Cathy Nielson, MPH, OTR/L, FAOTA  

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AOTF-AOTA Mentoring Circle

Professional Activities...One of the necessities and pleasures of my career has been involvement in occupational therapy activities and events outside of my work at UNC-CH.  Such activity fulfills my personal requirement for service to my profession, enriches my teaching, and has brought many great friends from across the country into my life.  I will always be a confirmed supporter of extracurricular professional involvement although my level of activity shifts and changes in relation to the rest of my life - within AND outside of occupational therapy.  Some of my favorite past activities include serving on the AOTA Executive Board, a term as the Vice-Speaker of the AOTA Representative Assembly, and membership on the North Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy. I have also held several offices in the NCOTA, worked on various AOTA committees and projects, and consulted with a variety of programs and organizations.  

 

International Activities Along with my colleagues in the OS Division at UNC-CH, I have the wonderful opportunity of developing a relationship with a sister program in Denmark. The ergoterapeut program at a Danish University, the Center for Videregående Udannelse Syd (CVU Syd) in Naestved hosted the first of a series of conferences with the faculty of the Occupational Science division at UNC Chapel Hill, with the intent of furthering international understanding of occupational therapy in different health care, community support and educational systems; building collaborative research between the programs and exploring the potential for faculty exchanges. In October 2005 we  welcomed our Danish colleagues to Chapel Hill to continue the collaboration and exchange.

Memberships Membership is more than paying dues.  It includes attending conferences, reading publications, voting, voicing an opinion, and encouraging others to take an active role in the organization. 
  • American Occupational Therapy Association
  • North Carolina Occupational Therapy Association
  • World Federation of Occupational Therapy

 

Honors There is no higher honor than to be recognized by your peers.  These five awards continue to awe and inspire me. 

  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Distinguished Teaching Award for Post Baccalaureate Instruction, 2000
  • The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars, 2000
  • Fellow, AOTA for contributions to occupational therapy education, 1994
  • Medical College of Georgia, School of Allied Health, Distinguished Alumn1, 1992
  • NCOTA Suzanne C. Scullin Award for outstanding contributions to occupational therapy in North Carolina, 1985

 

   Current and Recent Activities Over my career my activities in professional associations have included elected and appointed offices at a state and national level, committee work , and editorial boards. I have also enjoyed consulting and most recently have added curriculum consulting to my list of activities. here are some of my most recent consultations. 
  • Catalyst Mentor, AOTF-AOTA Mentoring Circle for Program Directors, January 2008 
  • American Occupational Therapy Association, Chair, Ad Hoc Workgroup on Occupation Based Practice, 2005.
  • American Occupational Therapy Foundation, Curriculum Mentoring Project, To serve as a mentor to the Occupational Therapy Department at St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO
  • University of Tennessee at Memphis, Occupational Therapy Department, April 14, 2000, To provide curriculum consultation on three phase model of curriculum development
  • Eastern Michigan University, Occupational Therapy program, March17-18, 2000, To provide curriculum consultation on three phase model of curriculum development
 
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