Meet The Executive Board

Liesl Peters is an occupational therapist and academic with over 15 years of experience in community development in South Africa. Her work focuses on socially-transformative occupational science, aimed at addressing real community needs. Liesl has co-developed the Occupation-based Community Development (ObCD) framework, which promotes a decolonial, justice-oriented approach to practice, and is used by occupational and speech-language therapists in Cape Town. She believes occupational science holds great potential but needs to better position itself to serve global and local communities. Liesl is committed to the strategic growth and positioning of occupational science, with a focus on transdisciplinary collaboration and innovative leadership, especially through organizations like the International Society for Occupational Science (ISOS). Her work, co-generated with communities and colleagues, offers valuable insights for advancing the discipline and transforming society.

Karen McCarthy is an Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy at Dominican University of California. She completed her Occupational Therapy Master's and Doctorate at the University of Southern California, specializing in Lifestyle Redesign® for the College Student, and continues to integrate occupational science into educational and wellness settings. She is active in the occupational science community, having served as a board member of Occupational Science Europe (OSE) and the Society for the Study of Occupation (SSO:USA). Her scholarship explores occupations that resist or redefine social norms. She is currently pursuing a PhD through University College Cork (Ireland) and Queen Margaret University (Scotland), examining collective symbolic play among adults.

Rodolfo Morrison is the former Director of the Department of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science at the University of Chile and president of Chilean Society of Occupational Science. He has a degree in Occupational Sciences and an Occupational Therapist from the Austral University of Chile; and Master and Doctor in Logic and Philosophy of Science from the University of Salamanca. In addition, he completed a postgraduate degree in Science, Technology and Society at the Center for Human and Social Sciences of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CCHS-CSIC) of Spain. His areas of work have focused on the analysis of the history and epistemological currents present in Occupational Therapy and Science, in particular, in the incidence of classical pragmatism in the profession. Other areas of interest for him are feminist studies of science, studies on sexual diversity, occupational science and the uses of body techniques and meditation as therapeutic intervention tools.

Cassandre Lavigne is currently a PhD student in philosophy, with a concentration in applied ethics at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, under the co-direction of Marie-Josée Drolet and Naïma Hamrouni. an occupational therapist (licensed in France licence). She obtained her occupational therapy's state diploma (French Licence) and her Master of Science in public health research from the Université de Limoges (France). Her research interests include occupational identity, and the various forms of occupational and structural injustices, more specifically from a humanist, intersectional and feminist perspective.

Mellisa is an occupational therapist and senior clinical educator at the University of Cape Town South Africa. She has worked in community development practice for more than 8 years and has a special interest in Occupation- based social transformation. Her masters contributed to the body of work on occupation-based social transformation, conducting a scoping review on the theories and epistemologies contributing to the enactment of occupation-based social transformation. Mellisa has a passion for communicating occupational science to the world, forming connections between various professions, stakeholders, partners around the power of occupation in everyday living.

Veselin Medenica is an Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy at the College for Human Development. A special educator-rehabilitator with expertise in Eastern European defectology (somatopedia), he served as the Head of the Department of Occupational Therapy until 2024, where he introduced the course "Occupational Science," bridging academic theory with practical application. His professional interests include applied neuroscience, neuropsychology, biomechanics, assistive technologies, and artificial intelligence, particularly in their impact on occupational performance. Veselin holds a master’s degree in neuroscience (specializing in neuropsychology) and his doctoral research focused on limb apraxia and its relationship to ADLs, quality of life, and social participation in individuals with multiple sclerosis. Having engaged with both Eastern and Western approaches to disability and occupation, Veselin advocates for the recognition of the shared foundations between Eastern European clinical defectology and occupational therapy, emphasizing their alignment with Occupational Science.