Faculty and Staff
Full Time Faculty
Ruth Ramsey, Ed.D., OTR/L Director and Chair
Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy
BS, San Francisco State University
MS, San Jose State University
Ed.D., University of San Francisco
Dr. Ramsey has been an occupational therapist since 1985 and is the founding director and chair of the occupational therapy program. Since its inception in 1996, she has led the program through three national accreditations and a transition to graduate degree-granting status. Prior to establishing the program at Dominican, she taught at San Jose State University and practiced clinically in the area of mental health with adults, adolescents and seniors.
Currently, she teaches varied courses in the program, serves as a thesis adviser, and provides academic advising for new majors. Her research interests are promoting healthy aging, community-based practice in occupational therapy, and innovative approaches to health professions education. Dr. Ramsey is active in state and national professional associations and presents regularly at conferences. She is a past member of the Commission on Practice of the American Occupational Therapy Association, and a co-founder of the Psychiatric Occupational Therapy Action Coalition. Link to Ruth Ramsey's full profile
Stacy Frauwirth, MS, OTR/L
Assistant Professor, Occupational Therapy
BS, Tufts University
MS, Boston University
Stacy has more than 14 years of clinical and administrative experience in pediatrics, with expertise in early intervention, NICU, and sensory integration. She has been involved in a number of innovative, grant-supported programs, including the development of a model for providing therapeutic support services in an Early Head Start program and participating in the establishment of the Compassionate Touch program in a local NICU. She is certified to administer the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests and the Neonatal Oral-Motor Assessment Scale and is trained in Therapeutic Listening. Her ongoing professional interests include the infusion of child rights discourses into occupational therapy practice and developing models for promoting children's wellness and occupational participation within public school systems.
Stacy is currently completing studies in the PhD program in Occupational Science at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include the development of play and play styles and the use of complexity science models to understand occupation and as an organizing framework for Occupational Science. She presents frequently on sensory integration and development to family groups, foster care training programs, and early childhood mental health program staff. Stacy has served on the board of the Association of Pediatric Therapists and is currently the newsletter editor for the organization. Stacy currently teaches Occupations of Children and Adolescents I and II, Foundations of OT, and Research in the Health Professions, courses in the OT program.
Janis Davis, PH.D, OTR/L
Assistant Director, Graduate Program
Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy
BS, University of Kansas
MA, University of Missouri
Ph.D., University of Kansas
Dr. Janis Davis is a full-time associate professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy. Prior to coming to Dominican, Dr. Davis taught for 14 years at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri. Dr. Davis received her Ph.D. degree from University of Kansas, and has been involved in many research initiatives, including therapeutic listening, workshops on learning and the brain, and a grant-funded community partnership program for persons recovering from stroke.
Dr. Davis teaches courses in psychosocial aspects of occupational therapy, professional development, and occupational therapy education, as well as advising master’s thesis students. Link to Janis Davis' full profile
Kitsum Li, OTD, OTR/L
Assistant Professor, Occupational Therapy
OTD, Rocky Mountain University
MS, Suny Buffalo
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Dr. Li was the 6th Hong Kong-trained graduate entering into the profession of Occupational Therapy. Dr. Li has certifications in both Neuro Developmental Therapy and Neuro-Ifrah for the management and treatment of adults with hemiplegia. She has also received advance training in Bioness, Myomo and Saebo, and other contemporary interventions used in the treatment of hemiplegic upper extremities. Her areas of interest include interventions for individuals with vestibular dysfunction, low vision, cognitive and visual-perceptual impairments. In addition to being a certified FallProof instructor, Dr. Li also holds advanced practice licenses in California in hand therapy and physical agent modalities.
Dr. Li has over 20 years of clinical experience in working with adults and seniors in a variety of settings. She was one of the pioneer therapists to work with head injury in community-based program as well as onsite therapist in industrial settings in the 1990s. Currently, she teaches Occupation in Adults and Seniors I and II, and serves as thesis advisor. In addition to teaching,she maintains her clinical practice in outpatient clinic working primarily in Hand therapy and CVA rehabilitation. Link to Kitsum Li's full profile
Alison Virzi, MS, OTR/L
Academic Fieldwork Coordinator, Occupational Therapy
Assistant Professor
BS, Dominican University of California
MS, Dominican University of California
Alison Virzi is the Academic Fieldwork Coordinator at Dominican University. In this role she is responsible for the development of fieldwork sites and placement of students. Alison is a Marin native and a graduate of the first Dominican University of California Occupational Therapy class in 2000. Upon graduation she worked as a hand therapist for two outpatient hand clinics in Marin. She has taught various classes in the occupational therapy program, and supervised students for the Healthy Seniors community practice lab and Marin Brain Injury Network. She also advises freshmen in the program.
Alison received her Master's degree in Education in spring 2011. Her Master's thesis, entitled "Preventing Dequervain's Tendonitis in Nursing Mothers," was published in the Educational Resources Information Center. Alison continues to live in her hometown of Fairfax with her two children, Kate and Drew.
Jane Dressler, JD., OTR/L
Fieldwork Associate, Occupational Therapy
Assistant Professor, Occupational Therapy
BS, SUNY-Buffalo
MS, San Jose State University
JD, Golden Gate University School of Law
Jane Dressler is joining the department as the Academic Fieldwork Associate in a term assistant professor faculty position. She will be assisting with the fieldwork portion of the program, and teaching psychosocial and management courses. Jane holds a Bachelor of Science degree in occupational therapy from SUNY-Buffalo, a Master of Science degree in health care administration from San Jose State University, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Golden Gate University School of Law. Previously, she has taught and managed fieldwork in the occupational therapy programs at San Jose State University, Samuel Merritt University, and Dominican University.
