Faculty and Staff
The Occupational Therapy Department faculty are excellent teachers, experienced clinicians, and nationally recognized leaders and scholars in the profession.
All of the faculty members are occupational therapists with advanced degrees, diverse backgrounds, specializations, interests and expertise including: physical and mental health rehabilitation, pediatrics, community mental health, gerontology, independent living skills, measurement and research, international occupational therapy, multicultural issues, the history of occupational therapy, kinesiology, infant and family mental health, psychogeriatrics, family-centered intervention, neurological rehabilitation, the social inclusion of children, job analysis, the uses of therapeutic humor, and health promotion.
Follow the links below for faculty and staff directory:
Faculty Awards and Honors
The Occupational Therapy Department is excited to announce the awards and honor garnered by our faculty members.
2026 Occupational Therapy Practice Award
Assistant Professor, Dr. Graham Teaford will receive the OT Practice Award at the
upcoming Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC) Annual Conference [pdf] this year to be held in Pasadena, California.
Congratulations, Dr. Teaford!
College of Health and Human Sciences Awards 2025-2026
Congratulations to two of our faculty who were named awardees by the College of Health and Human Sciences this academic year!
- The Superior Faculty Service Award was given to Dr. Megan Chang. The Superior Faculty Service Award is given to a faculty member, with five or more years of experience in the College, who has made significant service contributions to the College, University, professional, or other off-campus organizations.
- The Lecturer Faculty Early Career Teaching Award was given to Dr. Courtney Boitano. The Lecturer Faculty Early Career Teaching Award recognizes a faculty member for outstanding contributions in teaching since the appointment to San Jose State University. The intent of the award is to recognize a newer member of the faculty who demonstrates excellence in teaching.
AY 2025-26 Small Group Project (SGP) awardee, Dr. Chiao-Ju Fang
The Small Group Projects initiative supports a small group of 2-3 SJSU faculty conducting
exciting research in their collective area of strength or carrying out an impactful
research
project to broaden participation in engineering and/or aviation fields. Dr. Chiao-Ju
Fang received this award on January 2026. Congratulations, Dr. Fang!
Title: AI-based Motion Planning and Fall Prevention for a Robotic Assistive Device
for Older Adults
Project Summary:
This newly awarded project addresses the growing challenge of falls and mobility limitations
among older adults by advancing an AI-enabled robotic assistive device designed to
enhance safe mobility and independence. Through an interdisciplinary collaboration
across engineering and health and human sciences, the project develops an intelligent
robotic walker that integrates advanced sensors, actuators, and AI-driven control
systems. Using reinforcement learning–based motion planning, the device adapts in
real time to users’ physical interactions and surrounding environments, enabling smooth,
intuitive navigation with reduced physical and cognitive effort. In parallel, supervised
and unsupervised machine learning models are applied to postural stability analysis
and fault detection to enable early fall detection and proactive fall prevention.
These innovations aim to create a shared human–robot autonomy framework that improves
safety, comfort, and functional mobility for older adults, while reducing caregiver
burden and long-term healthcare costs.
Award Amount: $50,000 for the first year, renewable for a second-year conditional on demonstrated satisfactory progress
Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association (FAOTA)
ROSTER OF FELLOWS (Est. 1973) recognizes occupational therapists who through their knowledge, expertise, leadership, advocacy, and/or guidance have made a significant contribution over time to the profession with a measured impact on consumers of occupational therapy services and/or members of the Association.
- The nominee(s) shall have made a significant contribution to the profession by utilizing
special skills and/or knowledge on behalf of members, consumers, public/community
at large, and/or other organizations. Both scholarly contribution and organizational
leadership will be considered. - Person(s) receiving this award may self-identify by using “FAOTA” after their signature. These initials shall be included in the identifying information that follows their name in the registry as evidence of this honor.
