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About

Dr. Danielle DiLuzio has experience working in a variety of occupational therapy settings. Her clinical practice has focused on serving adults with orthopedic and neurological impairments in inpatient rehabilitation and adults with serious mental illness in inpatient mental health. Danielle earned her OTD in 2019 with her Capstone Project focusing on preparation of students for international fieldwork experiences. After graduating with her OTD, Danielle has been facilitating student success as a Capstone Advisor. Danielle is passionate about providing empathetic, client-centered, and evidence-based occupational therapy care.

About

Serena Dewey is an occupational therapist whose clinical practice experience has primarily included work with the geriatric and pediatric populations. Her experience has included providing services in skilled nursing facilities, assisted and independent living facilities, school districts, and early intervention. She has completed research and worked for organizations to promote the emerging practice area of occupational therapy services addressing women’s health and wellness during the perinatal period. Serena has experience working in higher education prior to becoming an occupational therapist and is passionate about merging her higher education and occupational therapy experience to serve and support students in their journey to become successful practitioners.

About

Dr. Kaylynn Garrison has over 20 years of experience working in the medical field including long-term, inpatient hospital, and psychiatric care. Kaylynn’s OT clinical practice has focused on servicing those with mental health considerations in Spokane and the rural surrounding area. During her clinical practice, Kaylynn also provided mentoring to both students and clinicians. She has a passion for fostering the growth and development of students and the Occupational Therapy profession at the community level. Kaylynn’s experience in education involves teaching graduate-level courses in mental health, activity analysis/synthesis, leadership, group process, and physical disabilities for both adults and older adults. Her area of interest is promoting occupational therapy services for individuals within the community living with mental health disabilities using a trauma-informed care lens. Kaylynn also actively participates in both local and state advocacy efforts for the OT profession.

About

Emeritus status is an earned honor granted by the President to faculty who have served honorably and have consistently performed high quality work at Eastern Washington University.  Emeritus status permits the faculty member to remain active in the profession and in service to the university.  While an honor, it is also recognition that retired faculty remain an integral part of the academic community and a valuable resource to the university.  The relationship benefits both the university and the individual.

Dr. Wendy Holmes began her career at EWU in 1999 when she joined the faculty and staff of the new Department of Occupational Therapy (OT) as assistant professor.  She participated in developing the program curriculum and courses and achieving its initial and ongoing accreditation. She taught courses across the curriculum, directed graduate research projects, mentored and advised students, and created innovative opportunities for student learning through community experiences.  She was subsequently awarded tenure and promoted to the rank of associate professor.

Wendy received a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy (1978) from the University of North Dakota and a Master of Science in Public Health (1991) from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.  She received her Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University (2006).

Throughout her career, Wendy provided occupational therapy services in diverse settings including hospital and rehabilitation systems, home health agencies, school systems, skilled nursing facilities, community agencies, and for multiple Pacific Island nations.  In 1981, she founded an independent living center for persons with disabilities in Missoula, MT.  While at EWU, Wendy combined her love of teaching with her passion for expanding the profession by teaching courses on program development, leadership, entrepreneurism, research, and emerging practices.

Wendy’s scholarship includes presentations at state, national, and international conferences often in conjunction with student researchers.  Additionally, she was the co-author of book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles.  She served as a member of the Washington Occupational Therapy Practice Board from 2002-2007 and was the primary author of funded institutional, state, and federal grants.

Her career in academia continued at Brenau University in Gainesville, GA until 2020.  Currently, she integrates her knowledge and skills from occupational therapy into her practice as a care manager for older adults and serves on the EWU OT Advisory Board.

About

Lee Knous has been employed in the educational administrative support arena for over 20 years and brings with her a wealth of experience, including recent experience with EWU and WSU. She received her BA in Gender Studies from the University of La Verne in southern California in 2011. Lee’s interests include scrapbooking and paper crafts, genealogy and church volunteer activities.

About

Emeritus status is an earned honor granted by the President to faculty who have served honorably and have consistently performed high quality work at Eastern Washington University.  Emeritus status permits the faculty member to remain active in the profession and in service to the university.  While an honor, it is also recognition that retired faculty remain an integral part of the academic community and a valuable resource to the university.  The relationship benefits both the university and the individual.

