student experience and support

the Department’s educational

mission. The Department cele-

brates Dr. Brayley for her

generosity and her example.

Thank you Dr. Brayley!

In 1982, the University of

Pittsburgh first opened its doors

to occupational therapy students

under the leadership of the

founding Chair of the Depart-

ment of Occupational Therapy,

Dr. Caroline Brayley. Dr. Brayley

and her team laid the foundation

for the 34 years of program

excellence that have followed.

In 2015, Dr. Brayley demonstrat-

ed her continued commitment to

occupational therapy education

through a generous gift to the

Department, establishing the

endowed Caroline Robinson

Brayley Student Enrichment

Fund. Dr. Brayley’s gift is the

largest single donation ever re-

ceived by the Department of

Occupational Therapy. The

endowed enrichment fund

supports 1) student tuition,

2) travel to conferences or other

academic experiences, and 3) hono-

raria for invited speakers. This

donation will greatly enrich the

For her effort and commitment to

educational excellence, assistant

professor Joanne Baird, PhD, OTR/L

was selected to receive the 2015

Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy

Association (POTA) Academic

Educator Award. Dr. Baird was

recognized by faculty, students,

and practitioners as an exemplar

of best teaching practice.

Dr. Baird’s strength is in

transitioning students from the

classroom to the clinic. She

provides “real-world” learning

opportunities and mentors

students in their development as

professionals. Her passion for

occupational therapy is well-

known across the university and

has resulted in her being a highly

requested guest lecturer for

students interested in health

professions. In addition to her

department roles, Dr. Baird co-

ordinates, manages, and oversees

the educational and continued

competency programs for the

University of Pittsburgh Medical

Center/Centers for Rehab Ser-

vices occupational therapy

students and practitioners.

Due to her expertise in field-

work education and instruction,

Dr. Baird was selected by AOTA

in their first cohort of trainers

for the Fieldwork Educator

Certificate Program. Additionally,

Dr. Baird is a Distinguished

Scholar and Fellow of the

National Academies of Practice

and a member of the Society for

Simulation in Healthcare. Most

recently her expertise was

recognized by the Occupational

Therapy Academy who identified

her as a Distinguished Scholar

and Fellow. Congratulations

Dr. Baird!

A Legacy of Leadership and Service

I N S I D E

T H I S I S S U E :

From the

Chair...

2

Faculty

Highlights

2

JHF

Fellowships

2

Student

Spotlight

3

Student

Successes

3

Alumni

Spotlight

3

Farewell to

Dr. Leibold

4

Top Honors in Education

SP EC IA L

PO IN TS OF

I N TERES T:

Caroline

Robinson

Brayley

Student

Enrichment

Fund

Faculty and

Student Honors

Dr. Caroline Brayley (L) and current Chair Dr. Elizabeth Skidmore (R)

Occupational Therapy Newslink V O L U M E 5 , I S S U E 3 W I N T E R 2 0 1 6

(L to R) MOT student Elise Pure, POTA Keynote

Speaker LTC Douglas A. Etter, and Dr. Joanne

Baird at the 2015 POTA Award Ceremony

P A G E 2

Faculty Achievements

From the Chair... There has been much recent debate in higher education about best practices for “educational excellence.”

While no consensus has been achieved yet, several common themes have emerged. First, many agree that

educational excellence is achieved through the vision and dedication of outstanding educators and leaders.

The Winter 2016 issue of the PITT Occupational Therapy Newslink highlights just a few examples of the leaders

and educators who have contributed to educational excellence in the Department of Occupational Therapy

over the years. Dr. Caroline Robinson Brayley, founding Chair and Faculty Emerita in the Department of

Occupational Therapy, teaches us that outstanding educators and leaders make their mark through life-long

commitment and lead by example. The second common theme in the debate on best practices for

“educational excellence” is the importance of stimulating leadership skills and community engagement

among student that extend beyond focused disciplinary skills. This issue provides several examples that illus-

trate our students’ and graduates’ excellence not only in their academic and professional achievements, but

also in their leadership and community engagement. We are very proud of the high caliber student that we

attract to our programs, and the multiple examples of excellence among our graduates. If you, through your

own experiences or your knowledge of another’s experiences, have additional examples, please email us at

otpitt@shrs.pitt.edu so that we can feature these experiences in up-

coming issues of the PITT Occupational Therapy Newslink.

healthcare leaders to identify

solutions to health care prob-

lems that rise above slow and

incremental change when hu-

man lives and suffering are in

the balance.

