THE COMMUNIQUÉ
2 01 9 I L O TA AWA R D R E C I P I E N T S
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profession for over 50 years. She was a graduate
from the University of Illinois in the Beatrice Wade
era and since then has been a clinician with a focus
in geriatrics, a clinical faculty member at the Univer-
sity of Illinois, an entrepreneur, a businesswoman, an
advocate, and a mentor. She has been involved with
various initiatives to promote OT in reimbursement,
licensure, legislation, and clinical practice. She is a
former president of ILOTA, past chairperson of the
AOTA Administrative Special Interest Section, and
past chairperson of the Illinois OT Licensure Board.
She has been a member of the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Technical Expert Panels for nursing
facility payment and quality, including the STATS
project, DOPTA project and Quality Measures for
Nursing Facilities. She currently is a member of the
Joint Commission PTAC for Nursing Care Centers
and the OT representative on the National Govern-
ment Services PO AEG. She is a resource and the
go to person regarding legislation and clinical prac-
tice that impacts our profession on the national and
state level. She readily shares her knowledge to bet-
ter the profession. The number of students and ther-
apists she has influenced are too numerous to count.
On receiving her awards, Richman reported, “To be
recognized by one’s peers is a very special oppor-
tunity. It is an opportunity to thank those that have
been your friends and colleagues throughout the
years. It is an opportunity to reflect on your values
and how they have served you well. It is an oppor-
tunity for me to remember those special colleagues
that gave me a pat or a nudge or recognized a skill
set that would serve our profession. And the best is
the opportunity to continue having fun and being
meaningfully involved with an organization that has
been an essential part of my being for a long, long,
very long time. We all need to know that we might
have made a difference, these awards help me feel
that maybe I have contributed.”
Mae Brandon: Lifetime Achievement Honorary
Member
Honorary members are recognized for their long-
standing contributions to ILOTA and the OT profes-
sion. They have all the rights and privileges of the
membership category for which they qualify and shall
pay no dues. Mae Brandon has over 40 years in the
profession. She completed the OTA program first
then went on to the University of Illinois and received
her Bachelor’s in OT. She has worked in all areas of
OT, clinical, academia, adults, school-based therapy,
and mental health. She has been involved in ILOTA
through committees, the SIS, as a board member,
and as a former president. She has had a lasting im-
pact on the profession and influenced numerous stu-
dents and therapists; in addition to all the lives she
changed through her skill and compassion as a ther-
apist.
About the Author
Kelsey Ranneklev is a
first year student in
Rush University’s OT
Doctorate program. She
graduated from Ham-
line University in 2019
with a degree in both
Exercise Science and
Public Health Sciences.
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