Dr. Elizabeth Kohler came to EWU (1998-2012) to develop and teach the founding curriculum for the occupational therapy program. As chair (1998-2003), she was joined by a talented team of staff and faculty who helped grow and develop the program toward today’s Department of academic excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service. Elizabeth received her Bachelor of Fine Arts and Education from Ohio University (1974), a Masters of OT from the University of Puget Sound (1976), and her Doctorate of Education from the University of Montana (1988). Her practice and teaching career has been diverse with experiences in therapy work spanning from pediatrics to gerontology. Practice settings have included hospitals, rehabilitation centers, schools, rural remote clinics, hospices and in the countries of India, Haiti and Micronesia.

While teaching at EWU she worked alongside programs of Telehealth, area Tribal health clinics, and community agencies, bringing diverse experiences into the classroom and directly to consumers.  She mentored students in research focusing on the unique partnership between OT and Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT: equine and canine). Elizabeth was a productive scholar during her tenure at Eastern. Her publications focused on AAT, models for therapy services to consumers who live in rural remote areas and curriculum development for OT programs in India, Haiti, the Yucatan and Guyana. She was a Delegate to the World Federation of Occupational Therapy for eight years. Elizabeth believes the teaching-learning experience is a collaborative partnership between students and faculty as equal scholars. Every student brings rich life experiences to the classroom, clinic, and community.  This richness provides consumers with uniquely skilled and compassionate OT graduates who focus on assisting people back into independent productive lives. Currently, she teaches at an English Language school for refugees in Spokane and serves on the OT program’s Board.

About

Leanna McManus is an experienced occupational therapist within the adult population, having significant experience in the critical care setting. This includes treatment provided to individuals affected by cardiac and pulmonary dysfunction, trauma, neurological injuries, and stroke. She feels interprofessional collaboration is the key to a strong care team and loves to practice this. Leanna has been heavily involved in program development regarding student and new hire experience, by providing mentorship along with improving and building student and new hire programs. She has also provided training and mentorship to experienced clinicians in the critical care setting. She is passionate about occupational therapy and specifically the process an OT takes to address client issues and return the individual to their highest level of functioning. In the academic setting, Leanna strives to provide the most updated and evidence-based education to prepare students as they enter clinical practice settings.

About

Emeritus status is an earned honor granted by the President to faculty who have served honorably and have consistently performed high quality work at Eastern Washington University.  Emeritus status permits the faculty member to remain active in the profession and in service to the university.  While an honor, it is also recognition that retired faculty remain an integral part of the academic community and a valuable resource to the university.  The relationship benefits both the university and the individual.

Dr. Donna Mann practiced as an occupational therapist for 30 years in diverse settings such as adult rehabilitation, industrial rehabilitation, and pediatrics. As owner and operator of a pediatric private practice for 10 years, Donna was active in many community agencies and programs. She was among the first group of occupational therapists to receive board certification in pediatrics from the American Occupational Therapy Association, as well as many other certifications.  Dr. Mann initially came to the Department of Occupational Therapy as a lecturer and was well known for her ability to implement hands-on skills in the classroom whenever possible.

Donna then transitioned into an administrative role serving as the Interim Chair for the department (2016), quickly transitioning to the role of Associate Dean of the College of Health Sciences and Public Health [2017-2019], then rising to interim Dean [2019-2023]. It was her role as Interim Dean of the college that Donna’s accomplishments were most notable. A strong advocate, she fervently represented the departments of CHSPH presenting at local, regional, and national levels to obtain numerous grant awards. It was through Donna’s leadership and ability to attain significant grant funding that she was able to develop two new programs— a bachelor degree in Lifestyle Medicine and, most significantly, an adaptive athletics program.  It was with the adaptive athletics program that she was able to establish and foster national wheelchair athletic competitions and scholarship opportunities for wheelchair athletes.

The legacy of Dr. Mann runs deep within the Department of Occupational Therapy. Many faculty members and adjunct instructors were taught by Donna and sought a career in higher education as a result of her mentoring. It is this legacy that the faculty hope to emulate as they continue in their teaching careers. We share deep gratitude for the work of Donna as an occupational therapy practitioner, a departmental faculty member, and an academic leader in higher education.

About

Dr. Alex Myers earned her clinical doctoral degree from Northern Arizona University in 2018 and has spent her career working with adults in various settings, ranging from acute care to outpatient therapy. Working with patients across the care continuum, Alex developed a passion for pelvic health and has pursued clinical specialization in this emerging practice area since 2020. Alex is enthusiastic about incorporating pelvic health topics into entry-level OT curriculum and helping students to become prepared clinicians and thoughtful leaders within our profession.

About

Emeritus status is an earned honor granted by the President to faculty who have served honorably and have consistently performed high quality work at Eastern Washington University.  Emeritus status permits the faculty member to remain active in the profession and in service to the university.  While an honor, it is also recognition that retired faculty remain an integral part of the academic community and a valuable resource to the university.  The relationship benefits both the university and the individual.

