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About

Berg is an experienced pediatric clinician, mentor, and lecturer. She completed her doctorate in 2016 in educational leadership with a focus on the role of occupational therapy for postsecondary students with intellectual disabilities. Berg remains passionate about fostering the growth of students and clients with varying abilities to attain optimal life independence or co-independence and competitive wage employment.

About

DiLuzio has experience working in a variety of occupational therapy settings. Her clinical practice has focused on serving adults with orthopedic and neurological impairments in inpatient rehabilitation and adults with serious mental illness in inpatient mental health. DiLuzio earned her OTD in 2019 with her Capstone Project focusing on preparation of students for international fieldwork experiences. After graduating with her OTD, DiLuzio has been facilitating student success as a Capstone Advisor. DiLuzio is passionate about providing empathetic, client-centered, and evidence-based occupational therapy care.

About

Serena Dewey is an occupational therapist whose clinical practice experience has primarily included work with the geriatric and pediatric populations. Her experience has included providing services in skilled nursing facilities, assisted and independent living facilities, school districts, and early intervention. She has completed research and worked for organizations to promote the emerging practice area of occupational therapy services addressing women’s health and wellness during the perinatal period. Serena has experience working in higher education prior to becoming an occupational therapist and is passionate about merging her higher education and occupational therapy experience to serve and support students in their journey to become successful practitioners.

About

Dr. Garrison has over 20 years of experience working in the medical field including long-term, inpatient hospital, and psychiatric care. Her OT clinical practice has focused on servicing those with mental health considerations in Spokane and the rural surrounding area. During her clinical practice, she also provided mentoring to both students and clinicians. She has a passion for fostering the growth and development of students and the Occupational Therapy profession at the community level. Her experience in education involves teaching graduate-level courses in mental health, activity analysis/synthesis, leadership, group process, and physical disabilities for both adults and older adults. Her area of interest is promoting occupational therapy services for individuals within the community living with mental health disabilities using a trauma-informed care lens. She also actively participates in both local and state advocacy efforts for the OT profession.

About

Dr. Holmes began her career at EWU in 1999 when she joined the faculty and staff of the new Department of Occupational Therapy (OT) as assistant professor.  She participated in developing the program curriculum and courses and achieving its initial and ongoing accreditation. She taught courses across the curriculum, directed graduate research projects, mentored and advised students, and created innovative opportunities for student learning through community experiences.  She was subsequently awarded tenure and promoted to the rank of associate professor.

Dr. Holmes received a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy (1978) from the University of North Dakota and a Master of Science in Public Health (1991) from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.  She received her Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University (2006).

Throughout her career, Holmes provided occupational therapy services in diverse settings including hospital and rehabilitation systems, home health agencies, school systems, skilled nursing facilities, community agencies, and for multiple Pacific Island nations.  In 1981, she founded an independent living center for persons with disabilities in Missoula, MT.  While at EWU, Dr. Holmes combined her love of teaching with her passion for expanding the profession by teaching courses on program development, leadership, entrepreneurism, research, and emerging practices.

Dr. Holmes’ scholarship includes presentations at state, national, and international conferences often in conjunction with student researchers.  Additionally, she was the co-author of book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles.  She served as a member of the Washington Occupational Therapy Practice Board from 2002-2007 and was the primary author of funded institutional, state, and federal grants.

Her career in academia continued at Brenau University in Gainesville, GA until 2020.  Currently, she integrates her knowledge and skills from occupational therapy into her practice as a care manager for older adults and serves on the EWU OT Advisory Board.

About

Lee has been employed in the educational administrative support arena for over 20 years and brings with her a wealth of experience, including recent experience with EWU and WSU. She received her BA in Gender Studies from the University of La Verne in southern California in 2011. Lee’s interests include scrapbooking and paper crafts, genealogy and church volunteer activities.

About

Dr. Kohler came to EWU (1998-2012) to develop and teach the founding curriculum for the occupational therapy program. As chair (1998-2003), she was joined by a talented team of staff and faculty who helped grow and develop the program toward today’s Department of academic excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service. Kohler received her Bachelor of Fine Arts and Education from Ohio University (1974), a Masters of OT from the University of Puget Sound (1976), and her Doctorate of Education from the University of Montana (1988). Her practice and teaching career has been diverse with experiences in therapy work spanning from pediatrics to gerontology. Practice settings have included hospitals, rehabilitation centers, schools, rural remote clinics, hospices and in the countries of India, Haiti and Micronesia.

