Hill Day Recap & Advocacy Update Session

Hosted by the TNOTA Advocacy Committee

Tuesday, April 8 at 6:00 pm Central Time

Register Here

About This Course: In this webinar, presenters will share their insight, experiences, and advice for advocating for occupational therapy, especially in relation to Hill Day in Nashville on March 12, 2025. In addition, participants who attended Hill Day will be invited to share their thoughts and take-aways form the event, and follow-up action steps will be discussed.

Course Objectives: Attendees will complete the following during this session:

1. Share information about experiences, take-away thoughts, and questions about Hill Day.

2. Discuss one or more current legislative issues relevant to OT practice in the state of Tennessee right now.

3. Identify at least one action step related to advocacy to complete as a follow-up to Hill Day

Presenters:

Cindy Blackwell, OTD, OTR/L is the TNOTA Federal Legislative Representative. She formerly served as president of TNOTA and has practiced as a pediatric occupational therapist at an outpatient clinic in Franklin, TN. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She completed her master's degree and post-professional doctorate in occupational therapy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is an AOTA Emerging Leader, Class of 2014. She has worked in a variety of settings, including public and private schools, home-based services, outpatient pediatric clinics, and academia. Her passion is working with children with disabilities or developmental delays and their families, to help empower them to reach their fullest potential.

Stephanie Lancaster, EdD, OTR/L holds a B.S. in occupational therapy from Washington University in St. Louis and has been an occupational therapist since 1991. She is an associate professor of the OT program at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) in Memphis. She holds an M.S. in Leadership & Policy Studies and a Doctorate of Education in Instruction & Curriculum Design with an emphasis on Instructional Design and Technology from the University of Memphis. Stephanie serves as TNOTA President and has extensive experience in the development of conference proposal for presentations at the international, national, regional, state, and local level.

Rosemary Lewis OTR/L, CTP, CBIS is an OT practicing in the Cardiovascular and Medical Intensive Care Units at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is a Certified Trauma Professional and Brain Injury Specialist and has advanced training in early mobility and rehabilitation for patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support. She serves as the co-chair of the Advocacy Committee for TNOTA and is an associate reviewer for the Journal of Acute Care Occupational Therapy.

CEU Opportunity: 1 CEU, FREE for TNOTA members and nonmembers