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Lynne Andonian

Assistant Professor, Lynne Andonian, PhD, OTR/L, earned a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from Boston University, a Masters degree in Industrial Design from the Pratt Institute, and a PhD in Organizational Systems from Saybrook University, San Francisco. Her clinical experience is in a variety of occupational therapy settings with a focus in mental health. She has also worked abroad with people with disabilities in Zambia and Uganda. She has presented nationally and internationally on her research interests that include community advocacy for underserved groups in the US and abroad, utilizing design to promote wellness, and occupational therapy academic and clinical education.

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Deborah Bolding

Ms. Bolding received a Master of Science degree from Boston University, a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Florida, and has a post-master’s certificate in Health Professions Education from Simmons College. Ms. Bolding has clinical experience in acute care, pediatrics, home health, acute rehabilitation, and hand therapy. She was board certified in pediatrics and is a certified hand therapist. She has extensive experience with fieldwork education, including developing and managing internship programs. She serves on the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education. Ms Bolding is the coordinator of the post-professional online Master's program.

Ms. Bolding is currently working on a PhD in Education at Capella University. The title of her dissertation is “Factors influencing professional role behaviors by high-achieving practitioners in acute hospitals.”

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Elizabeth Cara

Professor Liz Cara, PhD, OTR/L, MFCC, received her Certificate of Proficiency in occupational therapy from the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Santa Clara University, a Master of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology from John F. Kennedy University and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the Fielding Graduate University. Dr. Cara's clinical experience is in the rehabilitation of people with mental disabilities. She is the co-editor and co-author of a popular text with both students and professors, Psychosocial Occupational Therapy: A Clinical Practice, currently in its 3rd. edition. She has published papers on clinical fieldwork, infant mental health, and Dian Fossey, the occupational therapist and primatologist, one of program's most famous graduates. Dr. Cara was selected for San Jose State University's Teacher-Scholar program for 2006-2007 and served as President of the SJSU California Faculty Association for over 700 faculty members. Her scholarly interests include psychobiography, clinical supervision, infant and family mental health, group dynamics, interpersonal communication, and psychosocial disorders, and causes and prevention of genocide. Dr. Cara is a native of San Francisco and fervent follower of the San Francisco Giants and 49'ers.

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Megan C. Chang

Assistant Professor Megan Chang, Ph.D., OTR/L, earned her Ph.D. in Occupational Science, M.S. in Applied Biostatistics and Epidemiology, and M.A. in Occupational Therapy from the University of Southern California, and B.S. in Occupational Therapy from the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. She completed a clinical training program and received certification in the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS). Her research interests include using psychophysiological approaches to study sensory processing, emotion, and cognition as well as examining psychosocial and physiological risk factors associated with health-related behaviors and occupations in various populations. She has clinical experience in a variety of settings including her most recent work in the fields of physical dysfunction and pediatrics. She is a Statistical Analysis Software (SAS) programmer and has worked several years as a biostatistician. Inspired by her previous mentors, she is passionate about teaching future therapists not only to improve their skills but also to actively engage in research activities in order to collaboratively strengthen the knowledge base of Occupational Therapy.

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Alison George

Lecturer George, , MS, OTR/L, earned a B.A. degree in Zoology from UC Santa Barbara, a Certificate of Proficiency in occupational therapy and a Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from San Jose State University. Her clinical experience has been in the area of physical disabilities. Alison is a member of the Occupational Therapy Association of California's Government Affairs Committee. She authored a chapter on "Infection Control in The Clinic" in the 6th edition of Pedretti's Occupational Therapy for Physical Dysfunction textbook.

