Awards
UOTA Eunice Chen Mentorship Award
Purpose: To provide recognition to an occupational therapy professional who has demonstrated excellence in mentorship related to the profession of Occupational Therapy in the state of Utah.
2025 Recipient: Deanna Peabody
Deanna is a long-time OT who is passionate about sensory integration. She has taken many OTs and COTAs under her wing to provide mentoring and training in sensory evaluation and therapy. She also goes the extra mile to help school staff know how to meet sensory needs in the classroom, so students get the sensory support they need in the least restrictive environment. So many OTPs throughout Utah Valley have benefitted from her willingness to share her knowledge and expertise.
UOTA Excellence in Practice Award
Purpose: To give recognition to an Occupational Therapy professional that has demonstrated excellence in- practice, research, education and/or collaboration, and who has contributed to the enhancement of the profession of Occupational Therapy in the state of Utah.
2025 Recipient: Laura Schmeiser
Since Laura graduated from the U of U OT program in 2014 she has been actively updating her clinical skills through a variety of trainings, certifications, and an advanced degree to ensure the clients she treats receive the most advanced and evidence-based treatment available. She has advanced training in the treatment of concussion, neurological visual deficits, and functional cognition. She routinely provides lectures for entry-level OT programs on the topic of neuro-related vision deficits and actively promotes evidence-based OT treatment through LinkedIn posts. Laura has presented at AOTA and published an article in OJOT on her post-professional OTD capstone-OT Curricula Patterns for Acquired Brain Injury-Related Vision Disorders for Entry-Level Programs. Laura consistently takes level I and level II OT students and provides an excellent learning opportunity that leaves students excited to enter the profession. I have worked with Laura over the years to identify improvements she can implement in both assessment and documentation at the outpatient clinic where she is employed. She always has relevant questions, generates innovative ideas, and approaches these changes with her clients and coworkers in mind.
UOTA Bonnie Held Award of Service
Purpose: To give recognition to an Occupational Therapy professional that has demonstrated excellence in service to- OT practice, the UOTA organization and the community.
2025 Recipient: Jen Van Orman
She is a newly graduated OT, but has put in countless hours with UOTA already, serving as a U of U student rep for all 3 years of OT school and has helped on the annual conference committee on numerous occasions. She has been of great service to UOTA and the OT community as a student member and now as an OT member!
UOTA OT/OTA Partnership Award
Purpose: To give recognition to an occupational therapist and an occupational therapy assistant residing and working in the state of Utah, who exemplify the professional partnership through collaborative efforts that promote the occupational therapy profession, and to provide motivation for OT/OTA partnerships throughout the state to contribute to the innovative progression of occupational therapy through OT/OTA partnerships.
No nominations in 2025. We look forward to your nominations for 2026!
UOTA Lifetime Membership Award
Purpose: To give recognition to a retired UOTA member who has been dedicated to the OT profession and UOTA over the years.
2025 Recipient: JoAnne Wright
JoAnne was not only instrumental in the approval of the first OT program in Utah at the University of Utah but then designed, built, and chaired the department for the first 14 years. As a native resident of Utah, JoAnne saw the need and had a vision for what OT in Utah could look like. Her leadership has directly shaped how OT is practiced in our state. She has influenced practice by serving our profession in a variety of capacities and by educating excellent OTs who are prepared to incorporate our profession’s tenets, promote occupation, and emphasize OTs unique contribution to health services. Prior to retiring, JoAnne held the position of Dean of Health Science at the Salt Lake Community College where she again influenced many OT professionals and students. After retirement, she continued to serve as a board member of the State of Utah, Division of Professional Licensing, until just a few years ago. Along the way JoAnne has mentored many people through their careers, helping them reach both professional and personal goals. One of her gifts is seeing the potential in everyone. I was lucky enough to benefit from her mentoring and ended up taking a career path I never imagined for myself, nor dreamed I would ever achieve.