CFOT Awards
2025 Humanitarian Award
Esther Yejin Suh Kwon, MA, OT/L
Esther Yejin Suh Kwon, MA, OT/L, is a trauma-informed occupational designer (occupational therapy practitioner + cosmetologist) with a focus on community-based and mental health practice, leading the field of occupational therapy (OT) service provision in anti-human trafficking and pro-human thriving work. Through her unique OT and beauty industry lens, Esther is using her experiences to uplift and create opportunities for women who have experienced oppression and institutional dependency to transition into inspired independent living. In 2015, she co-founded the first occupational therapy-based non-profit, Dwelle Collaborative - Qualified, serving survivors of human trafficking and restoring occupational justice in the areas of wellness, life/job skills, and community integration. Esther believes that when survivors are empowered to use their choices and voice to navigate their own recovery and thriving occupational journey, their achievements are limitless and success unstoppable.
For more information contact Esther at estherskwon@dwellecollaborative.com.
CFOT Salutes you and is pleased to present you with our 2025 Humanitarian Award!
2025 Honored Lectureship
Jean Koketsu, OTD, OTR/L
Ask Yourself, “WHY Not?”: Answer and Activate!
Jean Koketsu describes herself as an average, hard-working “risk-averse-front-line-bread and butter-generalist-OT” who left the safety net of a traditional healthcare setting after a dozen years to say “yes” to untested options. Jean will describe how answering “Why not?” to opportunities opened doors to experiences and impacts beyond what she originally imagined. In this presentation, Jean will also share insights on how to survive and thrive in challenging healthcare climates.
2025 Meritorious Service Awards
Judi Palladino and Heidi McHugh Pendleton
CFOT is pleased to honor Judi and Heidi for their many years of service to the CFOT Board as co-chairs of the Research Advisory Committee. In their roles for more than a decade, they have raised awareness of the importance of research for the advancement of OT practice. Judi and Heidi have also championed increasing the amount of research and seed money dollars awarded to OT students, residents, and clinicians to fund worthy proposals that ultimately benefit the lives of those occupational therapy practitioners serve.
Laura Weiss
CFOT is pleased to honor Laura for her 15 years of service to the CFOT Board as co-chair of the Scholarship Committee. Laura has been primarily responsible for receiving and vetting scholarship applications, recruiting scholarship reviewers, organizing the rating and selection process, and notifying recipients. She has overseen tremendous growth in the number of annual scholarship applicants from 6 to 62 and the number of scholarships available from 3 to 20!
Thank you to our three recipients who have generously donated their time and talents and have demonstrated outstanding devotion to CFOT in its mission to support current and future generations of occupational therapy practitioners!
2025 Scholarship Awards
- Ascend’s Future OT Leaders Scholarship
Sheridan Lopez, California State University Dominquez Hills - Ascend’s OT Excellence Scholarship
Georgia Crowe, Samuel Merritt University - Michele Berro Scholarship (in memory of Mary Ann Epstein)
Morgan Kam, San Jose State University - Frank J. Biehl Scholarship
Dominique Soriano, California State University Dominquez Hills - Ardith Breton Scholarship
Jacob Lopez, Loma Linda University - CFOT In Memoriam Scholarship
Erin Kim, California State University Dominquez Hills - Linda Florey Scholarship
Victoria Rioflorido, San Jose State University - Maureen Cunningham Herwood Scholarship
Sophie Perez, University of Southern California - Evelyn Jaffe Scholarship
