AOTF Engage Summit 2024 | October 10-11, 2024 | Alexandria, Va.

Join us for the next Engage Summit in 2026!

Are you passionate about occupational therapy research that strengthens communities? We invite you to join a groundbreaking initiative designed to elevate your work! 

Join community partners and occupational therapy researchers for the first-ever AOTF Engage Summit to:

• Share high-quality, community-engaged research
• Build capacity to conduct research that makes a difference in people’s lives and communities

Three panels will be conducted in a world cafe style, providing attendees with small group discussion around the panel topics of:

• Understanding The Spectrum of Community Engagement: From Conceptualization Through Dissemination
• Building An Infrastructure to Support Community Engaged Research
• Measuring And Documenting the Process and Outcomes of Engagement

During breakout sessions, attendees can learn from other successful teams during “Partnership Showcases”, and two poster viewings provide plenty of opportunity for conversation and connection.  

Archived Recordings

Engage Summit Keynote with Karriem Watson, DHSc, MS, MPH, Chief Engagement Officer, NIH All of Us Research Program

View entire playlist of panel discussions

Registration is Closed

Researcher / Clinician / Faculty: $ 200
Community Partner: $ 25
(Includes welcome reception, plus breakfast, lunch and snacks each program day)

Learning Objectives:

• Showcase the depth and breadth of landscape of high-quality community engaged research within occupational therapy.
• Identify and evaluate systematic approaches to CE methodologies to elevate OT-informed community engaged scholarship, include evaluation, measurement, outcomes, and dissemination.
• Build capacity amongst people with lived experience to actively engage in OT-informed community-engaged research as full and equal partners.

Keynote Speakers:

Unveiling the Potential of the NIH All of Us Research Program for Occupational Therapy: A Community-Engaged Approach to Addressing Disability Health Disparities Karriem Watson, DHSc, MS, MPH Chief Engagement Officer, NIH All of Us Research Program	Community Participatory Research and OT: What's in It For Me? Angel Love Miles, PhD

Panels and "World Cafe"

Intentional integration of DEI across all panels and sessions.

All panels will be coordinated by our planning committee, with invited presenters. We will ask all panels to:

• Address engagement of underrepresented and minoritized communities.
• Strategically invite presenters who work with different communities, populations, and in different contexts.
• Prioritize inviting OTs leading in this space, but will invite researchers outside of OT when appropriate.

Future Planning & Follow-up Activity for the Committee

To create a white paper/presenters (OTJR manuscript) to synthesize discussions across world café questions.

Program Committee 
Susan Magasi, PhD, FACRM, University of Illinois Chicago (Co-Chair)
Jessica M. Kramer, PhD, OTR/L, University of Florida (Co-Chair)
Teal Benevides, PhD, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA, Augusta University
Joy Hammel, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, University of Illinois at Chicago
Roger Ideishi, JD, OT/L, FAOTA, George Washington University
Khalilah R. Johnson, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Kristie Patten, PhD, OT/L, FAOTA, New York University
Timothy Reistetter, PhD, OTR, FAOTA, University of Texas, San Antonio

Hotel Information

Hilton Alexandria Old Town
1767 King Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314 
AOTF Room block will end Sept. 18, 2024 or when block fills.
More info on Booking, Transportation, Parking, Dining and Things to Do.

Did you happen to know? *Alexandria, Virginia ranks among the top 15 cities in the United States, as recognized by Travel and Leisure's prestigious annual "World’s Best Awards" survey for 2024. This historic city, just five miles from Washington D.C., boasts a unique blend of historical charm and modern allure. View more about Accessible Travel and Things to Do.

Thank You to Our Sponsor:

The AOTF Engage Summit is made possible through a philanthropic gift from the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). 

Questions: 

AOTF Conference Inquiries- email Lianna Meyreles: lmeyreles@aotf.org
Abstracts or Registration Inquiries- email Kingsley: kingsley@asia-spinalinjury.org

Thanks to those who submitted Abstracts! (Now Closed)

Awardees were announced August 1, 2024. We value the opportunity to learn together with community partners in the ENGAGE Summit. Community Partners were eligible for a registration and travel stipend to attend the event. Priority was given to community partners who present an accepted abstract (scientific poster or partnership showcase). 

Abstracts Scientific Poster Submission: 

• Research posters will be presented Thursday and Friday, October 10 & 11th, and may feature ongoing or completed studies with or without external funding. 
• Community-engaged research teams are eligible to submit a research poster. There are no restrictions based on career stage
• All posters must include academic/clinical and community collaborator authors
• Posters may feature outcomes/findings of community-engaged research, formative or process evaluations of community-engaged research, or other studies related to community engagement (e.g., measurement studies, systematic literature reviews).

Partnership Showcase Submissions: 

• Partnership Showcase sessions are designed to allow community-engaged research teams to highlight the processes, innovations, and creative collaborations that they have developed and/or implemented in their research.
• Focused areas may include such topics as approaches to outreach, needs assessment, implementation, dissemination, and/or community programming.
• Partnership Showcase presenters will also have the opportunity to engage with audience members through collaborative and collegial discussion.
• Partnership teams will have 12 minutes to showcase their partnership with time for feedback and discussion with other summit attendees.
• Partnership Showcase proposals that are not well fit to the Partnership Showcase design will be considered for poster presentations.