In a cohort of 32 scholars,

MOT students Samantha

Chamberlin, Anne Chen,

Stephanie Rouch, and Casie

Strausbaugh worked in

multidisciplinary teams to

On December

3, 2015, four

first year MOT

students had

the opportunity

to showcase the results of

their semester-long experience

in the Jonas Salk Fellowship.

Sponsored by the Jewish

Healthcare Foundation and

Health Careers Futures, the

fellowship trains tomorrow’s

identify solutions to major health

problems by learning and applying

four problem-solving lenses with

community experts: social

advocacy, crisis management,

predictive modeling, and

disruptive innovation.

Problems explored were senior

living, perinatal depression, ado-

lescent risky behaviors, nutrition

for diabetes and cardiovascular

disease, and HIV/AIDS.

for older adults at-risk for dementia,

and Pamela Toto, PhD, OTR/

L, authored a paper, Observation-

based performance to evaluate

technology: Performance Assess-

ment of Self-Care Skills.

Nancy Baker, ScD, OTR/L

authored two papers Upper

Extremity Arthritis: Epidemiology

and ergonomic Interventions and

Analysis and Interpretation of meta-

analyses at the 2015 ACR/AHRP

conference in San Francisco, CA.

Laurent Terhorst, PhD,

received a secondary appoint-

Roxanna Bendixen, PhD,

OTR/L was selected to attend

the Training in Grantsmanship

for Rehabilitation Research

grant writing workshop held

January 12-16, 2016 in Charles-

ton, SC.

At the 2015 Gerontological

Society of America Annual

Conference, in Orlando, FL,

Juleen Rodakowski, OTD,

MS, OTR/L and Elizabeth

Skidmore, PhD, OTR/L

authored a paper, Feasibility of

meta-cognitive strategy training

ment at the Clinical and Transla-

tional Science Institute.

In November 2015, Denise

Chisholm, PhD, OTR/L partici-

pated in the Faculty Panel Session

for PITT’s Grad School Week .

Assistant professor Amit Sethi,

PhD, OTR/L, presented at Reha-

bilitation Grand Rounds on the

Connections between brain and the

heart: implication for motor recovery

after stroke at the University of

Toronto, Toronto, ON.

Dr. Elizabeth Skidmore,

Chair, Department of

Occupational Therapy

OT Students Shine in the JHF Fellowship

Student Spotlight: Jaclyn Mazza

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 5 , I S S U E 3

Jaclyn Mazza, OTS, is this year’s

recipient of the Joan C. Rogers

Occupational Therapy Award, a

scholarship given to a student in the

Master of Occupational Therapy

program who demonstrates the qualities

of high level scholastics, exemplary

professionalism, and commitment to

advancing the profession.

Jaclyn entered the program as a

“nontraditional” student following a

successful career working with

marine animals. Jaclyn is clear in her

desire to become an outstanding

occupational therapist and takes

advantage of opportunities to

maximize her learning opportunities,

frequently beyond the classroom. She

pursues academic and leadership

roles with impressive methodical

intensity. She is unshaken by barriers and is

extremely effective in thinking “outside the

box.” Jaclyn leads by setting up opportunities

that are inclusive and foster a team approach.

Jaclyn maintains a perfect 4.0 GPA in a

challenging curriculum, and is a member of Pi

Theta Epsilon. She has formally

served as an anatomy lab assistant for

1st year MOT students and served as

the AOTA Assembly of Student Delegate rep-

resentative for her class. In that role, she has

increased class participation in AOTA activi-

ties to its highest level in program history.

EXCELLENCE for promotion of

occupational therapy through

service leadership.

The University of Pittsburgh

Student Association (UPSOTA) had

a busy semester! Under the leader-

ship of UPSOTA president Jordan

Shoup, OTS, UPSOTA organized

an interprofessional fundraiser (OT,

PT, and ST students) to raise $650

used to purchase 15 bags of toys

for children with special needs

served by the Alliance for Infants

and Toddlers.

UPSOTA also

held a canned

good collection

that raised over

100 canned

goods for the

local foodbank, and hosted a “Mitten Tree”

collecting new hats, scarves, mittens and

gloves for distribution at a local homeless

shelter. Lastly, UPSOTA organized holiday

caroling at a local assisted living facility

where one of the residents happens to be

a fellow OT professional!

