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

MS, CTRS

Aurora Verlin, MS, CTRS is the Undergraduate Program Director and Instructor of recreational therapy at Temple University. After practicing recreational therapy with older adults in a variety of settings, and serving as a personal care home administrator, she now focuses on teaching students about older adult care, professionalism, administrative issues, and the clinical process. She is one of the creators of the Engagement in Preferred Activities Scale, and the co-creator of the EPASS Online Toolkit. Aurora also serves as the Past President of the Recreational Therapy Foundation, and is the co-founder of the RT Student Summit, a conference for recreational therapy students. She is committed to involving students in this profession.

PhD, CTRS

Gena Bell Vargas, PhD, CTRS, is the MSRT Program Director and an Associate Professor of Instruction in the RT program at Temple University. Her clinical background includes an urban acute psychiatric inpatient setting working with people experiencing symptoms of depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, as well an inpatient physical rehabilitation with persons that have experienced strokes, TBIs, SCIs, and amputations. Recently Gena has been getting back into the world of adventure programming while also pursuing the scholarship of teaching and learning. She is a member of the ATRA Academic Taskforce.