OT Online Faculty & Staff
- Pamela Richardson, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, Associate Professor and Post-professional Program Director
- Anne MacRae, PhD, OTR, BCMH, FAOTA, Professor
- Kay Barker Schwartz, EdD, OTR, FAOTA, Professor
- Christina Peterson, Librarian
- Rima Nemechek, Distance Masters Program Assistant
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Pamela Richardson, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTAAssociate Professor and Post-professional Program DirectorDr. Richardson received her PhD in Special Education at the University of Washington. She has a Master's degree in Rehabilitation Medicine from the University of Washington and a Bachelor's degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Puget Sound. She has many years of experience in pediatric occupational therapy, working in school-based settings, Head Start, early intervention, and private practice with culturally diverse populations in California, Washington, and Alaska. She is currently the coordinator and instructor in the pediatric faculty practice clinic at SJSU. Dr. Richardson's research interests include social participation of children with disabilities, effectiveness of the integrated playgroups model in promoting social peer play in children with autism spectrum disorders, and the pedagogy of online teaching and learning. Courses taught in the online program include research methodology, management and organizational change, and thesis project advising. Recent Publications
Recent Presentations
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Anne MacRae, PhD, OTR, BCMH, FAOTAProfessorDr. MacRae received her PhD in Human Science at Saybrook Graduate School, her Master's degree in Occupational Therapy from San Jose State University, and Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from Antioch College. Her primary clinical experience is in the area of mental health and she holds the advanced practice board certification in mental health from AOTA. Dr. MacRae is also the recipient of multiple Fulbright Fellowships and has an extensive background in cross-cultural and international consultation. She is currently a full professor in the Occupational Therapy program at SJSU and an external examiner and consultant for the University of Malta. Past positions included director of the SJSU post-professional (distance) program and international advisor. Dr MacRae also supervised the SJSU psychosocial occupational therapy clinic for 20 years. Her current research and scholarly interests include cultural diversity, occupational justice, phenomenology, all aspects of education, client centered models, environmental and contextual issues in intervention, collaborative models of treatment, community practice, and functional deficits of psychiatric symptoms. Courses taught in the online program include advanced clinical practice, research, cultural diversity, and occupational justice. Selected Publications
Selected Presentations
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Kay Barker Schwartz, EdD, OTR, FAOTAProfessorDr. Schwartz received her EdD at Harvard University, her Master's degree in Occupational Therapy from Boston University, and Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Her clinical experience is in the area of physical rehabilitation and administration. Her prior academic experience includes positions at Tufts University and Worcester State College. She is currently a full professor in the Occupational Therapy program at SJSU. She has also held positions as Chair of the Occupational Therapy Department and Chair of the Academic Senate. Dr. Schwartz's primary research interest is in the history of occupational therapy, an area in which she has published extensively. She is also interested in all aspects of education, and has published on topics including online education, clinical reasoning and clinical education. Courses taught in the online program include the history of occupational therapy and education in occupational therapy. Selected Publications
Selected Presentations
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Christina PetersonLibrarianTina Peterson received her Masters in Library and Information Science from The Catholic University in Washington D.C. and a BS degree in Natural Resources from Humboldt State University. Tina has been a science/health librarian at SJSU since 1986 and has been the librarian for Occupational Therapy since that date. She has also been librarian for the MPH program, Nursing, Environmental Studies, Biology, Meteorology, Gerontology, and Geography. She developed the first library services program at SJSU Library for distance students and initiated SJSU Library's live online reference service. Her research interests include student learning in the area of information literacy, distance librarianship, and the library as place. She has taught several courses in the SJSU School of Library and Information Science and presently teaches Information Literacy for Occupational Therapy in the distance masters program for OT. Recent Publications
Recent Presentations
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Rima NemechekRima Nemechek is the Distance Masters Program Assistant. Rima has a BS degree in Computer Science from CSUH, and an MBA from Notre Dame de Namur University. After working several years for computer companies in the Silicon Valley, she now works part-time for San Jose State University, and spends her remaining time with her three young children. Please email Rima Nemechek if you have questions regarding the application and admission process for the program. |