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Carolyn Glogoski

Associate Professor Carolyn Glogoski, , PhD, OTR/L, earned a B.S. in occupational therapy at Eastern Michigan University and an M.S. degree in occupational therapy at San Jose State University. She obtained a combined M.S./ Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Wright Institute in Berkeley. She has 30+ years of clinical experience in geriatrics, community mental health and case management, serving the seriously mentally ill, the homeless population and at risk adolescents and transition age young adults. She maintains an ongoing clinical practice one day a week. One of her most rewarding therapy tools include her Canine Companion for Independence (CCI) facility/service dog named Cammie -- a canine member of the faculty.
Dr. Glogoski's research interests include community living competencies and mental health issues with older adults, person's with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), homeless individuals and at risk youth. She is interested in how occupation can promote" aging in place", wellness, life style redesign and least restrictive living contexts. Very recent research interests involve exploring the effectiveness of animal assisted therapy and utilization of living skill evaluations to promote quality of life and independence.

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Melisa Kaye

Lecturer Melisa Kaye earned her Bachelor of Science and Post Professional Master of Science degrees in Occupational Therapy from San Jose State University. Melisa is the founder and Director of Firefly Center: Therapy Services for Children, a pediatric Occupational Therapy clinic in San Mateo, CA. For over a decade, Melisa has provided a wide range of home, school and clinic based Occupational Therapy services to children in the San Francisco Bay Area. Melisa is the co-author of the book Let’s Go to Kindergarten: A Family Guide to School Readiness. In addition to her work with SJSU, Melisa is also an instructor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Dominican University of California. Melisa’s scholarly interests include: sensory processing and integration, client centered practice in pediatrics, addressing children's psychosocial challenges, culture relevance in occupational therapy, and educational practices in the digital age.

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Jean Koketsu

Lecturer Jean Koketsu, MS, OTR/L, graduated from University of California Los Angeles with a B.A. in psychology and from SJSU with an M.S. in occupational therapy. She has 13 years of full time experience working with clients across a broad age span with a variety of physical disabilities in many settings including inpatient rehabilitation, acute care, burn rehabilitation and outpatient hand therapy at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC) in San Jose, CA. In recent years she worked at SCVMC in hand therapy and at a private home health agency. She served as a fieldwork supervisor to many students throughout her career and thoroughly enjoys training and mentoring new OT graduates and students. Through her experiences in the field, she recognizes the privilege that OTs have to make a positive impact. Because of this, she is passionate about teaching future occupational therapists to provide skilled and compassionate care. Most recently, Lecturer Koketsu co-authored and revised the Activities of Daily Living chapter and wrote a chapter on the Occupation of Sleep and Rest in the newest edition of Pedretti's Occupational Therapy: Practice Skills for Physical Dysfunction.

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Sheama Krishnagiri

Assistant Professor Sheama Krishnagiri, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA, is originally from Los Angeles. She earned her Baccalaureate degree in Kinesiology from the University of California at Los Angeles and her Master of Arts degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Southern California. She has the distinction of being the first person to earn a Ph.D. in Occupational Science from the University of Southern California in 1994. Dr. Krishnagiri has over 17 years experience teaching at the master's and doctoral levels in Occupational Therapy. Her research interests are in the area of social occupations and efficacy studies. In particular, she has examined the occupation of mate selection in several populations and has studied the occupation of hanging out. Dr. Krishnagiri is a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association. She has also served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Society for the Study of Occupation-USA, for which she is one of the founding members. In addition, she serves as an emeritus member of the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education following 10 years of service. Her clinical experience most recently has been in the area of pediatrics with a few years of practice in physical disabilities prior to that.  She authored a Chapter on "Leisure Occupations" in the 7th edition of Pedretti's Occupational Therapy: Practice Skill for Physical Dysfunction.

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Anne MacRae

Dr. MacRae, PhD, OTR/L, BCMH, FAOTA, 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 holdsthe 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 a consultant/practitioner for a Northern California behavioral health service. Past positions included coordinator 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, scholarly and practice interests include cultural diversity, occupational justice, phenomenology, all aspects of education,recovery and wellness models, environmental and contextual issues inintervention, collaborative models of treatment, community practice, and functional deficits of psychiatric symptoms.