Tracy Nguyen, California State University Dominquez Hills - Susan Knox-Hirsch Scholarship
Brittany Trevino, University of Southern California - Janice Matsutsuyu Scholarship
Madeline Meadows, University of St. Augustine
Jhennylyn Rivera-Villano, University of Southern California - Guy McCormack Scholarship
Mariah Plaza, Samuel Merritt University - Jaynee Taguchi Meyer Scholarship
Kimberly Nguyen, San Jose State University - Margaret (Meg) Mitani Moss & Gaylord E. Moss Scholarship
Emily Suk, Loma Linda University - Fred Sammons Scholarship
Giselle Santos, California State University Dominquez Hills - Chuck Strauch Scholarship
Rekha Todker-Sulkar, Southern California University of Health Sciences - Lisa Test Scholarship
Peri Hernandez, Dominican University of California - Wilma West Scholarship
Antonio Johnson, University of St. Augustine - Dorothy (Dottie) Wilson Scholarship
Lydia Hong, University of Southern California
2025 Traineeship Awards
- CFOT Traineeship
Kendra Mitchell, Santa Ana College - Maureen Cunningham Herwood Traineeship
Kelsey Bowles, Sacramento City College - Janice Matsutsuyu Traineeship
Angelou Dimson, CBD College - Jaynee Taguchi Meyer Traineeship
Kevin Eldridge, Clovis Community College
2025 Research Awards
- Elisa Adams, OTS: Creating Pathways: Building Community Through Art
California State University Dominguez Hills
Sheryl Ryan, PhD, OTR/L, Faculty Advisor
Funding provided by the Bonita Kraft Research Grant and the CFOT General Research Fund
- Cesar Arada, OTD: Use of Remote Artificial Intelligence in the Rehabilitation of Hand Orthopedic Conditions in Clinical Settings
San Jose State University
Funding provided by the CFOT General Research Fund
- EvaRose Celeste, OTS: Programming Aquatic Occupational Therapy for POTS
California State University Dominguez Hills
Tracy Becerra-Culqui, PhD, Faculty Advisor
Bianca Callier, OTD, Site Mentor
Funding provided by the CFOT General Research Fund
- Heather Javaherian-Dysinger, OTD: Occupational Therapy Programming for Adults who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence
Loma Linda University
Funding provided by the Lisa Test Research Grant and the Dr. Robert B. Jaffe, MD Research Grant
- Kristin Jones, PhD: An Early-Career Occupational Therapy Mentorship Program for Occupational-Based Practice: A Feasibility Study
Dominican University of California
Funding provided by the CFOT Legacy
Circle Fund
- Melisa Kaye, EdD: Project RISE-UP: Advancing Graduate Student Success in Healthcare Pathways
San Jose State University
Funding provided by the CFOT General Research Fund
- Ann E. McDonald, PhD: Creation of a Health, Occupational Engagement and Lifestyle Impact (HOELI) Scale
Keck Graduate Institute
Funding provided by the Dorothy (Dottie) Wilson Research Grant
- Lauren N. Newhouse, OTD & Sheryl J. Ryan, PhD: Enhancing Well-Being Through Mental Health Metrics: Can Therapeutic Self-Monitoring Improve Graduate
Student Wellness?
California State University Dominguez Hills
Funding provided by the CFOT General Research Fund
- Graham Teaford, OTD: Development of a Vietnamese Version of the Revised Self-Report Assessment of Functional Visual Performance (R-SRAFVP)
San Jose State University
Funding provided by the Margaret (Meg) Mitani & Gaylord E. Moss Research Grant, the Julie Shaperman Research Grant in Memory of Dr. Martin Shaperman, and the CFOT General Research Fund
2025 Seed Money Awards
Edith Alba, Molly Hargon, & Jasmine Henley, OT Students
- Commensality Groups as a Form of Resilience Programming for Occupational Therapy Graduate Students
- Caroline Umeda, OTR/L, PhD, Faculty Advisor
- Dominican University of California
Kimberley Ancheta, Elizabeth Abarca, Roshini Gammanpila, & Melissa Huynh, OT Students
