Established in 2019, Tuft’s Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity (COTAD) chapter has made a great impact on the department. COTAD provides opportunities for students and faculty to discuss their experiences with issues of diversity, equity and inclusion and make personal actionable steps to work toward addressing barriers to access to care experienced by members of marginalized communities. Outside the Tufts campus, COTAD representatives provide information about national COTAD events and webinars for students to attend to continue to expand their learning.
In 2022, our co-chairs, Lani Silverstone and Deja Stockdale, have revamped the Tufts chapter. Below you will find their mission and intentions for the chapter along with some successful events and projects thus far:
2022 Mission:
Our chapter’s mission is to promote AOTA’s Vision 2023 by making OT services more accessible through diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. We are committed to increasing diversity within the OT profession through community outreach, trainings, networking, fundraising, and education, ultimately paving the way for a future of diverse and culturally responsive practitioners.
2022 Intentions:
- Promote and facilitate inclusion of all abilities, disabilities, races, and gender identities in the OT profession through advocacy and outreach initiatives.
- Provide a safe and open space for leaning, reflection, feedback, and honest discussion about issues of diversity within the Tufts campus and beyond.
- Offer and encourage the use of resources designed to deepen and broaden individuals’ understanding of DEIRJ work and cultural sensitivity within our profession.
- Organize opportunities for trainings, community outreach, fundraisers, and speakers to pave the way for a new generation of informed, action-oriented, and culturally responsive OT practitioners.
Diversity in OT: A Lived Experience
The Tufts COTAD Chapter held this event featuring current OT students, alumni, and practitioners that hold underrepresented identities in the field. These wonderful panel speakers shared their stories, experiences, and tidbits of wisdom that they have gained from school, fieldwork, and practice.
ART Therapy Retention and Home Intervention Strategies: Using an Ecological Framework to Understand Patients with HIV
Dr. Mukumbang (RN, PhD) received his pHD at University of Western Cape, South Africa and specializes in health policy and systems research. During this talk, he spoke about his current research about a theoretical framework called the Ecological Model of Health and how it relates to client-center, household-focused HIV interventions. He also covered the social determinants of health, layers of health promotion, and cultural sensitivity and local healthcare.
2022 Community Service Project
Our COTAD co-chairs spearheaded the 2022 Community Service Project with the new first-year students. They created care packages for the New American Association of Massachusetts (NAAM), a local refugee services organization in Lynn, MA. To learn more about this organization and what the project entailed, please download the slide deck below:
Other Events:
The Tufts’ COTAD chapter’s co-chairs held a pop-up thrift fundraiser to support the San Antonio Center for Refugee Services (SA-CRS). After raising enough money ($460) to fill 15 “Play & Learn” boxes, the Tufts’ COTAD chapter was named the winner of this challenge!