Clover Hutchinson, OTD, MA, OTR/L
The Power of Mentorship: My Unexpected Journey as an Occupational Therapist
Saturday, November 13, 2021, 4:00 - 4:50 PM
Our 2021 Dr. Jim Hinojosa Memorial Lecturer, Dr. Clover Hutchinson has truly lived the essence of this notable honor in her journey as an occupational therapy student, practitioner, educator, researcher, mentor, innovator, and leader. A journey, filled with meaningful, purposeful and productive pathways. Clover shares her inspiring journey as she leads us through the many doors of opportunity, challenges, and mentorships that have contributed to shaping her life, her career, and our profession.
About Dr. Clover Hutchinson
Dr. Clover Hutchinson is an Assistant Professor in Occupational Therapy at York College, CUNY. She herself is a graduate of York. She earned her doctorate in occupational therapy from Chatham University and a Master of Arts in Ergonomics and Biomechanics from New York University. At York College, she is the primary instructor for the Physical Intervention courses. She is also a co-founder and co-faculty advisor for the college’s Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity (COTAD) Chapter. Before assuming a full-time position in academia, Dr. Hutchinson was an adjunct professor in an OT and OTA program.
She was the chief of occupational therapy for over 23 years at Brookdale Hospital and Medical Center, where she was instrumental in developing, supervising, and expanding the department and its programs. She is most noted for developing the OT inpatient program, which included a neonatal feeding program and initiation of OT services at the former Burner Developmental Center. Dr. Hutchinson’s experience at Brookdale offered her many opportunities to grow and garner the respect of her colleagues. Her journey in occupational therapy allowed her to follow her passion and goal to provide services to minorities and the underserved. Clinically, she is experienced in hand therapy, early and school age intervention, and working with individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Dr. Hutchinson is passionate about the mentorship of students and practitioners, and about advocacy for the profession. She constantly exhorts the importance of membership and regularly champions the pursuit of minorities into academia and leadership positions within the OT profession. Her zeal is further evidenced by her engagement on several professional boards: New York State Black Occupational Therapy Caucus – NYSBOTC (president), AOTA Accreditation Roster of Evaluators - evaluator, and a NYSOTA - former Trustee. Additionally, she could not resist the opportunity to participate as a guest lecturer at the only OT program in Haiti at the Faculté des Sciences de Réhabilitation de Léogâne (FSRL) - Léogâne, Haiti. Dr. Hutchinson’s scholarly interests include Health Literacy within Minority Communities, the use of standardized patients to facilitate clinical reasoning in OT students, and the role of modeling in promoting professional membership and advocacy in OT students. Finally, Dr. Hutchinson recently became one of the Editors in Chief for OT at StatPearl.org, an online medical education library.