Diane Norell ’s career with EWU spanned more than twenty-five years, beginning in 1994 as a Faculty Field Instructor in the School of Social Work, and continuing in the Department of Occupational Therapy, as semester faculty, academic fieldwork coordinator, lecturer, and senior lecturer. For fifteen years, her position was a joint appointment between EWU and Washington State University; as a faculty with Eastern and a Research Associate with WSU’s Washington Institute for Mental Health Research and Training, (WIMHRT).

Norell received a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy (1974) from the University of North Dakota and a Master of Social Work (1982) from Eastern Washington University. Her practice area in both fields has been in public mental health and substance use/misuse systems of care. The dual role and unique lens of both occupational therapy and social work enabled her to specialize in psychiatric rehabilitation and provide an emphasis on inter-professional education to occupational therapy students.

Diane’s passion and experience enabled her to create a strong curriculum in the occupational therapy practice area of mental health. She had an innovative and effective teaching style with a desire to energize, inspire and motivate students. The use of humor, and open, collaborative dialogue resulted in consistent positive student’ responses. Beyond teaching, Diane served as an academic fieldwork coordinator. She collaborated with a vast number of regional fieldwork instructors in placement and engaged in the supervision of students during clinical internships. Her commitment to developing student placements in rural healthcare assisted the expansion of occupational therapy services to those areas.

Diane was a productive scholar during her tenure. She was a key author in several peer-reviewed journal articles; co-authored a book chapter and manuals regarding engaging clients and families in rehabilitation related to mental illness, spinal cord and traumatic brain injury; and participated as a presenter at local, national, and international conferences.

About

DeAnn Pell is an Occupational Therapist with experience in an inpatient, psychiatric setting. She is passionate about using strength-based, client-centered care to empower people with serious mental illness to lead their best lives. She has experience providing education in the clinical setting where she emphasizes the development of clinical reasoning skills, interdisciplinary collaboration, and confidence in utilizing therapeutic modes. DeAnn attained certification as an Education Specialist in Autism Spectrum Disorders in 2018 and has an additional special interest in evidence-based intervention for individuals of all ages that are on the spectrum.

About

Emeritus status is an earned honor granted by the President to faculty who have served honorably and have consistently performed high quality work at Eastern Washington University.  Emeritus status permits the faculty member to remain active in the profession and in service to the university.  While an honor, it is also recognition that retired faculty remain an integral part of the academic community and a valuable resource to the university.  The relationship benefits both the university and the individual.

Dr. Snover joined the Eastern Washington University Department of Occupational Therapy in 2000 and was able to celebrate with the first graduating class of seven new occupational therapists destined for the broad Northwest region between North Dakota and Seattle.  Recruited as a part-time Lecturer to support the basic science courses in this new program, she thought it would be a perfect post-retirement job after a 20-year career with the US Air Force as an Aerospace Physiologist.  However, the mission of educating new practitioners in this fledgling undergraduate program inspired her to grow with the program to the graduate level and her accepting a position in the tenure-track. Though her early education was in the biological sciences with degrees in Zoology and a MS in Physiology and Biophysics, her passion lies more in the behavioral and neurosciences and she ultimately received her Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree with an emphasis in developmental mental health and interventions for autism spectrum disorders. As a professor, she taught across the curriculum but her favorite classes were the Evidence-based Practice series. Her student capstone/research groups primarily focused on illuminating the roles of occupational therapy with the autism population and she was a frequent collaborator with the Domino Project and Northwest Autism Center including an Easter Seals Grant for uses of iPad devices with the Center’s non-verbal students. She served briefly as the Department Chair during a transitional period before retiring in 2019 as an Associate Professor. She left a legacy of steadfast service on the Department and on each student, a passion for learning and the importance of using evidence-based practice to guide occupational therapy into the future.

About

Dr. Dane Vulcan is an experienced Occupational Therapist with a diverse clinical background.  He has experience in the areas of pediatrics, acute inpatient rehabilitation, and industrial rehabilitation.  Much of his clinic experience is in adult physical rehabilitation where he worked with a variety of patient populations.  Dane has experience in the areas of spinal cord rehabilitation, orthopedics, stroke rehabilitation, and traumatic brain injury.  Over the course of his clinical career, Dane has developed a passion for roles that support underserved populations.  Those roles have included providing transitional skills training for young adults with disabilities and working with individuals who experience chronic pain.  Dane has considerable experience providing education in a clinical setting and a broad clinical background as a practicing therapist.