Dr. MacRae has recently completed the third edition of the co-authored textbook, Psychosocial Occupational Therapy: An Evolving Practice.

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Rochelle McLaughlin

Rochelle McLaughlin, MS, OTR/L, earned a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from SJSU. She is a faculty member of the Occupational Therapy Department at SJSU and she teaches Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Rochelle has completed professional training in MBSR with Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn and Dr. Saki Santorelli of the University of Massachusetts Medical School as well as through the Stress Reduction Clinic at El Camino Hospital. Rochelle has completed advanced studies in Humanistic Psychology and is a certified yoga instructor. 

Rochelle's clinical specialties are in the areas of chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, stroke, cognitive impairment, as well as mental and emotional psychophysiology.  She has many years of experience working with pediatric, adult, and geriatric populations in a variety of settings.  She worked for Stanford Hospital's community fall prevention program called Farewell to Falls where she developed a Mindfulness in Fall Prevention component to the program. Rochelle has developed and currently teaches a Mindfulness-Based Occupational Therapy (MBOT) course at SJSU.  She also developed MBOT curriculum for the Bay Area Pain and Wellness Center in Los Gatos.  She is currently teaching MBSR/MBOT for Samaritan Cancer Foundation's new Cancer Care Point Program which can be found by clicking on the link.  You can watch an introductory video on mindfulness and MBOT with Rochelle by clicking on this video link. 

Rochelle is conducting ongoing research in regards to the efficacy of mindfulness practices and the implications of these practices on psychophysiology and well being.  She is a co-author of the Psychosocial Adjustment to Disability chapter in Umphred's latest edition of the Neurological Rehabilitation textbook and she is currently working on a Mindfulness-Based Occupational Therapy Chapter for Pedretti's Physical Disabilities Textbook.  (To learn more about her upcoming classes, click on the link to visit Rochelle's website).

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Karen Papesh

Karen Papesh, MS, OTR/L, is a native Californian and was born and raised in the Bay Area. She is currently serving as the Fieldwork Director for the Department of Occupational Therapy. Karen spent many years as a stay at home mom raising two children who are now both grown and attending college. During the late 1990's, she returned to school to pursue a bachelor's degree in occupational therapy here at San Jose State University. Her primary area of practice has been in pediatrics (school based therapy).   After working in school based therapy for several years, Karen returned to San Jose State University to earn her advanced Master's Degree in Occupational Therapy through the Online Distance Master's Program. One of her research interests includes animal assisted therapy with the pediatric population. Karen is an active member of the California OT Fieldwork Council.  Karen is the Admissions Coordinator for the Entry Level Masters Program.

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Heidi McHugh Pendleton

Professor Heidi Pendleton received a B.A. degree in English/Humanities from the University of California, Berkeley and earned her certificate in occupational therapy at San Jose State University. She completed a Master's degree in occupational therapy, and a PhD degree in Occupational Science from the University of Southern California. Her clinical experience is in physical dysfunction; eight years at Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center (most recently as a clinical instructor) and seven years as co-director of Project Threshold (a community-based program on environmental accessibility).

Her research interests include independent living skills, friendship and its relation to occupation, women with disability who are aging, leisure skills with persons who have spinal cord injury, needlework and women's hobbies as occupations, and wrist-driven flexor hinge hand splints. In addition to teaching at San Jose State University (SJSU), she has been employed at Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. She has served as the alternate delegate from Northern California to the Representative Assembly of the American Occupational Therapy Association. Dr. Pendleton was honored to be named as a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association and is a 2000-01 SJSU Teacher Scholar. For the past 12 years she has been a member of the Board of Directors of the California Foundation for Occupational Therapy serving as Co-Chair of the Research Advisory Board. Dr. Pendleton received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2011 Annual Conference of the Occupational Therapy Association of California in Sacramento.

