Past Keynote Speakers

The following illustrious guests have presented keynote speeches at the Thelma Cardwell Research Day lecture series:

2017 – Dr. Lisa Richardson

Faculty Co-Lead in Indigenous Medical Education and Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, U of T
Good Medicine: Lessons from Indigenous Health Education

2016 – Dr. Florence Clark

Mrs. T.H. Chan Professor of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
University of Southern California, USA

2015 – Dr. Mary Law

Associate Dean and Professor, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, McMaster University
Co-Director, CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research

2014 – Dr. Juliette (Archie) Cooper

Professor Emeritus, Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Medial Rehabilitation, University of Manitoba

2013 – Dr. Karen Whalley Hammell

Honorary Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of British Columbia

Beyond deficits: Perspectives on well-being and occupational therapy

2012 – Norman Doidge, MD

Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto
Research Faculty, Columbia University, Centre for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, New York

Neuroplasticity

2011 – Charles Christiansen

Executive Director, American Occupational Therapy Foundation

Health and The Unbearable Absence of Meaning

2010 – Todd Nicholson

Paralympic Athlete and Champion

Never give up on your dream

2009 – Jerome Bickenbach

Professor and Scholar at Queen’s University, Kingston, ON

Ethical, philosophical, and legal issues in disability policy

2008 – Margaret Trudeau

Celebrated Canadian & Mental Health Advocate

Making Tough Choices

2007 – Dr. Claire-Jehanne Dubouloz (Ph.D.)

Director, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Ottawa

Transformative Learning: Enabling Personal Change

2006 – Senator Michael J. L. Kirby (Ph.D.)

Chairman of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology

Out of the Shadows: The Way Forward in Mental Health Reform

2005 – Dr. Beatriz Abreu (Ph.D.)

University of Texas

Reflections on Direct Care and Research for Persons with Brain Injury

2004 – Dr. M. Csikszentmihalyi (Ph.D.)

Claremont University

Flow, Occupation and Quality of Life

2003 – Dr. Elizabeth Yerxa (Ph.D.)

FAOTA, University of Southern California

The Infinite Distance Between the ‘I’ and the ‘It’

2002 – Dr. William Mann (OTR., Ph.D.)

University of Florida

Applying Technology to Meet the Needs of the Frail Elderly

2001 – Dr. Elizabeth Townsend (Ph.D.)

FCAOT, Dalhousie University

Enabling Occupation: Location, Actions with Global Perspectives

2000 – Dr. Ann A. Wilcock (Ph.D.)

University of South Australia

Occupation for Health: Reactivating the ‘Regimina Sanitatis’

1999 – Dr. Ruth Zemke (Ph.D.)

FAOTA, University of Southern California

Health Promotion Through Occupation: Lessons from the Well-Elderly

1997 – Dr. Rachel Thibeault (Ph.D.)

FCAOT, University of Ottawa

Creating Spirituality