Rachel Russell, PhD, OT, is an occupational therapist, lecturer and researcher based at the University of Salford in the UK. With 18 years of experience of working in adult health and social care, she has been directly involved in the assessment and delivery of home modifications. Since 2011, her research has focused on the home modification process, particularly the role of occupational therapists in this process. During that time, Rachel developed the Home Modification Process Protocol, which helps occupational therapists to explains their role in this field of practice as a design and construction process.

Connect with Rachel:

• Via email: r.c.russell@salford.ac.uk
• On Twitter @brontot

Resources & recommendations from this episode:

• Article by Rachel on The Development of a Design & Construction Protocol
• The Housing Enabler Screening Tool
• The Stark Lab "I Hope" Kit 
• Occupation-centred, occupation-based, occupation-based: same, same or different? [article by Ann Fisher]

Robin Akselrud, OTD, OTR/L, has fifteen years of experience in a variety of clinical practice areas. Robin is a certified early intervention provider and has worked in several treatment settings, including schools, home care for medically fragile infants and children, and hand therapy and splinting for infants and toddlers. In addition to her clinical work, Robin was an Assistant Professor/AFWC in the MSOT program at Hofstra University from 2017-2019 and recently joined the BS/MS program at LIU-Brooklyn as an Assistant Professor. Robin has also served as an adjunct professor at LIU, York-CUNY and at Touro College for the past seven years. In 2011, Robin founded an OT outpatient facility, Forward OT PLLC, for both children and adults in Brooklyn.
 
In 2018, Robin also established the OT program at a primary care facility for an underserved community in Williamsburg, Brooklyn- ParCare Community Network.  She is also a consultant for The Lighthouse Guild and recently co-authored an AOTA online CEU course focusing on treatment of vision deficits in children. Robin is currently the Leadership and Management Coordinator for the AOTA Home and Community Health Special Interest Section. Robin has presented her research at the 2018 AOTA conference in Salt Lake City and at the 2018 AOTA Education Summit in Louisville. Her publications include “Advocating for Occupational Therapy in Preparation for the Patient Driven Groupings Model”, SIS Quarterly Practice Connections, 2019, 4(2), 14-17 and “The value of home health occupational therapy practitioners in home modifications”, SIS Quarterly Practice Connections,2019, 4(1), 17–19. Dr. Akselrud holds a Master of Science from Touro College in Bay Shore, NY and a Doctor of Occupational Therapy from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT.
 
Robin recently started the Ask the Therapists program and a student-run podcast called My OT Journey podcast. She is currently writing two books geared towards OT students and new grads to be published in 2020. 

Connect with Robin:

• Via email
• Facebook Page - My OT Journey
• Instagram - @myotjourneypodcast

Resources & recommendations:

• Everything is Figureoutable [book], by Marie Forlio
• My OT Journey [podcast]

Diane Knoll, OTR/L, is an occupational therapist who works as the founder and director of Vibrant Palette Arts Center, a non-profit visual arts day program for adults with disabilities in the city of Seattle. With 15 years of experience working in both school settings and pediatric therapy clinics, delivering quality care to clients ages three through adulthood, Diane enjoys working with clients who have self-regulation challenges, sensory processing differences, fine motor delays, and dysgraphia. She specializes in the use of creative approaches to encourage engagement and increased independence with clients.
 
Diane is currently the only therapist with a specialty certification in the Size Matters Handwriting Program in Washington State. She recently started a consulting company that specializes in providing sensory support for all ages in clients' natural environments, Cascadia Therapy Services. 

Connect with Diane:

• Via email
• On her Facebook Page
• Through her website  
• On LinkedIn
• Via Instagram​ 

Kokeb Girma McDonald, OTR/L, is a pediatric occupational therapist, the founder of Polaris Therapy, an online parent and service provider coach, and a best-seller author to Integrating Primitive Reflexes Through Play and Exercise: An Interactive Guide to the Moro Reflex for Parents, Teachers, and Service Providers. She has 15+ years hands-on experience working with children from diverse background and with various diagnoses. Kokeb recently created an online course and wrote a book to teach parents and service providers a step-by-step home and classroom playful exercises, which can be implemented in less than 10 minutes a day to help improve a child's development. The book is available on Amazon.com and also through Kokeb's website; it includes 30 exercises that can be done to facilitate the integration of the Moro reflex. Kokeb's plan is to make this book be the first in a series of books all centered on primitive reflexes. 

Connect with Kokeb:

• Email - kokeb@polaristherapy.com
• FB Page - https://www.facebook.com/integratingreflexes/
• Blog - https://www.polaristherapy.com/blog