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  Georgia Metcalfe Memorial (PDF)

About the Keynote:

Suzanne M. Peloquin, Ph.D., OTR, FAOTA

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Texas

Suzanne Peloquin is a tenured professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the School of Health Professions, the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, where she has been on faculty since 1989. She is also the occupational therapist at ADA House, the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Women's Center, a residential facility for women in recovery on Galveston Island, where she runs occupational therapy groups weekly. Prior to that she worked in mental health settings in Texas and West Virginia, both as staff therapist and administrator.

Prior to becoming an occupational therapist, Suzanne engaged in various occupations that continue to inform her practice: nanny, religious sister in a teaching order, counselor in a halfway house, nursery school teacher, recruiter and admissions director in a northeastern college, troubleshooter in a Boys' and Girls' Club, teacher of art and languages at junior high and high school levels, and farm hand in tomato fields in Massachusetts.

Suzanne authored the 2005 Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecture. She has also written several book chapters and numerous articles in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy and in international OT venues on topics related to the history and service of the profession, the nature, character, and art of occupational therapy practice, and the unique manifestations of empathy and spirituality. Her work on integrative approaches to education has been published in allied health, occupational therapy, and physical therapy journals. Considered provocative by some and evocative by others, Suzanne's work prompts a reflective response.

Suzanne joins us in Michigan after having recently completed the rebuilding of her home on Galveston Island from which she was displaced for 4.5 months. Hurricane Ike caused considerable damage to 70% of the homes of island residents, pressing them all to deeply explore the disruption of daily routines and a sense of place.