The San Jose State University is proud to have so many FAOTA Faculty in the Occupational Therapy Department. The following is a list of current and emeritus (retired) faculty who have received this award as a clear indication of strong commitment and service to the profession:
- Dr. Luis de Leon Arabit
- Dr. Deborah Bolding
- Dr. Megan C. Chang
- Dr. Gigi Smith
- Dr. Winifred Schultz-Krohn
Previous Occupational Therapy faculty also awarded this honor include:
- Dr. Heidi Pendleton (Retired)
- Dr. Marti Southam (Retired)
- Dr. Anne MacRae (Retired)
- Dr. Kathleen (Kay) Schwartz (Retired)
- Dr. Pamela Richardson (Retired)
- Dr. Lela Llorens (Retired)
- Dr. Karen Diasio-Serrett (Retired)
Department Chair
Name: Dr. Gigi Smith
Location: CCB 204
Phone: 408.924.3070
Graduate (MSOT) & Undergraduate (Pre-OT) Coordinator
Name: Dr. Gigi Smith
Location: CCB 204
Phone: 408.924.3094
OT Doctorate Coordinators
Name: Dr. Gigi Smith/Dr. Courtney Boitano
Location: CCB 204/220
Phone: 408.924.3188
Faculty
Andonian, Lynne
CCB 208
408.924.3059
Lynne.Andonian@sjsu.edu
Arabit, Luis
CCB 111
408.924.3077
Luis.Arabit@sjsu.edu
Arada, Cesar
CCB 207
408.924.3078
Cesar.Arada@sjsu.edu
Boitano, Courtney
CCB 111
408.924.3150
Courtney.Boitano@sjsu.edu
Bolding, Deborah
CCB 113
408.924.3038
Deborah.Bolding@sjsu.edu
Chang, Megan
CCB 112
408.924.3075
Megan.Chang@sjsu.edu
Chio, Choi
CCB 111
408.924.3090
Choi.Chio@sjsu.edu
Dundee, Bonnie
CCB 220
408.924.3851
Bonnie.e.Dundee@sjsu.edu
Fang, Chiao-Ju
HB 233
408.924.3085
Chiao-Ju.Fang@sjsu.edu
Ferguson, Kate
CCB 104
408.924.3093
Kate.Ferguson@sjsu.edu
Geleris, Larissa
CCB 111
408.924.4429
Larissa.Geleris@sjsu.edu
George, Alison
CCB 208
408.924.3095
Alison.George@sjsu.edu
Golembeski, Yvonne
CCB 220
408.924.3087
Yvonne.Golembeski@sjsu.edu
Gorth, Renee
CCB 104
408.924.3048
Renee.Gorth@sjsu.edu
Haworth, Christine
CCB 220
408.924.2911
Christine.Haworth@sjsu.edu
Hope, Jennafer
CCB 111
408.924.2563
Jennafer.Hope@sjsu.edu
Kaye, Melisa
CCB 113
408.924.3073
Melisa.Kaye@sjsu.edu
Krumanaker, Kristen
CCB 111
408.924.7405
Kristen.Krumanaker@sjsu.edu
Le, Lea
CCB 104
408.924.3083
Lea.Le@sjsu.edu
Long, Katrina
CCB 111
408.924.3139
Katrina.Long@sjsu.edu
Mwangi, Katelyn
CCB 220
408.924.4437
Katelyn.Mwangi@sjsu.edu
Nguyen, Uyen
CCB 104
408.924.3074
Uyen.p.nguyen03@sjsu.edu
Phan, Sadie
CCB 111
408.924.2554
Sadie.Phan@sjsu.edu
Pickett, Karen
CCB 220
408.924.3201
Karen.Pickett@sjsu.edu
Rodriguez, Michelle
CCB 111
408.924.1227
Michelle.Rodriguez02@sjsu.edu
Schultz-Krohn, Winifred
CCB 206
408.924.3081
Winifred.Schultz-Krohn@sjsu.edu
Smith, Gigi
CCB 204
408.924.3072
Gigi.Smith@sjsu.edu
Takatani, Shohei
CCB 104
408.924.1967
Shohei.Takatani@sjsu.edu
Teaford, Graham
CCB 104
408.924.3335
Graham.Teaford@sjsu.edu
Tipton-Burton, Michelle
CCB 220
408.924.3696
Michelle.Tipton-Burton@sjsu.edu
Stella Wang
CCB 111
408.924.
stella.wang@sjsu.edu
Emeritus/Emerita Faculty
Read Faculty Emeritus/Emerita Bios
Burton, Gordon
Gordon.Burton@sjsu.edu
Cara, Elizabeth
Elizabeth.Cara@sjsu.edu
Glogoski, Carolyn
Carolyn.Glogoski@sjsu.edu
Killingsworth, Amy
Amy.Killingsworth@sjsu.edu
Llorens, Lela A. W.
MacRae, Anne
Pedretti, Lorraine
Pendleton, Heidi McHugh
Heidi.Pendleton@sjsu.edu
Richardson, Pamela
Pamela.Richardson@sjsu.edu
Schultz-Krohn, Winifred
Winifred.Schultz-Krohn@sjsu.edu
Schwartz, Kathleen Barker
Kathleen.Schwartz@sjsu.edu
Serrett, Karen Diasio
Southam, Marti
Marti.Southam@sjsu.edu
Staff
Vacant
CCB 203
408.924.
@sjsu.edu
Sara Villarreal
CCB 205
408.924.3071
Sara.Villarreal@sjsu.edu
Ocampo, Vicky
CCB 212
408.924.3086
Vicky.Ocampo@sjsu.edu
