ISOS Executive Board

Alison Wicks (Australia) - President
Eric Asaba (Japan & Sweden)- Vice President Promotions
Hans Jonsson (Sweden) - Vice President Administration
Debbie Laliberte Rudman (Canada) - Secretary
Erna Blanche (Chile & USA) - Treasure

Who are we?

Alison Wicks, Ph.D., OT

I am the Founding Director of the Australasian Occupational Science Centre (AOSC) at the Shoalhaven Campus of the University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia. AOSC is a community education and research centre that focuses on occupation. The mission of AOSC is to promote an occupational perspective and to influence policy, practice and people through its collaborative community-based, occupation-focused programs. I am also President of the Australasian Association of Occupational Scientists and Project Leader of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists’ International Advisory Group: Occupational Science. Primarily I am endeavouring to mainstream occupational science by working collaboratively with other disciplines, nationally and internationally, to translate evidence into practice and policy. Projects are essentially designed to promote participation of people of all ages. For example, a recent project involved mentoring local youth in a challenging occupation, while another project explored the barriers and facilitators to older people’s engagement in the community. Current projects with local businesses are investigating the social implications of emerging technologies.

Eric Asaba, Ph.D., OTR

Eric is Research Associate and Chief, Division of Occupational Therapy at Asaba Medical Research Foundation and Kohnan Hospital in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. He is also a guest researcher at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. Eric received his Ph.D. in occupational science from University of Southern California in 2005. His research interests focus on occupation and participation intersected with identity, disability, and culture. Eric also serves on the board for the Japanese Society for the Study of Occupation (JSSO) and is a member of the international committee of the Japanese Association of Occupational Therapists (JAOT). In an attempt to balance work, rest, play, and family life, Eric enjoys such things as Aikido, cycling, ceramics, and traveling.

Hans Jonsson, Ph.D., Reg. OT.

I work as an Associate Professor at the Division of Occupational Therapy at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. Like most faculty my time is divided between education and research. I teach in different courses in the Master-program and am responsible for one course in Occupational Science. I am also appointed as Research Director for the European Master of Science Program in Occupational Therapy situated in Hogeschool van Amsterdam, The Netherlands. This program is conducted in partnership between five higher institutions/universities in Europe. The overall aim of my research is to develop an understanding of general mechanisms that occur within occupational transitions in human development. Within the context of the retirement transition aspects like meaning, rhythm, balance and the division of occupation have been studied and related to health and well-being. Studies of occupational balance also include the relationship between challenging and/or relaxing occupations in everyday life. Although various methods have been used an emphasis on using narrative methodology to understand human occupation has been employed. Presently I also work with how the experience of participation is expressed by different groups of people and how this relates to the concept of occupation.

Debbie Laliberte Rudman, Ph.D., OT

Dr. Debbie Laliberte Rudman is an Assistant Professor in the School of Occupational Therapy and the Occupational Science Field, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Graduate Program at The University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. She completed a Bachelor of Science degree in occupational therapy in 1990, a thesis-based Masters of Science degree in occupational therapy in 1993, and a doctoral degree in Public Health Sciences in 2003. Her research interests relate to the occupational lives of aging adults; that is, to understanding environmental and personal influences on what people do as they age and the implications of what they do for identity, community participation, health and well-being. More specifically, her research program addresses 3 major areas: contemporary structuring and negotiation of retirement; community mobility in later life; and how occupation is influenced by and influences the experience of chronic disability in later life. She is committed to developing the discipline of occupational science, taking a leadership role in establishing and being the inaugural Chair of a graduate field in Occupational Science at the University of Western Ontario. She is currently President of the Canadian Society of Occupational Science. Within an occupational science framework, her research seeks to enhance understanding of how occupational possibilities (what people see as ideal and possible occupations to engage in) are shaped within socio-cultural contexts and how individuals and collectives negotiate occupation.

Erna Blanche, Ph.D., OTR

Erna Imperatore Blanche received her basic training in occupational therapy at the University of Chile (Santiago, Chile) and later earned her Masters in Special Education at Columbia University. She received a Ph.D. in Occupational Science at USC. She is an expert in pediatric occupational therapy and interventions based on occupational science. She has co-authored two books and one video series on pediatric practice: Combining Neurodevelopmental Treatment and Sensory Integration Principles, Understanding the Nature of Sensory Integration with Diverse Populations (book), and Observations Based on Sensory Integration (book) and has published numerous articles in English and Spanish on the topics of play and wellness and issues in clinical practice. Dr. Blanche has lectured internationally in more than 20 countries and still has ties with Therapy West, Inc., a clinic seeing over 400 children per week that was co-founded by her, and with the department of occupational therapy at the University of Chile, Santiago, Chile. Dr. Blanche's research interests are in the areas of play, clinical evaluation of children with developmental disabilities including autism, and the relationship between sensory processing and lifestyle choices.