Dr. Pendleton completed her 4 year term as the Chair of the Occupational Therapy Department and returned to full time teaching Fall 2012. She is currently serving her 3^rd two year term as Chair of the University Accommodations Review Board at San Jose State University.

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Shawn Phipps

Lecturer Shawn Phipps, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA received a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Southern California, a Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from San Jose State University, and a PhD in Healthcare Administration from Touro University. Dr. Phipps currently serves as the Chief Quality Officer and Associate Hospital Administrator at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey, California where he also used to serve as a Supervisor and Clinical Specialist from 1998 – 2008. Dr. Phipps currently teaches the leadership and management course in the SJSU Post-Professional Masters Program where he published his Masters Thesis entitled “Occupational Therapy Outcomes for Clients with Traumatic Brain Injury and Stroke” in the May/June 2007 edition of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy and was the recipient of the AOTA Cordelia Myers Writers Award. Dr. Phipps also serves as Director of the AOTA Board of Directors and is a two consecutive term Past President of the Occupational Therapy Association of California (2008 - 2012). Dr. Phipps is also a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association and a recipient of the 2005 Occupational Therapy Association of California Practice Award. Dr. Phipps was also honored as the SJSU OT Alum of the Year in 2012.

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Pamela Richardson

Professor Richardson, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma , Washington; a Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation Medicine and a Ph.D in Early Childhood Special Education/ Rehabilitation Medicine from the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. She has had many years of experience, primarily in pediatrics, in a variety of settings, including private practice, early intervention, Head Start, public schools and as a consultant to several rural school districts in the Alaskan bush. Her research and clinical interests include social participation of children with disabilities, play-based and peer-mediated interventions, family-centered therapy services, occupational justice issues for youth, transition services for youth with autism, international occupational therapy practice, and online teaching. Dr. Richardson is on the National Board of Certification in Occupational Therapy and is a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association. Dr. Richardson was named the 2011 Honored Lecturer for the California Foundation for Occupational Therapy.

Dr. Richardson is the Chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy and as such is responsible for all administrative and personnel issues concerning the faculty and students of this department. These include: hiring and supervision of faculty, budget, department resource allocation, scheduling, and supervision of staff, and is the representative of this department on various College and University committees. She serves as our liaison to the American Occupational Therapy Association and the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education in matters of accreditation, certification of students, and compliance with Standards.

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Winifred Schultz-Krohn

Professor Schultz-Krohn, Ph.D, OTR/L, BCP, SWC, FAOTA, came to San Jose State University from the University of Hartford, CT. She was originally from Minnesota and received her B.S. degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Minnesota and earned her M.A. degree in Neuroscience from the University of Hartford. She taught at the University of Hartford in both the Occupational Therapy program and the graduate Neuroscience program. Dr. Schultz-Krohn has substantial experience in the area of pediatrics and is a Board Certified Pediatric (BCP) Occupational Therapist and a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association (FAOTA). She has expertise in the area of feeding and eating and is Swallow Certified (SWC) by the California Board of Occupational Therapy. Professor Schultz-Krohn earned her doctoral degree from Saybrook Graduate, San Francisco. Scholarly interests include pediatrics, family centered intervention, families and children who are faced with homelessness and living in shelters, individuals who have feeding problems, neurological disorders and neurological rehabilitation. Dr. Schultz-Krohn is on the editorial board of the Occupational Therapy Journal of Research and the Journal of Occupational Therapy in Early Intervention and Schools along with being a co-editor of the textbook Pedretti's Occupational Therapy: Practice Skills for Physical Dysfunction. Professor Schultz-Krohn also serves on the American Occupational Therapy Association Commission of Continuing Competence and Professional Development. She serves as the faculty advisor for the SJSU chapter of Pi Theta Epsilon, the honor society for Occupational Therapy.

