Congratulations to all the 2020 AOTA Award Recipients! We certainly recognize a few that have supported us over the years... 

• Virginia C. Stoffel- As Prior AOTA President she we worked with us on key joint projects, Non-Voting Board Member,  2000 AOTF Leadership Commendation Award Recipient, 2019 PTE Speed Mentoring Session Mentor
• Sharon A. Gutman- Planning Committee and Participant in first PGC-Mental Health
• Karen Atler- Intervention Research Grant Recipient
• Robin Newman- Planning Committee Member and Participant in first PGC-Mental Health
• Juleen Rodakowski- Intervention Research Grant Recipient, Chair of Planning Committee for PGC-Aging in Place
• Karen Jacobs- Development Council, PGC-Telehealth Participant, PTE Faculty Advisor (BU), AOTF partners with the MA OT Association and gives out a scholarship in her honor/name, Past AOTF Voting Board Member, Non-voting Board Member as Past AOTA President
• Elizabeth Pyatak- OTJR Associate Editor, 2020-21 State of the Science Symposium Speaker
• Juleen Rodakowski- OTJR Associate Editor, PTE Faculty Advisor (University of Pittsburgh)
• Anna Wallisch- Nedra Gillette Endowed Research Fellowship Awardee, PGC-Telehealth Participant
• Lauren Little- PGC-Telehealth Planning Committee; Intervention Research Grant Recipient, AOTF VIP Reception Mission Speaker
• Marjorie Vogeley – As Past MD OT Association President – worked with us to administer past MD OTA scholarship

As a stand-alone non-profit exclusively building OT evidence to improve practice and health, we rely on our volunteer partners and leaders from all areas of occupational therapy and the public to deliver the programs that make an impact.

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AOTF is proud to announce that 100% of our past Intervention Research Grant winners made a philanthropic gift to support the next round of these unique grants! This unprecedented level of giving demonstrates the outstanding commitment of our OT community to advance the science of occupational therapy.  Thank you to all our IRG winners for investing in the future of this exceptional research program. Stay tuned for the winners of the 2021 IRGs!

See how you can support OT Research.

An exciting update from one of our 2017 Intervention Research Grant Recipients, Evan Dean, PhD, OTR/L from University of Kansas, Supporting Employment Through Self-determination for Young Adults with ASD (Mentor: Karrie Shogren, PhD).

“I recently received a 3-year Field Initiated Project (Research) from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. This project is a next step for the project completed with AOTF funding.  In the NIDILRR project, we are testing the feasibility and impact of delivering the intervention we tested in the AOTF study (the Self-Determined Career Design Model) via telehealth.  To me, this grant is more evidence that the IRG programs are successful in increasing funding for OT researchers!  I appreciate AOTF’s early support of my research!”

The purpose of the IRG grant program is to lay the necessary groundwork for larger intervention and implementation studies and support the profession’s Vision 2025 of occupational therapy as an evidence-based profession. We thank Evan for paying it forward by making a gift to support the 2021 IRGs. AOTF relies on the generosity of a community of donors to provide the resources we need to advance the science of occupational therapy. See how you can help build evidence to support the future of OT. If you've recieved support from AOTF and have an update about your OT research such as follow-on funding, let us know so we can share it with fellow colleagues in the field.