NMOTA 2023 Annual Conference
August 18-19, 2023
Albuquerque Marriott (Louisiana and I-40)
Theme: Functionality & Holism
Keynote Speaker:
Dr. Gordon Muir Giles received his postgraduate Diploma in occupational therapy from St. Andrew’s School of Occupational Therapy and his Ph.D. from the California School of Professional Psychology in 2000. Dr. Giles was a senior occupational therapist at the first behavior disorder program for brain-injured people in the world, the Kemsley Unit of St. Andrew's Hospital, UK. An internationally recognized expert in the field of neurological rehabilitation, Dr. Giles developed the first publicly funded long-term neurobehavioral program
in the USA West of the Mississippi, and his work has served as a model for subsequent program worldwide. With Jo Clark-Wilson Dr. Giles developed the Neurofunctional Approach which has now been demonstrated to be the only training approach to accelerate recovery in the early period following traumatic brain injury. His recent research focus has been on functional cognition and the development and use of performance based measures that serve to identify
optimal interventions approaches for clients with differing degrees of neurocognitive dysfunction.

Keynote Speaker
Dr. Gordon Muir Giles

Plenary speaker
Samuel Chaves
Samuel Chaves is the son of a farm worker. He grew up in rural New Mexico and was the sixth of nine children. He began working at seven while playing little league baseball in the evenings & lived a simple but good life. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the Navy and served for three years. Upon discharge, he married his high school sweetheart and began working at a bus manufacturing plant. After retiring from the bus plant, he worked as a mechanic in a cheese plant.
This was what led him to be involved in an industrial accident. The accident burned over 35% of his body. While completing therapies throughout his recovery, he realized that helping people was what he wanted to do.
He then returned to school and, upon completing the OTA program, began working as a COTA in the school district. After 10 years, he wanted to expand his knowledge and experiences and changed settings to where he started working at a skilled nursing facility and in early intervention. He is now the clinical director at Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell OTA program. His ambition is to continue serving the students and assisting those who may be less fortunate than he is.
Please refer any questions about the Call For Presentations, Posters, or general conference information to the following email: conference@nmota.org.
Submission forms must be complete for consideration.
Proposals for discussions, presentations and/or posters are being accepted for the 2023 NMOTA Annual Conference. We are looking for proposals for presentations that speak to sensory related practices, adaptive techniques or models / frames of reference applied throughout the changes in our lifespan as we grow and practice our own occupations. Sessions that address functionalism across the lifespan and across practice settings, including, but not limited to rehabilitation/habilitation, mental health, early intervention, community based, and private practice are encouraged. Other topic areas include new research, evidence-based practices, and current/new programs.
Deadlines:
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Presentation proposal due date is June 6, 2023
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[Students] Poster-Project proposal due date is July 14, 2023.
In appreciation for the time, effort, and commitment to your state professional association, all current NMOTA members submitting an accepted proposal for a presentation will pay a reduced fee to attend the 2023 NMOTA Annual Conference. Each accepted proposal submitter will be provided with the code necessary for the online registration fee. Out of State AOTA members or members of their state association will also receive a reduced conference fee. Please keep in mind that you also earn CEUs for presenting at conference.