTR/L, as fellows of the American Occupational Therapy Association.

Additional highlights of the conference included a keynote address titled “Resilience at Work – How to Coach Yourself into a Thriving Future,” by writer and entrepreneur Simon T. Bailey; a “Breakfast with a Scholar” session featuring a talk on care at all stages of life from Katie Brandt, M.M., director of Caregiver Support Services and public relations at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Frontotemporal Disorders Unit; and AOTA’s annual Eleanor Clarke Slagle lecture, delivered by Anita Bundy, Sc.D., OTR, FAOTA, entitled “Bubble Wrap is for Packages, Not for People: Balancing Dignity of Risk with Duty of Care.”