Kelly Dickson, OTS, was

selected as the 2016 recipient of

the University of Pittsburgh

Department of Occupational

Therapy Award of Scholarly

EXCELLENCE for promoting aging-

in-place through research and ser-

vice .

Elizabeth Bondarenko, OTS,

was selected as the 2016 recipient

of the University of Pittsburgh

Department of Occupational

Therapy Award of Professional

Students Making News

Alumni Spotlight: Abby McKenzie...A Perfect Match While it was always apparent that Abby

McKenzie (MOT ‘13) would be a

perfect fit for pediatric occupational

therapy, it was a surprise to all when

she found out she was also the perfect

match to save someone’s life.

This past fall, Abby was notified by BE

THE MATCH (www.bethematch.org)

that her DNA was the perfect match to

someone battling a life-threatening

illness. The odds for being a match are

1 in 540. Abby responded to the

request by donating her peripheral

blood stem cells and in doing so,

enabled a stranger in need to receive a

critical bone marrow transplant.

After graduating from the University of

Pittsburgh, Abby began her career in a

pediatric clinic specializing in Autism in

Austin, TX. While she enjoyed the

weather, her love of her family fueled a

desire to return to the north.

Currently, Abby works at Marietta

Memorial Hospital as an outpatient

pediatric therapist, working primarily

with children who experience develop-

mental delay, social/emotional delays,

and Autism. In February 2016, she will

begin work at the Perlman Center at

Cincinnati Children's Hospital - a

specialty center for children with

physical disabilities. Abby’s long term

professional goal is to open her

own specialty center for

children with Autism. Good

luck with your goal, Abby! We

think you are the perfect

match!

Jaclyn Mazza (L) and Dr. Skidmore

Antje Price, OTR, center, with UPSOTA students

an Assistant Professor and our Academic

Fieldwork Coordinator. Although Dr.

Leibold is officially retired, we feel

fortunate that part of her retirement

adventure will be continuing at Pitt as an

adjunct faculty member.

Although Dr. Leibold earned many

accolades and wore multiple hats during

her adventure at Pitt, it is likely most

people recognize her for her excellent

service as Academic Fieldwork Coordina-

tor. In this position, she went above and

beyond working with our Fieldwork

Educators and Master of Occupational

Therapy students to ensure a seamless

transition from classroom to clinic.

Managing Level I and Level II Fieldwork

placements for 100+ students has the

potential for chaos, however Dr. Leibold

managed it with excellence, grace and a

touch of humor. Although Dr. Leibold’ s

curriculum vitae is filled with professional

publications and presentations, awards,

teaching grants and service to the

occupational therapy community, in her

The announcement of Dr. Mary Lou

Leibold’s retirement from the

University of Pittsburgh Department

of Occupational Therapy in

December 2015 was bittersweet. We

are excited for her and the next

phase of her journey, but she will be

greatly missed. When asked about her

future plans Dr. Leibold simply stated,

“I plan to enjoy the adventure.”

Dr. Leibold’s clinical adventure start-

ed when she obtained her Master of

Science Degree in Occupational

Therapy from the Virginia Common-

wealth University. She spent the

majority of her clinical career at

Mercy Hospital and Harmarville

Rehabilitation Center, Inc. where she

was a Supervisor, Student Fieldwork

Coordinator and Clinical Director.

Dr. Leibold first arrived at Pitt as a

Part-Time Instructor in 2000, briefly

took a position at Chatham University

as an Assistant Professor and in 2004,

returned to the Pitt MOT program as

eyes, working with the students was the

most rewarding role she played. Her

contribution is evident in the caliber of

students that graduate from the Pitt MOT

program.

We have no doubt that Dr. Leibold will

enjoy her retirement, perhaps digging her

toes into the sand, and planning her next

adventure.

University of Pittsburgh

Department of Occupational Therapy

5012 Forbes Tower

Pittsburgh, PA 15260

Phone: 412-383-6620

Fax: 412-383-6613

Email: OTPitt@shrs.pitt.edu

Department of Occupational Therapy Mission

Educate students to practice and to become

leaders in evidence-based occupational

therapy in a variety of settings

Engage in research to advance the practice

of occupational therapy

Contribute to the profession and the

community through service, participation,

and research

Enjoying the Adventure

Please contact us with changes to your email or address.

Alumni - Please contact us!

We would like to highlight

YOU in a future issue!