Meet the Team

Teamwork divides the task and multiplies the success.

Each year, the CAOT Conference is planned, coordinated and organized by a dedicated conference team made up of CAOT members that are local to the conference destination. From logistics to member outreach to planning and supporting plenary and break-out sessions, the CAOT Conference would simply not be the success that it is without the hard work of the conference team. Our thanks to you!
 

 
Co-convenors Alicia Carey & Loralie Clark
 

Alicia Carey is an occupational therapist with nearly 20 years of experience, graduating with bachelor degrees from the Universities of Saskatchewan and Alberta, and a masters degree from the University of Toronto in 2017. She has had a diverse career thus far, working most significantly in neurology and mental health. She has worked in many roles in Saskatchewan, as a front line clinician, educator, researcher, practice leader, and administrator. She enjoys volunteering for OT provincially and nationally. She is currently a manager with the Saskatchewan Health Authority. Alicia is married and has 2 active adolescent daughters, for whom she is cheerleader, coordinator, cook, chauffeur, and coach.

Loralie Clark is a private practice occupational therapist who has recently returned to northern Saskatchewan. Since graduating from Occupational Therapy at the University of Alberta 30 years ago, she has worked with children of all ages and stages of development. Loralie’s passion is maximizing every child’s ability within their many occupations in their family and community. She has worked and volunteered in a diverse career that includes clinical service, professional practice, education, administration, research, and regulation. Volunteering within the profession of occupational therapy on a provincial and national level has formed a strong foundation for her day to day occupational therapy practice with children. 

 

Accessibility Committee Chair

Melanie Coutts is an Occupational Therapist and Certified Hand Therapist who graduated from the University of Alberta in 1997. She has worked as a Hand Therapist in a vocational rehabilitation setting for the majority of her career. She is currently working at St. Paul’s Hospital in acute care.
 

Social Committee Co-chairs

Karin Diedrich-Closson graduated in 1994 from University of Alberta and has been working in Saskatoon for the past 25 years. She spent 20 years as an Occupational Therapist at the Rehabilitation Centre at Saskatoon City Hospital. Currently she is a Manager of Interprofessional Practice and enjoys managing various therapy staff. As well as loving her career as an OT, she also loves to travel off the beaten path with her family.

Debbie Waring graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor’s in Occupational Therapy 26 years ago. She is proud that Saskatoon has been her home with her husband and their three grown boys, ever since. Her entire career has been in Pediatrics - in health care, some private practice, and currently in school-based care with Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools. She is very passionate about our profession and promotes it in every aspect of her life. She has volunteered within SSOT and has been a part of many new programs and initiatives. She feels OT’s make the best advocates as “out of the box thinkers” to provide the best supports to children and families.
 

Volunteer Committee Chair

Richelle Love is a graduate from the University of Alberta and has been working as an Occupational Therapist for over 14 years. She has worked with the neurological population the majority of her career in a variety of settings including acute care, in-patient and out-patient neuro rehab, and community. She has worked in both Regina and Saskatoon and is currently the Rehabilitation Coordinator with the Sask. Central Acquired Brain Injury Outreach Team.
 

Conference Scientific Program Committee
 

Chair Natalie McLeod Schroeder is the Director of Clinician Assessment Programs and an Instructor in the Occupational Therapy Department, College of Rehabilitation Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy and a Master of Science from the University of Western Ontario, and a PhD in Education from the University of Manitoba. Natalie’s interests and experience include educational scholarship, professional identity of occupational therapists, theory development and use in occupational therapy, and the assessment and education of health professionals in practice.

Members

Cara Brown, Juliette (Archie) Cooper, Lisa Diamond-Burchuk, Susan Hales, Leslie Johnson, Julie Lapointe, Rambel Palsis