Iowa Occupational Therapy Association

About IOTA

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About The IOTA

The Iowa Occupational Therapy Association is a non-profit corporation established in 1977.

IOTA is a mem­ber­ship-based orga­ni­za­tion that works to build the capac­i­ty of its mem­bers through edu­ca­tion, research, and com­mu­ni­ca­tion. The IOTA acts as a pub­lic advo­cate for Occu­pa­tion­al Ther­a­py to pro­mote the via­bil­i­ty of the pro­fes­sion and access to services.

If you are an Occu­pa­tion­al Ther­a­pist, Occu­pa­tion­al Ther­a­py Assis­tant or Stu­dent in an Occu­pa­tion­al Ther­a­py or Occu­pa­tion­al Ther­a­py Assis­tant pro­gram, we wel­come you to not just join your state orga­ni­za­tion but to become engaged in the net­work­ing, pro­fes­sion­al devel­op­ment, and advo­ca­cy that is occurring.

Mission Statement

The objec­tives of the IOTA shall be to build the capac­i­ty of its mem­bers through edu­ca­tion, research, and com­mu­ni­ca­tion. The IOTA will act as a pub­lic advo­cate for Occu­pa­tion­al Ther­a­py to pro­mote the via­bil­i­ty of the pro­fes­sion and access to services.

Current IOTA Goals:

Devel­op mean­ing­ful ​“buy-in” for mem­bers to main­tain mem­ber­ship through:

  • Cre­at­ing CEU options through­out the state or virtually 
  • Con­nect­ing to oth­er pro­fes­sion­al organizations 
  • Gar­ner­ing feed­back from mem­bers relat­ing to membership 
  • Con­nect­ing to stu­dents and new graduates 
  • Encour­ag­ing mem­ber par­tic­i­pa­tion in recruit­ment efforts

Sup­port occu­pa­tion­al ther­a­py prac­tice and field­work in Iowa by:

  • Advo­cat­ing for appro­pri­ate reim­burse­ment models 
  • Increas­ing pro­fes­sion­al devel­op­ment oppor­tu­ni­ties with col­lab­o­ra­tion with IPTA and ISHA 
  • Focus­ing on evi­dence-based research, pro­mo­tion of OT arti­cles for ​‘mem­bers-only’ CEU’s
  • Increas­ing pres­ence in communities/​social media. 
  • Engag­ing in leg­isla­tive ini­tia­tives to pro­mote the scope of prac­tice integrity

Executive Board and Volunteers

Exec­u­tive Board –with Vote and Voice

Pres­i­dent

Steve Bowen

Pres­i­dent-Elect  

Syd­ney Marshman

Sec­re­tary

Jamie Rognes

Trea­sur­er

Jes­si­ca McHugh

OTA Rep­re­sen­ta­tive 

Lor­ri Swarney

Com­mit­tee on Prac­tice and Ethics (see Prac­tice Group liaisons below)

Angela Hansen Abbas

Edu­ca­tion & Research Committee

OPEN

Leg­isla­tive Committee

Denise Behrends

Davis Christy

Pub­lic Rela­tions Com­mit­tee (includes dis­trict chairs)

Syd­ney Moore

Mem­ber­ship Com­mit­tee (includes 3 subcommittees)

Jill Schmidt

Invit­ed to Exec­u­tive Board — Voice, No Vote

Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Subcommittee

OPEN

Nom­i­na­tions Subcommittee

OPEN

Schol­ar­ship & Recog­ni­tions Com­mit­tee Subcommittee

OPEN

Aca­d­e­m­ic & Field­work Prac­tice Group Liaison

Angela Fritz-Mchone

Chil­dren & Youths Prac­tice Group Liaison

Julie Jones

Health & Wellness

Rachel Allen-McHugh

Men­tal Health Prac­tice Group Liaison

OPEN

Pro­duc­tive Aging Prac­tice Group Liaison

Kathie Dell

Rehab, Dis­abil­i­ty & Par­tic­i­pa­tion Prac­tice Group Liaison

Mary Jo McCleary

Tech­nol­o­gy Prac­tice Group Liaison

OPEN

Work & Indus­try Prac­tice Group Liaison

OPEN

Reim­burse­ment Ad hoc committee

Denise Behrends

Dis­trict Chairperson(s)

NE:  Denise Dermody

SE:   Kathy Jaske Gardner

NW: Cort­ni Krusemark

SW:  OPEN

Cen­tral: Sue Toale Knapp

Stu­dent Representatives

OT PRO­GRAMS:

Allen Col­lege:

Emi­ly Busta

Natal­ie Martinson

Drake Uni­ver­si­ty:

Jes­si­ca Merrill

St. Ambrose:

Jake Hillard

OTA PRO­GRAMS:

Hawk­eye Com­mu­ni­ty College: 

OPEN

Indi­an Hills:

Mon­i­ca Sickels

Kirk­wood: 

OPEN

Past Pres­i­dent

Leanne O’Brien

Iowa’s Rep to AOTA RA

Denise Der­mody

IOTA Admin­is­tra­tive Assistant

Shelly Plough

IOTA Web­site Manager

Emi­ly Forsyth