Occupational Therapist in Queens

I currently hold the position of Vice Chair of OT for the OT/PT functional chapter and am also a delegate. 

As a 4th grader at PS3 in Manhattan, I attended my first protest- against budget cuts for education. NYC's public schools helped make me an activist. As a Hunter student, I was a campus social justice and antiwar activist. As I studied at SUNY Downstate to be an Occupational Therapist I learned about disability rights. Now I'm a proud public school parent as well as a school OT. I love my students and my coworkers and believe we all deserve better. 

When the UFT negotiated the most recent contract in 2019, the OT PT functional chapter voted down the insulting contract offered to us.  Those of us promoting the no vote came together and founded OTs and PTs for a Fair Contract. 

We have advocated for parity, resources, and respect for Occupational and Physical Therapists in the DOE ever since. Our grassroots group has organized petitions, actions at the Panel for Educational Policy, email campaigns, and more. We won leadership of our functional chapter based on the hard work and advocacy we have done. 

As VP for Special Education, I would represent our students with IEPs as well as all staff who work with them. I want the city to treat our students and their families with respect- that means flooding them with resources and listening to the staff who work with them.