Awards & recognitions

Select the title of each award to find a detailed description, minimum requirements, and other information, including a list of past recipients.

Yes. All nominators must be members in good standing of AOTA.

Yes. All individuals nominated for an award, including practitioners and students, must be current members in good standing of the Association at the time of the nomination and presentation of the award. For example, a nominee must be a current AOTA member in good standing in 2024 and in 2025 during the award’s presentation. 

Nominated individuals for the Health Advocate Award or the Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Occupational Therapy are not required to be OT practitioners, students, or members of AOTA.

Self-nominations are not permitted.

There is a field on the nomination form to indicate that the nomination is confidential.  AOTA will inform confidential nominators of award winners before the website announcement. 

Group nominations are only permissible for the following awards:

• Terry Brittell OTA/OT Partnership Award
• Outstanding Student Advocate Award
• Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Occupational Therapy
• Interprofessional Collaboration Award

For all other awards, each nominee needs an individual nomination form for the committee to capture the full scope of specific experiences and contributions.

Yes. Nominations may be copied to allow submission to multiple award categories. A checkbox indicating, “I want to submit this submission in another category” will automatically appear as the last question on the nomination form.

Once the checkbox is selected, it will copy and start a new submission after you save and finalize the current nomination.

A completed nomination may also be copied and submitted later under a different category. All nominations must be submitted before the nomination deadline. 

• Log into the Online Submission Site to find a link titled, “My Nominations” on the left side of the page under your name.
• Select “My Nominations” for a list of your nominations.
• Select “Copy Entry” from the list of completed nominations, which will allow you to copy and submit under a new award category.

No. Multiple members should work together to submit a single nomination. More than one nomination, for one individual member, under a single award is not permitted.

The instructions for a collaborative process for a single-nomination submission are below.

• One primary nominator may log into the online submission site using their AOTA username and password.
• The primary nominator can add additional nominators who can view and edit the nomination.
  • The nomination form will show a “Manage Collaborators” button at the top of the page.
  • Additional nominators may be added by clicking, “Add Collaborator” and entering first name, last name, and email address.
  • Only one user can edit a nomination at the same time to avoid accidentally overwriting information.
• The primary nominator must submit and finalize the nomination.
• Once an additional nominator is added, the nomination can be transferred to a new primary nominator and/or access can be removed.
• The option to transfer or remove access is available when you log into the Online Submission Site, and view the list of “My Nominations” on the left side of the page under your name.
• Names of additional nominators may be included on the nomination form.

AOTA awards recognize members of the Association who have excelled in professional contributions throughout their careers. It is difficult to thoroughly document professional contributions over time without input from the nominee.

We suggest that nominators gather records that detail accomplishments and activities, such as a curriculum vitae or résumé. Each nomination form is specific to the award selected, therefore the information described below may not be relevant to every award.

Nomination form

The nomination form is divided into sections, with instructions regarding what should be included. It is critically important for nominators to closely follow the provided instructions. Nominations should demonstrate evidence of the significant contributions made to the profession which may include, but not be limited to:

• Publications (e.g., books, chapters, articles, newsletters) and funded grants
• Oral presentations (e.g., workshops, in-services)
• Online, digital, and social media contributions that extend beyond basic networking (e.g., websites, podcasts, applications)
• Volunteer leadership participation in OT and non-OT related organizations (e.g., AOTA, state or local OT associations, state mental health board, Parkinson’s Association, local disability services board)

Important notes
Routine tasks or involvement that are required or expected as part of the nominee’s job (e.g., a faculty selection committee at the university or a quality improvement committee at the hospital) should not be included. 

Please include the following details on the nomination form.

• Details regarding the dates/duration of each activity 
• Title of the position 
• Name of the organization (describe the type of organization if not readily apparent by name).

When you log into the Online Submission Site, select “My Nominations” on the left side of the page under your name to get a list of completed and in progress nominations.

Options to edit, print, and delete a copy will appear next to the title and status of each nomination.

The committee reviews each nomination using evidence submitted to ensure objectivity and a bias-free process.

The written narrative describes the unique impact of each nominee’s contributions to the profession and reflects the “7-word statement” that provides a rationale for why the nominee is deserving of the award.

For example, a nomination for “Outstanding Contributions to Students and Fieldwork” is expected to describe how the nominee’s efforts advanced occupational therapy education and fieldwork in a unique manner, above and beyond what others may do routinely.

Evidence included and articulated in the narrative should be thorough enough to demonstrate the nominee’s significant contributions to the profession of occupational therapy.

No. The essence of the nominee’s contributions should be captured in 7 words or fewer. The VLDC reserves the right to modify the “7-Word Statement” as appropriate.

The awards below are limited to one recipient per year.

• Award of Merit
• OTA Award of Excellence
• Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship
• Lindy Boggs Award
• Gary Kielhofner Emerging Leader Award
• Outstanding Mentor Award
• Outstanding Student Advocate Award

The Distinguished Educator Award and the Distinguished Fieldwork Educator Award are limited to one OT educator and one OTA educator for each award.

The remaining awards may have multiple recipients if there are qualified nominees.

No. Educators, clinicians, administrators, and researchers are all eligible for nomination, and a doctoral degree is not required. Any AOTA member can nominate an occupational therapist for the Roster of Fellows or an occupational therapy assistant for the Roster of Honor.

Successful nominees must demonstrate significant contributions across multiple areas including:

• Knowledge
• Expertise 
• Leadership
• Service
• Advocacy
• Guidance
• Mentorship

No. Any AOTA member can nominate an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant for the Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship Award who has made substantial and lasting scholarly contributions to the profession.

Educators, clinicians, administrators, and researchers are all eligible to be nominated for the award, and a doctoral degree is not required.

The nominee shall have demonstrated dissemination of work through publication, presentation, teaching, and mentorship.

Each year, multiple award nominations are received, and the committee works diligently to select the most qualified nominees.

The awards review process is based on specific criteria and is dependent upon what the nominee has accomplished and the quality of the information the nominator submits in writing.

The review process allows for a wide variety of practice accomplishments and contributions for consideration. Due to the nature and spirit of the award process, appeals are not allowable. 

AOTA will formally notify individual nominees and respective nominators of their nomination status in November.

Award winners are announced on AOTA’s website, except for the Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship, OT Award of Merit, and OTA Award of Excellence, and the Dr. Lela A. Llorens Award of Excellence for Diversity Equity & Inclusion, which will remain confidential until announced and bestowed at AOTA’s INSPIRE Annual Conference & Expo. 

AOTA reserves the right to determine the specific event and location in which each award is presented during AOTA INSPIRE.

No. All nomination forms must be submitted by 11:59 am ET (just before noon) on the day of the deadline during business hours. We recommend that you submit nominations as early as possible within the nominating window. 

Please contact awards@aota.org with any questions.