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Inquiries
Please direct any of your questions pertaining to the Alumni Awards and Recognition program to:
alumni@uwo.ca
Alumni Awards & Recognition
The School of Occupational Therapy Alumni of Distinction Award
Recognizes an alum who demonstrates significant impact in support of equity-oriented social change, and/or harnessing the transformative power of occupation in one or more of the following areas:
- Professional achievement
- The recipient is dedicated to their chosen profession and goes above and beyond in their line of work; they are a role model in their profession and this impact reaches groups, individuals, and/or their larger chosen profession to effect social change and/or transformation through occupation.
- Significant contributions to research and/or education
- The recipient stands out in the field of research as having made compelling and impactful progress towards the advancement of occupation-focused knowledge in occupational therapy or occupational science.
- Commitment to community and leadership
- The recipient is a leader who is committed to bettering their community or the Western community, successfully enriching the lives of others through exemplary leadership of diversity, equity, inclusion initiatives.
Current Winner
2026 Alumni of Distinction Award Recipient
Dr. Janna MacLachlan
Dr. Janna MacLachlan is an Associate Scientific Director at the Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre in Iqaluit, Nunavut, where she lives with her partner and children. She holds adjunct appointments at Western University and the University of Toronto. As an occupational therapist, Dr. MacLachlan has worked in acute care, school-based practice, generalist community-based practice and in global health. As a researcher, she engages in action-oriented and community-based approaches grounded in Inuit knowledge, critical examination of Eurocentrism in mainstream service delivery and study of anti-oppressive practice. A central objective of her work is to support Inuit ways of knowing to be foregrounded in health and social services provided to Inuit.
Dr. MacLachlan was born and raised in Shelburne, NS. She completed her occupational therapy training at Western in 2006 and took her first clinical position in Iqaluit, Nunavut, where she has worked for much of her career. While in the Western occupational therapy program, Dr. MacLachlan was introduced to ideas of reflexivity and critical theory, which became foundational components of Dr. MacLachlan's research and academic work. She deepened her understanding of critical theory and its application to her clinical practice on Inuit lands in her PhD in Public Health Sciences, completed in 2022 at the University of Toronto. She was awarded a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship during which Dr. MacLachlan collaborated with Qaujigiartiit on a project focused on reconnecting Inuit women and children affected by violence with Inuit knowledge. In her current role at Qaujigiartiit, she is engaged in several projects aimed at supporting the health and well-being of Nunavummiut, including Integrated Youth Services. She also collaborates with Marie-Lyne Grenier, another Western occupational therapy graduate, on teaching and researching anti-oppressive documentation practices for health-care practitioners.
Past Winners
2025
2025 Alumni of Distinction Award Recipient
Steven Wheeler, BScOT’92
Dr. Steven Wheeler is a tenured professor and head of the Department of Communication Disorders and Occupational Therapy at the University of Arkansas. He has more than 30 years of experience in mental health and brain injury related teaching, research, and clinical work, has presented nationally and internationally, and has numerous publications, including co-authoring the most recent edition of the American Occupational Therapy Association's Practice Guidelines for Adults with Traumatic Brain Injury. Prior to his current role, he served as professor and chairperson of the Division of Occupational Therapy at the West Virginia University School of Medicine, served as founding director of the Occupational Therapy Program at the University of Cincinnati, and was chair of the Occupational Therapy Program at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio.
After graduation from Western in 1992, Dr. Wheeler began his occupational therapy career at the Mental Health Center in Penetanguishene, Ontario focusing on community re-entry through skill development and occupational engagement. Throughout his career, he has continued to support mental health, cognitive rehabilitation, and community participation initiatives through clinical work, teaching, and research. This includes serving as principal investigator for approximately $3 million in grant funded projects to improve the lives of individuals with traumatic brain injury and their families through advocacy, outreach, resource facilitation, and education. Wheeler is a fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association and is a past recipient of the Elizabeth Devereaux Service Award by the West Virginia Board of Occupational Therapy, the Excellence in Teaching Faculty Award by the West Virginia University Injury Control Research Center, and the American Occupational Therapy Association's Outstanding Mentor Award.