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Jerilyn (Gigi) Smith

Assistant Professor Smith, PhD, OTR/L, SWC, has special advanced education and training in the evaluation and treatment of swallowing disorders which is one among many areas of expertise that she brings to her position in this department. She graduated with her B.S. in Occupational Therapy from San Jose State University. She also adds to her distinction as being among the first graduating cohort of the Distance Master's program at SJSU. She was named the 2006 Graduate of the Last Decade for the College of Applied Sciences and Arts.  Dr. Smith recently completed her PhD at Trident University.  Her research was in the area of autism, sensory processing and feeding and eating behaviors.  Dr. Smith has authored and co-authored chapters in Pedretti's Occupational Therapy: Practice Skills for Physical Dysfunction and Cara & Macrae's Psychosocial Occupational Therapy: A Clinical Practice. She has presented locally, nationally, and internationally on dysphagia and the role of occupational therapy in treating swallowing disorders. She also serves the department as the Undergraduate Coordinator/Advisor and is the Student OT Association (SOTA) Advisor.

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Patricia Steffen-Sanchez

Pat Sanchez, MS, OTR/L, received her Bachelor of Science degree from Colorado State University (1977) and her Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy Education and Administration (San Jose State University 1982). She is the founder and director of a large pediatric private practice located on the central coast of California. This private practice was begun in 1983 and the team approach (Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Speech-Language Therapy) was adopted in 1987. Pat has obtained advanced certifications in the neurobehavioral models of sensory integration, neurodevelopmental treatment and dysphagia/swallowing. Pat has taught a multitude of pediatric courses on a local and national level on subjects such as sensory integration, perceptual motor games, visual-motor integration and feeding/oral motor dysfunction. She has been on the temporary faculty for both the Occupational Therapy and Special Education Departments at San Jose State University since 1990.

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Graham Teaford

Lecturer Teaford, MS, OTR/L, joined the faculty in Fall 2008. He earned his BS degree in Occupational Therapy here at San Jose State University and his MS degree in Occupational Therapy through our Post Professional Program. He teaches a section of the neuro-rehabilitation course and has previously taught courses on cultural diversity and occupation based practice.  His research interests include neurological assessment and intervention, fall prevention in the elderly, aging in place, and community based occupational therapy programs.

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Gordon Burton

Professor Burton, Ph.D., OTR/L, Emeritus Professor, retired from the Occupational TherapyDepartment as Chair in July, 2004. He earned his B.S. in Occupational Therapy from Columbia University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Syracuse University all in New York State. Dr. Burton worked manyyears in a variety of clinical settings with patients ranging from pediatrics to geriatrics. Some of the chapters the has written are in Pedretti's, Occupational Therapy Practice Skills for PhysicalDisabilities, and Early's, Physical Dysfunction Practice Skills for the Occupational Therapy Assistant. He is currently a section editor and contributor for the 6th edition of Umphred's textbook on Neurological Rehabilitation, and is also updating a chapter in a textbook for Physical Therapy assistants. Dr. Burton has published and presented papers related to physical disabilities locally, nationally and internationally. Dr. Burton is enjoying retirement, his children and grandchildren, travel, and a calmer lifestyle.

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Amy Killingsworth

Professor Killingsworth, MA, OTR/L, Emeritus Professor, is from New York City. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy at New York University. She came to California shortly after completing her studies. Her area of clinical expertise is physical dysfunction. She has worked at Rancho Los Amigos Rehabilitation Center in Los Angeles, and a variety of long term care and skilled nursing facilities. She also has served as a consultant with several insurance companies on workman's compensation issues. Professor Killingsworth holds a Master' of Arts degree in Education with special emphasis on interpersonal relationships from San Francisco State University. Her research Interests include diversity in education, kinesiology, work hardening, job analysis, and ergonomics. She was honored by the Occupational Therapy Association of California with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.

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Lela A. Williams Llorens

Dr. Lela Llorens, Emeritus Professor, earned the Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from Western Michigan University; a Master of Arts degree in Vocational Rehabilitation from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan; a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Walden University; and a Certificate in Gerontology from San Jose State University.

