I have been involved in COTEC since 2000 – first as the appointed COTEC Delegate of the Finnish Association of Occupational Therapists 2000-2010 and Programme Area Coordinator of the Organizational Issues 2004-2008. I have held different positions in COTEC Executive Committee years 2008-2012 and 2013-2019 before my election as the President in October 2019.

With over 20 years of experience working as an OT in Finland, I am committed to leading the work of COTEC with the aim to make the profession better known and valued in Europe. COTEC is the voice of Occupational Therapists in Europe and provides a good network for practitioners and provides many opportunities to be involved in European projects and events relevant to the profession.  I would like to encourage our Member associations and individual OTs to actively take advantage of the information and opportunities provided.

I am a dedicated Occupational Therapist with over a decade of experience and also earned a Master’s degree in Health Assisting Engineering. Born in Germany, my diverse background includes Polish origins, but I spent most of my life in Austria, where I began my career as an Occupational Therapist in 2009. From 2012 to 2023, I actively supported the development of the profession as a board member of Ergotherapie Austria and as Austria’s WFOT Delegate.

In 2020, I relocated to Sark, a small island in the British Channel, which expanded my international perspective. I now work with Physioedia in the ReLAB- HS project, supporting international professional organisations in the implementation and accessibility of rehabilitation in health care systems. These competencies complement my role as COTEC Vice President, where I am dedicated to work in alignment with the values of Connection, Empowerment, Influence, and Inspiration.

My clinical work included work in secondary care in neurology, mental health, and cancer treatment. I was able to work and engage at local, national, and international levels with both clinical and academic contributions. My professional focus is heavily influenced by acknowledging the importance but also the beauty of interprofessional collaboration and practice.

As a member of the COTEC Executive Committee, I want to be an advocate for successful, high-quality interprofessional collaboration and practice in Europe’s health and social care teams and systems. In my role as Vice President Finance, I am responsible for managing and overseeing all financial matters of COTEC. Together we can make a difference in Europe’s health policies by contributing to the visibility and recognition of Occupational Therapy as an important healthcare profession in the interprofessional team and the international community.

I am delighted to be elected to the Executive Committee of COTEC and to contribute towards their work of making Occupational Therapy more visible, valued, accessible and available. I have been lucky to have a diverse career in Occupational Therapy over the past ten years, working in academia, clinical practice and practice education. I am currently working as a Lecturer in Occupational Therapy at the University of Limerick, Ireland. As a proud Occupational Therapist, I am excited to work towards the development and advancement of our profession throughout Europe. I look forward to working on behalf of all members of COTEC and to getting to know everyone during my term.

As an Occupational Therapist from Germany my professional work includes 15 years of interprofessional work within the pediatric field with children, families and their meaningful system partners; 5 years of teaching and 10 years of training and coaching, publishing and congress contributions on subjects such as coaching, change and empowerment.

I feeling strongly about the power of trustful relations, partnership and caring communities, which has led me to found the empowerment-project in 2016, an independent participatory network initiative of occupational therapists engaging on a local, national and international level. As member of the Executive Committee I want to continue my engagement to empower our profession and ensuring progress in action to the strategic plan of COTEC.

Occupational therapy is my second career. I graduated first with a degree in Biology and Gene technology. I started my Occupational Therapy studies a few years later and currently I’m working on my MA in Occupational Therapy. I practice in the mental health field and providing home occupational therapy services, the latter as a private service provider.

I teach Occupational Therapy at Tallinn Health Care College. I love my job as an occupational therapist! I’ve been a member of the Estonian Association of Occupational Therapist since my 1st year of studies. From 2021 I was the president of said association. I’m really passionate about occupational therapy, especially in the mental health field, and I feel a strong need to prove myself, develop, advertise and make the profession of occupational therapy even more sustainable. Developing occupational therapy is very near to my heart.