While teaching at EWU she worked alongside programs of Telehealth, area Tribal health clinics, and community agencies, bringing diverse experiences into the classroom and directly to consumers.  She mentored students in research focusing on the unique partnership between OT and Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT: equine and canine). Kohler was a productive scholar during her tenure at Eastern. Her publications focused on AAT,  models for therapy services to consumers who live in rural remote areas and curriculum development for OT programs in India, Haiti, the Yucatan and Guyana. She was a Delegate to the World Federation of Occupational Therapy for eight years. Kohler believes the teaching-learning experience is a collaborative partnership between students and faculty as equal scholars. Every student brings rich life experiences to the classroom, clinic, and community.  This richness provides consumers with uniquely skilled and compassionate OT graduates who focus on assisting people back into independent productive lives. Currently, Kohler teaches at an English Language school for refugees in Spokane and serves on the OT program’s Board.

About

Leanna is an experienced occupational therapist within the adult population, having significant experience in the critical care setting. This includes treatment provided to individuals affected by cardiac and pulmonary dysfunction, trauma, neurological injuries, and stroke. She feels interprofessional collaboration is the key to a strong care team and loves to practice this. Leanna has been heavily involved in program development regarding student and new hire experience, by providing mentorship along with improving and building student and new hire programs. She has also provided training and mentorship to experienced clinicians in the critical care setting. She is passionate about occupational therapy and specifically the process an OT takes to address client issues and return the individual to their highest level of functioning. In the academic setting, Leanna strives to provide the most updated and evidence-based education to prepare students as they enter clinical practice settings.

About

Emeritus status is an earned honor granted by the President to faculty who have served honorably and have consistently performed high quality work at Eastern Washington University.  Emeritus status permits the faculty member to remain active in the profession and in service to the university.  While an honor, it is also recognition that retired faculty remain an integral part of the academic community and a valuable resource to the university.  The relationship benefits both the university and the individual.

Diane Norell ’s career with EWU spanned more than twenty-five years, beginning in 1994 as a Faculty Field Instructor in the School of Social Work, and continuing in the Department of Occupational Therapy, as semester faculty, academic fieldwork coordinator, lecturer, and senior lecturer. For fifteen years, her position was a joint appointment between EWU and Washington State University; as a faculty with Eastern and a Research Associate with WSU’s Washington Institute for Mental Health Research and Training, (WIMHRT).

Norell received a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy (1974) from the University of North Dakota and a Master of Social Work (1982) from Eastern Washington University. Her practice area in both fields has been in public mental health and substance use/misuse systems of care. The dual role and unique lens of both occupational therapy and social work enabled her to specialize in psychiatric rehabilitation and provide an emphasis on inter-professional education to occupational therapy students.

Norell’s passion and experience enabled her to create a strong curriculum in the occupational therapy practice area of mental health. She had an innovative and effective teaching style with a desire to energize, inspire and motivate students. The use of humor, and open, collaborative dialogue resulted in consistent positive student’ responses. Beyond teaching, Norell served as an academic fieldwork coordinator. She collaborated with a vast number of regional fieldwork instructors in placement and engaged in the supervision of students during clinical internships. Her commitment to developing student placements in rural healthcare assisted the expansion of occupational therapy services to those areas.

Norell was a productive scholar during her tenure. She was a key author in several peer-reviewed journal articles; co-authored a book chapter and manuals regarding engaging clients and families in rehabilitation related to mental illness, spinal cord and traumatic brain injury; and participated as a presenter at local, national, and international conferences.

About

Dane is an experienced Occupational Therapist with a diverse clinical background.  He has experience in the areas of pediatrics, acute inpatient rehabilitation, and industrial rehabilitation.  Much of his clinic experience is in adult physical rehabilitation where he worked with a variety of patient populations.  Dane has experience in the areas of spinal cord rehabilitation, orthopedics, stroke rehabilitation, and traumatic brain injury.  Over the course of his clinical career, Dane has developed a passion for roles that support underserved populations.  Those roles have included providing transitional skills training for young adults with disabilities and working with individuals who experience chronic pain.  Dane has considerable experience providing education in a clinical setting and a broad clinical background as a practicing therapist.