Dr. Llorens’ professional career has covered over fifty years. Her positions have included experience as a clinician, researcher, writer, editor, consultant, teacher, and administrator. In addition to the Professor Emerita assignation by San Jose State, Dr. Llorens is a Core Faculty Emerita of the Stanford Geriatric Education Center. Academic positions held by Dr. Llorens include Professor, Chair and Graduate Coordinator in the Departments of Occupational Therapy at San Jose State and the University of Florida and Adjunct Faculty of the University of Southern California. For three years prior to retirement from San Jose State, Dr. Llorens served as Associate Academic Vice President for Faculty Affairs. Dr. Llorens’ clinical practice experience includes Consultant on the Comprehensive Child Care Project in San Francisco, Head of Occupational Therapy at the Lafayette Clinic in Detroit which included teaching at Wayne State University, staff therapist at Northville State and Wayne County General Hospitals in Michigan. She holds a seat on the Editorial Board of the Occupational Therapy in Mental Health Journal.

Dr. Llorens has contributed extensively to the published literature in Occupational Therapy; also in Allied Health and Gerontology. Her work spans the life cycle. The most enduring work emanated from her Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecture, “Facilitating Growth and Development: The Promise of Occupational Therapy”. This work has been expanded and published in a book by Dr. Lynne La Corte entitled, New and ExpandedNeuropsychosocial Concepts Complementary to Llorens’ Developmental Theory. Dr. Llorens’ work on occupational adaptation significantly influenced the development of the Occupational Therapy doctoral degree program at Texas Woman’s University. The Blagg-Huey Library at Texas Woman’s University is also the Archival Depository for her professional papers and personal artifacts.

Dr. Llorens’ service to the profession includes numerous professional presentations and consultations as faculty, workshop presenter, visiting/distinguished lecturer, visiting scientist, keynote speaker, discussant, moderator, and/or facilitator. She served as Project Director and/or Evaluator on several Rehabilitation, Health and Human Services, and Administration on Aging grants. In addition, she served on 8 doctoral and 125 master’s degree committees for students in occupational therapy and allied health fields. In retirement, Dr. Llorens has continued to mentor younger colleagues.

Dr. Llorens has received numerous honors. Occupational Therapy awards include: the Award of Merit, the Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship, and the Roster of Fellows of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA); the Certificate of Appreciation, the A. Jean Ayres Award, the AOTF Meritorious Service Award from the American Occupational Therapy Foundation and the AOTF Lela Llorens Fellowship Endowment; The California Foundation of Occupational Therapy Lectureship and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Occupational Therapy Association of California; the Wilma West Lectureship from the University of Southern California, Department of Occupational Therapy; the Fanny B. Vanderkooi Lectureship from Texas Woman’s University; the Sadie Philcox Lectureship, University of Queensland, Department of Occupational Therapy, Brisbane, Australia; and the AOTA and AOTF President’s Commendation in honor of Wilma L. West.

The University Of Texas Medical Branch Occupational Therapy Class of 1976 was dedicated as the Lela A. Llorens Class in honor of “Outstanding Contributions to the Profession”. Dr. Llorens was inducted into Pi Theta Epsilon, the Occupational Therapy Honor Fraternity, as an honorary member at Wayne State University and honored by students at the University of Southern California with their chapter insignia, as well. She was inducted into Eta Rho Pi Health Professions Honor Society at the University of Florida and into Golden Key National and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Fraternities at San Jose State Universisty. The Florida Occupational Therapy Association (FOTA) and the California Occupational Therapy Associations have awarded Honorary Lifetime Memberships to Dr. Llorens. The FOTA also created a Research Fund in her name. Community Awards include: Tribute to Women In Industry by the YWCA and San Jose Mercury News, San Jose; Woman of Distinction, Soroptomist International, Inc, Santa Clara Chapter, San Jose; Certificate of Merit, Michigan State Senate; Appreciation Award, Black Occupational Therapy Caucus, Detroit, Michigan; and Headliner Award, Women of Wayne Alumni, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan; “Westsiders Icon”, Detroit, Michigan, and election to the Wall of Distinction by the Office of Minority Student Services at Western Michigan University.

