Honorable Mentions From the 2024 Award Season

The board of directors would like to acknowledge the following exceptional nominees who made it to the final round for the 2024 Impact and Innovation Awards.

Honorable Mention for Impact Award

Dr. Jessica Tsotsoros exemplifies exceptional dedication, hard work, and outstanding skills that have consistently improved her clients’ quality of life over her 25-year career. She has developed several impactful programs that provide services to underserved and diverse populations. One of Dr. Tsotsoros’s notable programs teaches essential meal preparation skills to young adults with vision impairments, empowering them toward independence through hands-on experience. She also developed a community gardening project at a low-income housing facility, where she guided OT students through needs assessments and intervention design, creating lasting community bonds and generating publishable research.

Globally, Dr. Tsotsoros’s nonprofit organization, Wings Aloft, provides durable and affordable wheelchairs to children in Kenya. Her ongoing work with Kenyan therapists includes instruction in wheelchair fitting and assisting in the development of telehealth training about assistive technology. Dr. Tsotsoros has also led service trips to Uganda, Peru, and Guatemala, working to ensure that children with disabilities in these areas can fully participate in daily life.

From founding global initiatives to supporting early childhood educators during COVID-19, Dr. Tsotsoros’s work embodies the highest standards of occupational therapy. Her achievements reflect a life devoted to impactful service and compassion, setting an inspiring example for the next generation of occupational therapy professionals.

Honorable Mention for Innovation Award

Suja is an occupational therapist who has led an innovative approach in India to empower mothers of children with disabilities. The approach is an adapted version of Occupational Performance Coaching (OPC), originally developed by Dr. Fiona Graham, Professor Sylvia Rodger, and Professor Jenny Ziviani. Recognizing that occupational therapy in India often follows a medical model where therapists direct the process with minimal parental input, Suja introduced OPC at Kovai Medical Center and Hospital as a family-centered intervention. This approach redefined care by including mothers as active participants, helping them set meaningful goals, boost their self-esteem, and engage more fully in their children’s development. By creating group sessions during the children's therapy time, OPC also became a support network, allowing mothers to share experiences and build confidence amidst the cultural and caregiving obstacles they face.

Implementing OPC was challenging due to institutional resistance and cultural barriers that often assign blame to mothers for their children’s disabilities. However, Suja and her team persisted, conducting research to validate OPC’s effectiveness and publishing the results in the Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, setting a precedent for broader adoption in India. The intervention provided mothers a place to feel understood and valued, which allowed them to set personal and child-centered goals, thus transforming their quality of life. This intervention also established a foundation for future family-centered occupational therapy practices in India.

With over a decade of experience, Suja has consistently championed family-centered approaches, from community-based programs to neonatal intensive care unit initiatives. Now working with Kansas City Public Schools, she is establishing training programs to strengthen connections between parents and the educational system for children in special education. Suja’s journey reflects a deep commitment to reshaping occupational therapy to include families, inspire resilience, and support parents through culturally adapted and evidence-based interventions.