Transition at The Center for Innovative OT Solutions
Please join us in congratulating Professor Anne G. Fisher on her retirement as the President of the Center for Innovative OT Solutions (CIOTS). She will be succeeded by Dr. Abbey Marterella who has served as the Research and Development Director since 2017. “CIOTS is thriving and well positioned for continued success,” Fisher said. “I could not imagine a more well qualified person to take over the leadership of CIOTS. Abbey’s experience related to practice, education, and research, combined with her management skills and long-standing commitment to advancing occupational therapy and occupational science, could not be more ideal. I retire knowing CIOTS has developed an incredible team that will continue to work together to promote quality occupational therapy services around the globe.” Professor Fisher will remain a central member of CIOTS Advisory Board and will continue to teach Powerful Practice courses internationally.
Professor Fisher was the Founder of CIOTS. She is an internationally recognized expert in occupational therapy theory, functional assessment, and instrument development. She is University Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Colorado State University and Professor Emeritus at Umeå University, Sweden. She also holds an honorary doctorate from Umeå University. She has published 115 articles in refereed professional journals and 50 books or book chapters. She is a member of the Academy of Research of the American Occupational Therapy Foundation, and she was the 1997 recipient of the Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship. In 2017, the American Occupational Therapy Association honored her as one of 100 people who most influenced occupational therapy’s 100-year history.
Professor Fisher’s 50 years of experience as an occupational therapist, occupational scientist, and educator inspired her to develop innovative assessments of quality of occupational performance and the Occupational Therapy Intervention Process Model (OTIPM). More recently, she co-authored, along with Dr. Marterella, the innovative new book, Powerful Practice: A Model for Authentic Occupational Therapy. The OTIPM and this most recent book emerged as a solution to the challenge of harnessing the full power of occupation in practice, education, and research.
“I am honored to be able to continue Anne’s legacy by taking over the leadership of the Center for Innovative OT Solutions. Since 1998, when I first met Anne and became certified in the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills, I have admired her substantial contributions to occupational therapy and occupational science. She is a true pioneer in research and theory development. The importance of her work cannot be overstated,” Marterella said. “Because of the strength of our team and our strategic partners, both domestically and internationally, CIOTS is poised for continued growth. I am humbled to have this opportunity to promote our shared vision and elevate the quality of occupational therapy practice, education, and research through cutting-edge, evidence-based resources.”
Prior to joining CIOTS, Dr. Marterella held faculty positions at the University of Southern California and Eastern Michigan University. She has over 2 decades of occupational therapy experience in a vast array of settings, including community mental health, jail diversion, adult inpatient and acute physical rehabilitation, home healthcare, private practice, and case management. Her PhD in occupational science from the University of Southern California focused on theory development and intervention research to support adults with mental illness. Since that time, her research efforts have been focused on intervention research, qualitative inquiry, usability studies, and theoretical developments in occupational therapy and occupational science.
