HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL

Terrie received her national registration as an occupational therapist after completing her B.S. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and three month internships at each of the following institutions: Wood Veterans Hospital in spinal cord injury, at Northampton Veterans Hospital in psychiatry and at Children’s Hospital at Stanford in pediatric oncology and orthopedics. She ultimately specialized in orthopedics, burns, hand trauma and rehabilitation.

Terrie led the accessibility initiative at Lincoln Park Zoo for which the zoo received the 2001 Accessibility Award from the American Association of Museums and National Organization on Disability.

She worked with an architect to evaluate the accessibility of the zoo’s physical space and wrote a plan to identify inaccessible areas, propose modifications and provide cost estimates for change. She worked with staff to develop inclusive educational programs and customer services and provided experiential training in disability awareness to all staff and volunteers. She also converted customer service materials, education and exhibit materials into alternative formats (e.g., Braille, large print, tactile models, audio or video with open captioning, sign language).She is a frequent speaker on inclusion, accessibility and disability.

Terrie was the elected Chair of the Physical Disabilities Special Interest Section of the American Occupational Therapy Association, the largest practice area for occupational therapists in the United States. During her tenure, she instituted a national research symposium and developed fact sheets to define areas of practice. She is currently licensed in the State of Florida.

Terrie became a certified orthotist following an intensive certification course at Northwestern University Medical School’s Prosthetic-Orthotic Center, where she joined the faculty and became the Assistant Director of the Orthotics program.

Terrie designed, fabricated and fit orthoses (splints and braces) for adults and children from high temperature materials such as stainless steel and polypropylene; she applied halo traction to individuals with spinal cord injuries, designed splints with springs to assist movement at finger joints and created orthoses that conformed and applied pressure over burns to minimize scarring.