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

PhD, CTRS

Betsy Kemeny is Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist and Certified Professional Gerontologist with 33 years of professional experience. Her work experiences have included outpatient rehabilitation, adult day, assisted living, hospice, and long-term care. Her scholarship includes more than 30 publications and 70 presentations. As Chair and Associate Professor of the Recreational Therapy Department at Slippery Rock University, she is also a fellow, distinguished in recreational therapy and the current President of the National Academy of Recreational Therapists (NART). Dr. Kemeny received her bachelor’s degree in Sociology at Wake Forest University, her master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her Ph.D. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. From 2014 to 2022, Dr. Kemeny has served on the board of directors for the American Therapeutic Recreation Association as member at large, secretary, and President. She served as the Older Adult Section co-chair from 2004-2006.

PhD, LRT, CTRS

Dr. Kaitlin Mueller is as assistant professor and program director of Recreational Therapy at Catawba College in Salisbury, NC. She is also the director of Catawba College's Healthy Aging Center-- a networking consortium of 15+ community organizations that serve aging populations in the local community. Before academia, Dr. Mueller worked as a recreational therapist with older adults in Cleveland, Ohio in sub-acute rehabilitation, inpatient geripsych, and assisted living homes. She is the creator of the Mueller Assessment of Transition (MAT)- a standardized assessment to measure older adults' wellbeing when transitioning into an assisted living home. In all, Dr. Mueller has passion for instilling her students with a love of serving the older adult populations through recreational therapist services.

CTRS

Dawn DeVries, DHA, CTRS, FDRT is an Associate Professor and Program Director of Recreational Therapy at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. DeVries is active professionally at the state, regional and national level. Dawn served as a past President of the American Therapeutic Recreation Association. Her practice experience and research focus on older adults, public policy, and recreational therapy interventions.