Upon graduation from WMU, Dr. Llorens (Lela Williams) received the Marion R. Spear Award in Occupational Therapy. As an alumna, Dr. Llorens was honored by Western Michigan University with the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1987 and the Western Michigan University Foundation has created the Lela Williams Llorens Scholarship which will be awarded through the Department of Occupational Therapy.

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Lorraine Williams Pedretti

Lorraine Williams Pedretti, Emeritus Professor, graduated from New York University with a B.S. in O.T. and from San Jose State College with an M.S. in O.T. She taught in the O.T. Program at San Jose State University from 1968 to 1994. Lorraine enjoyed several professional roles in her career in occupational therapy. She practiced on the east coast for 8 years. She earned her master's degree at San Jose State College and became interested in teaching. After more clinical work on the east coast, she returned to San Jose State to assume a teaching position. Prof. Pedretti spent 26 years as a teacher and mentor to students. During that time she authored and edited five editions of an occupational therapy textbook, and produced several instructional videotapes that changed the way clinical skills were taught. After her retirement Lorraine became involved in teaching English as a Second Language and taught in the San Jose area for several years. She credits her professional colleagues at SJSU for her success as a teacher. She says: "I have had a rich and rewarding career as a therapist, teacher, writer and editor." Emeritus Professor Pedretti was awarded Department of Occupational Therapy Alumni of the Year in 2004 and her highly esteemed textbook "Pedretti's Occupational Therapy: Practice Skills for Physical Dysfunction" is in its 7th Edition - continuing the tradition under the editorship of two San Jose State University OT faculty.

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Kathleen Barker Schwartz

Professor Schwartz, Ed.D., O.T.R/L., F.A.O.T.A., Emeritus Professor, came to San Jose from Massachusetts where she was on the faculty of Tufts University for seven years. Dr. Schwartz has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Massachusetts, a Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from Boston University Sargent College, and an Ed.D. from Harvard University. She has served as Chairperson of this department and as Chair of the Academic Senate of this University. Her occupational therapy experience includes physical rehabilitation, prevocational evaluation, clinical education and management. Research interests include the history of occupational therapy, clinical reasoning, education, and women in leadership. She is active in professional activities and has published numerous articles and has given many presentations related to the history of occupational therapy. She was named to the roster of Fellows of the American Occupational Therapy Association and was the 2009 Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecturer at the American Occupational Therapy Conference in Houston. She was named 2008 Honored Lecturer for the California Foundation for Occupational Therapy and delivered her presentation in Ontario, CA. Emeritus Professor Schwartz is the Keynote Speaker for the 2011 Occupational Therapy Association of California Conference - October 14th in Sacramento, California. She retired from San Jose State University in June 2011.

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Marti Southam

Professor Southam, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA, Emeritus Professor, retired from the Occupational Therapy Department and Chair position in August, 2008. She earned a B.S. in Occupational Therapy at the University of Florida, a M.A. in Education (Instructional Technology) at San Jose State University, and a Ph.D. in Human Science at Saybrook Graduate School, San Francisco. Dr. Southam served as the Northern California Representative to the American Occupational Therapy Association and has given years of service to the Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC). She is a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Dr. Southam was selected as the 2006 Honored Lecturer for the California Foundation for Occupational Therapy (CFOT). She has many years of experience in a variety of clinical settings with patients ranging from pediatrics to geriatrics. Dr. Southam has published and presented papers related to humor, pain management and leisure occupations locally, nationally and internationally. Dr. Southam is enjoying retirement, her grandchildren, continued volunteer work and a calmer lifestyle.