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Alumni Achievement Awards

We are pleased to announce that nominations are now open for the University of Toronto Occupational Therapy Alumni Achievement Awards.

These awards recognize outstanding U of T OT alumni who have demonstrated excellence and leadership in education, clinical practice, scholarly activity and/or service. We invite you to help us celebrate the remarkable contributions of our alumni by nominating a deserving individual in one of the following categories:

  • Early Career (10 years or less since graduation from the U of T occupational therapy program)
  • Mid Career (11-29 years since graduation from the U of T occupational therapy program)
  • Legacy (30 years or more since graduation from the U of T occupational therapy program)

The award recipient will be announced and recognized at the Thelma Cardwell Lecture in Fall 2026.

Qualifications for the Alumni Achievement Awards

Nominations are based on evidence of the nominee’s outstanding achievements in one or more of the following categories:

Education

  • Innovation in teaching methods that improve learning or practice outcomes
  • Development of new opportunities for student occupational therapy fieldwork education
  • Development of high impact educational programming for student, public, professional or policy audiences

Practice

  • Exemplary occupational therapy practice, consultation, or mentorship
  • Development of novel occupational therapy, interdisciplinary or community-based programs, interventions or guidelines that improve patient, client, population, or societal outcomes

Scholarly Activity

  • Research that advances occupational therapy theory, practice or service delivery
  • Publications that advance occupational therapy and science (research articles, professional magazines, books, etc.)
  • Knowledge translation to practice or policy that advances health and well-being through occupation

Service

  • Leadership in occupational therapy, interdisciplinary or public service organizations
  • Contributions to provincial or national professional, health or social policy development

Other

  • An area of achievement not covered in the above categories
  • Advancing the ‘public good’ through a commodity or service made available to a patient population, consumer groups, a public agency, or the public at large

Nomination Package

Each nomination package must include the following:

Nomination letter

A letter of nomination highlighting the nominee’s exemplary achievements in one or more of the following areas: education; practice; service.

Please ensure the letter states the award category (early career, mid-career or legacy), provides a thorough justification for the nomination that aligns with the award criteria and lists the nominee’s contact information.

Maximum 500 words.

Letter of support

One letter of support from an individual, not the nominator, familiar with the nominee’s work.

Maximum one-page.

Résumé or abridged CV

Maximum 10 pages.

Nomination Submission

  • The nomination package should be compiled as a single PDF document and emailed to Mary Forhan at ot.chair@utoronto.ca with the subject heading: Nomination for OT Alumni Achievement Award

Nomination deadline: September 7, 2026, at 9:00 a.m.

Please note that nominators do not need to be graduates of the U of T occupational therapy program so we encourage you to share this call broadly within your professional and community networks.

Nominations will be kept on file for two years for future consideration.

Thank you for helping us recognize and celebrate the outstanding achievements and contributions of U of T occupational therapy alumni. We look forward to honouring this year’s recipients.

Past Alumni Achievement Award Recipients

Ink Davidson, Anat Barak and Lorna Bain receive their Alumni Achievement Awards at the ceremony in October 2025.

 

AWARD YEAR ALUM
2025 Ink Davidson, Anat Barak and Lorna Bain
2023 Jenny Hardy, Susan Mahipaul and Anne Fourt
2022 Ellen Yack, Emily Ho, Jennifer Ho and Jenni Diamond
2021 Donna Drynan, Sari Grossinger and Janet Woodhouse
2020 Isabel Fryszberg
2019 Louise Burridge
2018 Liz Townsend
2017 Sharon Brintnell
2016 Dorcas Beaton
2015 Lynn Cockburn
2014 Beverlea Tallant
2013 Bonnie Kirsh
2012 Christie Brenchley
2011 Debra Anne Stewart
2010 Angela Colantonio
2009 Anne Agur
2008 Barbara Quinn
2007 Barbara Cooper
2006 Joanne Valliant Cook
2005 Wendy Campbell
2004 Pearl Gryfe
2003 Marilyn Ernst Conibear
2002 Marg Young
2001 Judy Friedland
2000 Pat Fisher
1999 Isobel Robinson
1998 Ann Strickland
1997 Thelma Cardwell
1996 Karen Goldenberg