Three diverse members were tapped to serve as adjunct instructors during the Fall semester in the Group Dynamics course, taught by Dr. Tippi Geron, OTD, OTR/L, CCM.
“Representation matters and it’s important that the faculty represent the diversity of the students in the classroom. I’ve yet to see this level of diversity in students in an OT classroom setting, or among an OT faculty group, like we have formed here. These faculty members come from different backgrounds and each one displays leadership, boldness, empathy, and creativity - which are characteristics that we strive to cultivate in the GW OT program. With guidance from these therapists, students can develop the lens to identify what causes exclusion in society, and the skills to take action to make a difference,” said program director and professor, Dr. Roger Ideishi JD, OT/L, FAOTA.
Mya Zavaleta Ford MS OTR/L, born in El Salvador and raised in the northeast, has lived in DC for the past 20 years. She is a bicultural and bilingual woman of color who holds a unique place in an emerging practice as a pediatric Nature-based Occupational Therapist and Consultant. She hopes to inspire and guide students while representing diversity in a homogenous industry. Zavaleta Ford has spent over 18 years in rehabilitation medicine and school-based settings. Now, she loves taking clients outdoors or bringing natural elements indoors to support their development and wellness. Her practice includes helping kids learn to navigate their bodies, thoughts, and relationships with greater ease and joy. She is trained in Montessori pedagogy and is a certified eco therapist.
Dr. Olufolatimi Akinrinade CTRS, OTD, OTR/L, a first generation Nigerian American with experiences from pediatrics to adults in neuro, and mental health outpatient clinics, has hopes to inspire students with her extensive international experience, and to relate over their doctoral education. Graduating from her doctoral program in 2019, she has been able to empathize with students’ feelings and emotions and then offer tips and tricks, and reasoning from her fresh perspective.
“We have a diverse group of students, but we also have a diverse group of faculty… Coming from my experience in Nebraska, where it was not like that, it was something that I wish I had. I think that diversity really enhances the learning experience and helps to understand and accommodate differences of opinion, motivation, and challenges; this ultimately helps you to become a more open-minded and understanding individual.”
Erica Fuentes, MOT, OTR/L, a first-generation American Bolivian, born in Washington D.C., grew up in northern Virginia. Fuentes is an in-home occupational therapist specializing in early intervention and hopes to teach students the importance of culture when treating clients.
Fuentes viewed her role from the client’s perspective as she explained, “there is nothing like having someone come into your home and see your space: how you decorate, how you live day-to-day, and what you do in a day. I'm given this opportunity to learn about different cultures by being immersed in it just by entering a client's home… I have families from Nigeria, El Salvador, Brazil, and more. I can best support the family by knowing and understanding the family's cultural experience,” said Fuentes.
“This group consists of experts that have explored such different avenues for practicing in occupational therapy. They have gone many places, accomplished many things and demonstrated the different lenses that OT can be applied in. To have these individuals in a single classroom working directly with small groups of students during their first year of OT school is hard to find,” said Dr. Geron.
The Adjunct Clinical Instructors assist students in learning about the varying roles, behaviors, and strategies for developing successful groups to collaborate most effectively.
