2024 ATRA Annual Conference - Together We Thrive, Together We Rise

Ed.D, CTRS

Kelly Ramella is a clinical professor serving as the program lead and clinical coordinator of the recreational therapy program and faculty with the School of Community Resources and Development and the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions at Arizona State University. She shapes the therapeutic recreation curriculum and advances interprofessional education to prepare allied health professionals for rewarding careers, and equips them with the competencies to work collaboratively to impact community well-being.

Through her innovative teaching strategies, and service roles students are afforded countless opportunities to practice their skills and explore career possibilities. The partnerships she initiates and maintains not only provide students with meaningful learning experiences, but result in the expansion of services to people in our community. Recognizing the critical role of collaboration to develop inclusive and healthy communities, Kelly initiates and leads creative projects to enhance community-engaged interprofessional education.

CTRS

My name is Suzanne Stratton and I have had the privilege of working at the Phoenix VA Health Care System for the past eleven years and with individuals with mental illness for the past sixteen years which allowed me to earn a specialization in behavioral health through NCTRC. I have gained a great wealth of experience in working with individuals with mental illness and serious mental illness through the recreational therapy services I provide. I am most passionate about equipping Veterans with coping strategies which promote positive self-regulation, management of symptoms, and improved quality of life. I have been actively involved in our local Recreational Therapy Academic Program with Arizona State University as a mentor and internship supervisor as well as with our local and state recreational therapy organizations. I have also had the privilege of working alongside Dr. Kelly Ramella, CTRS to create a practicum program which provides the opportunity for recreation therapy students to build professional experiences and knowledge in recreation therapy while advancing the skills of current recreation therapy team members, with the most valued outcome of enhancing patient care for our American Veterans.

Ed.D, CTRS

I am the Recreational Therapy Section Chief at the Phoenix VA, and a faculty member in the School of Community Resources and Development at Arizona State University teaching in therapeutic recreation. As a recreational therapist, I work with Veteran's with mental and physical disabilities and support them as they develop a healthy leisure lifestyle. I use recreation experiences to improve their overall quality of life. It is also my privilege to educate and encourage students to learn how to provide meaningful services to others. Outside of teaching at ASU and working at the VA, I am also a certified yoga and tension/trauma releasing exercise (TRE) instructor. I teach hot yoga classes and a Yoga/TRE combo class weekly. As you can see my days are jammed backed with career obligations. However, I alwayas manage to have a fairly balanced life that includes work, family, and leisure.