- Building Perspectives: A Pilot Study of Stakeholder Insights, Learning Needs, and Preferences on Exoskeleton Use for Adults with Disabilities
- Chiao-Ju Fang, PhD, OTR/L, Faculty Advisor
- San Jose State University
Rachel Kuai Baumbach, OT Student
- Occupational Therapy Staff Training Program for Improved Engagement for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities at Adult Day Centers
- Guy Reavis, OTD, OTR/L, Faculty Advisor
- University of Southern California
Monique Afram Baumer, OTR/L & Kaila Osborn, OTR/L
- Sensory Room
- Hillmont Psychiatric Center
Jordan Bellamy, OT Student
- Mindful Moves: OT and Yoga-Based Pathways to Educational Participation
- Eric Hwang, Amber Borchert, Sheryl Ryan, & Abbie Bryant, Faculty Advisors
- California State University Dominguez Hills
Emily Canigiula, OT Student
- Family-Level Impacts of Equine-Assisted Therapy for Children with Disabilities: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Pilot Study
- Courtney Boitano, OTD, OTR/L & Graham Teaford, OTD, OTR/L, Faculty Advisors
- San Jose State University
Julia Cheng & Kevin Vu, OT Students
- Exploring Identity Through Occupation: A Multicultural-Based Engagement Program for Older Adults
- Courtney Boitano, OTD, OTR/L, Faculty Advisor
- San Jose State University
Erin Chung, OT Student
- A Sensory-Friendly Waiting Area at Momentum Pediatric Therapy Network
- Winny Soenaryo, OTD, OTR/L, Faculty Advisor
- University of Southern California
Katherine Francisco, Jillian Barallon, Issac Lee, & Jennifer Ng, OT Students
- Understanding Occupational Therapy Practitioners Perspectives on Mentorship
- Arezou Salamat, OTD, OTR/L, Faculty Advisor
- Loma Linda University
Samantha Hammer & Elin Lennox, OT Students
- Stories Through the Seasons
- Courtney Boitano, OTD, OTR/L, Faculty Advisor
- San Jose State University
Sharon Han, OT Student
- Implementing Outcome Measures to Assess Effectiveness of Occupational Therapy Intervention in Community-Based Pediatric Mental Health
- Janis Yue, OTD, OTR/L & Stephani Gharehptian, OTD, OTR/L, Faculty Advisors University of Southern California
Travis Joyner & Francis Balanon, OT Students
- Developing Social Skills with Transitional Aged Youth Experiencing Homelessness
- Courtney Boitano, OTD, OTR/L, Faculty Advisor
- San Jose State University
Shelley Kellogg & Glen Ilagan, OT Students
- Animal Assisted Happiness Program
- Courtney Boitano, OTD, OTR/L, Faculty Advisor
- San Jose State University
Pirathahini Mahalingam & Gabriela Canotal, OT Students
- Self-Regulation Empowerment for Unhoused Children & Families
- Courtney Boitano, OTD, OTR/L, Faculty Advisor
- San Jose State University
Leticia Martinez, OT Student
- Co-Creating a Manual for Sustainable Artistic Employment: A Summer Pilot Program at Painted Brain
- Sarah Bream, OTR/L, Faculty Advisor
- University of Southern California
Francisco Mora, OT Student
- Oral Hygiene Among Persons who Have a Spinal Cord Injury: Multiple Perspectives
- Heather Javaherian, OTD, OTR/L, Faculty Advisor
- Loma Linda University
Eriza Navarro, OT Student
- Skill Builders: Your Toolkit for Everyday Success
- Graham Teaford, OTD, OTR/L & Courtney Boitano, OTD, OTR/L, Faculty Advisors
- San Jose State University
Kimberly Nguyen & Twila-Skye Tran, OT Students
- Brewing Confidence: Coffee & Career Training
- Courtney Boitano, OTD, OTR/L, Faculty Advisor
- San Jose State University
Tanny Tani, Anamaria Chavarria, & Kimberly Lucas, OT Students
- Growing Together at the Parent Lounge (GTPL)
- Courtney Boitano, OTD, OTR/L, Faculty Advisor
- San Jose State University
Alexis Wells, OT Student
- Evaluating the Efficacy of Project RISE-UP: Advancing Graduate Student Success in Healthcare Pathways
- Melissa Kaye, EdD, OTR/L, Faculty Advisor
- San Jose State University
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