My name is Sara Corella Pérez, and I am an occupational therapist originally from Spain, currently living and working in France. I graduated in Occupational Therapy from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid in 2011. After graduating, I moved to the UK, where I worked as an occupational therapist for six years, before moving to France in 2018. I currently work in adult neurological rehabilitation and oncology in Lyon.
Above all, I consider myself a practitioner. My daily clinical work continues to shape the way I understand our profession and the challenges occupational therapists face in everyday practice. Alongside my clinical role, I have progressively become involved in teaching, research and professional representation. I completed a Master’s degree in 2024, with research focusing on occupation-based practice in stroke rehabilitation, and I regularly contribute to Occupational Therapy education and professional events.
Having lived and worked as an occupational therapist in Spain, the UK and France has also given me first-hand experience of how differently our profession can be understood, organised and practised across Europe. At the same time, it has shown me how much we share as occupational therapists, regardless of the healthcare system or country in which we work.
Over the past few years, my involvement in professional organisations has given me the opportunity to engage with occupational therapy beyond the clinical setting. I have represented France within WFOT and participated in national and international professional initiatives, which has strengthened my interest in connecting practitioners, professional organisations, education and research across countries.
This is one of the main reasons why I wanted to become Vice-President Administration of COTEC. I strongly believe in the value of European collaboration: learning from one another, sharing different perspectives and experiences, and working together to strengthen occupational therapy across Europe. I am particularly interested in ensuring that the voices and experiences of practitioners remain part of these conversations and in strengthening collaboration across the European occupational therapy community, including with our colleagues from OT-Europe, ENOTHE and ROTOS.
The role of Vice-President Administration also appealed to me because strong organisations need good structures behind their ambitions. Governance, communication, continuity and organisation may sometimes be less visible than other aspects of professional representation, but they are essential for turning ideas into sustainable action. I hope to contribute to this work while learning from the experience and perspectives of colleagues across COTEC.
I am very grateful for the trust placed in me through my election and excited to begin this new chapter. I look forward to working with the COTEC Executive Committee, representatives and our European partners, and especially to continuing to build connections between European-level work and the occupational therapists practising every day across our countries.