HealthMatters

Jessie Franco is a lecturer in the entry-level Occupational Therapy Doctorate program at Sargent College. Her clinical experience centers on adult physical dysfunction and spans the full rehabilitation trajectory, with expertise in acute care. Passionate about preparing students for fieldwork and practice, Jessie is dedicated to bridging the gap between classroom learning and real-world clinical practice.

Kayla Jackson is a local high school senior, prospective college student, and current Girl Scout Gold Award candidate. She is the founder of the Backpack Awareness Initiative in her local school district and has promoted backpack safety throughout her community. Under the guidance of Karen Jacobs, OT, EdD, OTR, CPE, FAOTA at Boston University, Kayla has been able to gather factual data and conduct survey-based research on backpack usage within her own school and community. Kayla's long-term goal is to improve student wellness by educating others and improving awareness on backpack usage and its lasting impacts on health.

Kate Stewart is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, Boston University. She is an occupational therapist licensed with the Massachusetts Board of Allied Health Professions and is registered with the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy and the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario. Kate has experience working with adults and older adults with diverse occupational performance and engagement issues across various settings, including acute care, inpatient rehab, community care, and mental health. Kate’s clinical work has primarily focused on providing occupational therapy services at the individual level (i.e., via home care) and at the group/collective level (i.e., via community mental health advocacy and social policy work). Kate’s scholarship emphasizes her interest in deepening our understanding of the occupational human to ultimately support individuals' capacity for everyday living. In service of this aim, she is interested in exploring the ways in which occupational therapists come to think like occupational therapists; that is, how occupational therapists reason through complex issues to best address the needs of clients. Recently, Kate has undertaken to examine the intersection of uncertainty and professional reasoning in occupational therapy practice and education.

Dr. Iverson’s career has been colored by a series of unexpected events, each of which have taken her work and interests in new directions. Her initial foray into psychological research – a

senior thesis focused on learning in cassius auratus (the goldfish) – led to an opportunity to work in a child language lab and subsequently to spending a year living in Rome and conducting research on the development of gesture and language in very young children. Her doctoral training in developmental psychology and language acquisition led to a postdoctoral

fellowship with Esther Thelen, where she spent a lot of time trying to understand what others in the Motor Development Lab were talking about (torque? attractor state?) and developing a deep

and lasting fascination with motor development. A move to the University of Pittsburgh in 2003 coincided with the award of a small grant to study the early development of infants with an older autistic sibling. This work became the impetus for combining her longstanding research on communicative and language development with her interest in motor development, with the goal of understanding how advances in the development of motor skills create rich new opportunities for infants to engage with objects and people and to do so in progressively more sophisticated ways. Dr. Iverson came to BU in 2022 with the goal of using this framework to develop interventions supporting early mobility and global development in infants and toddlers with motor delays and disabilities.

Join us for an engaging conversation with Dr. Monica Pessina as she shares her journey and explains how staying connected to clinical practice brings harmony to her education and research.

Jenn Keenan, EdD, EdM, leads strategic initiatives in clinical education and community partnerships at BU’s Sargent College. She oversees all aspects of undergraduate and graduate experiential learning, building and sustaining cross-sector partnerships that expand student access to meaningful, mission-driven placements. A proud BU alum and advocate for first-generation students, she also mentors with the Philadelphia Futures Scholars Program and Terrier F1rsts, helping to shape the next generation of leaders. Join us as Dr. Keenan shares some recent experiential learning projects she has played a role in creating at BU!

Lindsey M. Locks, ScD, MPH is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Health Sciences (Sargent College) and Global Health (School of Public Health) at Boston University. She directs the Global Nutrition Lab and currently serves as Chair of the Global Nutrition Council, one of two scientific councils within the American Society for Nutrition. Dr. Locks is a nutritional epidemiologist who collaborates to co-design and evaluate high-impact interventions aimed at improving the nutrition of children and families living in high-poverty settings, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Dafna Barhad is a pediatric occupational therapist with over 20 years of expertise specializing in sensory-informed approaches to child development . Throughout her career, she has practiced in developmental centers and ran her own private practice, supporting neurodivergent individuals and their families while collaborating closely with educational teams and healthcare professionals. She has extensive experience developing individualized interventions and family education programs . Currently pursuing her Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) at Boston University, her doctoral research focuses on amplifying children's voices in their own care, reflecting her commitment to advancing evidence-based practice in pediatric occupational therapy. With a background in Art History, Dafna brings a unique interdisciplinary perspective to therapeutic intervention. Her work focuses on creating inclusive environments where all individuals can thrive.

Join us for an interesting conversation with Dr. Shannon Peters where they share details of their new role as Faculty Council Representative at Boston University’s Sargent College. Dr. Peters shares their experience being a clinical assistant professor at Sargent, and a licensed psychologist, and how these experiences in collaboration with other faculty members will influence advocating for change in this new leadership role.

Join us for a conversation with Sarah Harvey, a recent PP-OTD graduate from BU based in rural Maine. In this episode, Sarah reflects on the importance of recognizing professional burnout and compassion fatigue among occupational therapists and other health care professionals. After facing burnout and professional fatigue herself, Sarah wanted to give back and support her peers. To do this Sarah designed an online community of practice for fellow Maine home health occupational therapy practitioners. Listen as she shares her experience and expertise, and what she has done to support other OTPs.