Shad St. Louis, MS, OTR/L
Assistant Professor, Occupational Therapy
BA, St. Olaf College
MS, Tufts University
Shad has been an occupational therapist at both the clinical and administrative levels since 1995. He has worked primarily in the area of physical rehabilitation with a focus on neuro-rehabilitation, particularly spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries. He holds his AOTA specialty certification in Driver Rehabilitation and has presented extensively at local, regional and national levels on this topic. A leading academic point of interest for him is the effective learning of clinical reasoning skills and their application to therapeutic intervention.
Shad maintains a clinical practice at Alta Bates Herrick Rehab Hospital in Berkeley and also at San Francisco General Hospital. Shad currently teaches Foundations in OT, Conditions in OT, Health Policy and Management and Human Movement Analysis.
Julia Wilbarger, Ph.D., OTR/L
Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy
MS, Boston University
Ph.D., University of Denver
Julia Wilbarger, Ph.D., OTR/L is joining the faculty as an adjunct professor in the fall 2012 semester to launch her thesis groups, and in the spring 2013 as an associate professor. She was most recently an assistant professor of occupational therapy at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She holds a Master of Science degree in occupational therapy from Boston University, and a doctoral degree in Developmental Psychology, specializing in developmental cognitive neuroscience, from the University of Denver. Dr. Wilbarger has done extensive research, published and presented on issues of sensory processing, sensory modulation disorders, and sensory integration in children.
Diane Griffeath, MA
Administrative Coordinator, Occupational Therapy
BA, Dominican University of California
MA, San Francisco State University
Diane Griffeath, MA, joined the occupational therapy department as the administrative coordinator in January 2012. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Dominican University, and a Master of Arts degree in gerontology with a specialization in long term care administration from San Francisco State University.
Part Time Faculty
Joanne Figone, MS, OTR/L
Associate Adjunct Professor, Occupational Therapy
BA, University of California, Berkeley
MA, University of Southern California
Joanne has been in the field of pediatric occupational therapy for over 30 years, working in acute care settings, school environments, out-patient community clinics, and private clinics. She presently has a private practice in Petaluma, California. She has extensive experience with early intervention, feeding disorders, neuro-muscular disorders, autism spectrum disorders, school intervention and sensory integration. She is certified in the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests, Neuro-developmental Therapy, Perceptual Enrichment Program, and the Handwriting Without Tears Program.
Ms. Figone also has training in the Therapeutic Listening program, the SOS feeding program, and the Interactive Metronome Program. She has presented numerous workshops regarding child development, feeding, pediatric occupational therapy, sensory processing, and neuro-developmental therapy to therapists, teachers, mental health professionals, and parents. She is currently a workshop presenter for Handwriting Without Tears. She teaches Occupations of Children and Adolescents l and II, including clinical and community practice labs.
Kim Schoessow, OTD, OTR/L
Adjunct Professor, Occupational Therapy
OTR/L, University of Alabama at Birmingham
OTD, Washington University in St. Louis
Kim Schoessow, OTD, OTR/L, graduated from the clinical doctorate program in occupational therapy at Washington University in St. Louis and completed the Graduate Certificate in Low Vision Rehabilitation program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She works as an occupational therapist in private practice at theFrank Stein & Paul S. May Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation in San Francisco. She also works as a Research
Health Science Specialist in the Vision Rehabilitation Research Lab at the VA in Palo Alto.
Previously, she worked at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston, and was an Instructor in Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. She has presented and been published at both the national and international level. Dr. Schoessow currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Occupational Therapy Foundation and is the National President of Pi Theta Epsilon, the occupational therapy honor society. In the spring 2013 semester she will be teaching Health Policy, Leadership, and Management and a 1-unit special topics course on Low Vision Rehabilitation.
Susan Schwartz, MPA, OTR/L, FAOTA
Adjunct Professor, Occupational Therapy
BS, San Jose State University
MPA, University of Southern California School of Policy, Planning & Development
Susan Schwartz received her Bachelor of Science in occupational therapy from San Jose State University in 1974, and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Southern California School of Policy, Planning & Development in 1985. She has served as the Program Coordinator and Manager for several medical centers and as a consultant for the American Occupational Therapy Association. She is currently serving on the Steering Committee for Dominican University’s Center for Health Aging, and on the Community Advisory Board for the University of California San Francisco HDF Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Ms. Schwartz has received numerous awards and is recognized for her clinical and organizational leadership. Her research on breast cancer and the environment has been presented throughout the Bay Area. Her work with colleagues on the “Latina Adolescent Outreach Project” was awarded first prize for “Greatest Public Health Impact” at the Breast Cancer and Environment Research Center’s 5th annual meeting in 2008. Susan teaches the Community Program Development course in the occupational therapy department at Dominican University.
Gina Stires, MS, OTR/L
Adjunct Professor, Occupational Therapy
MS, Dominican University of California
Gina Stires, MS, OTR/L, received her Master of Science degree in occupational therapy in 2012 from Dominican University of California. Her master’s thesis was titled: “An Evidence-Based Review of Computer-Assisted Cognitive Remediation Programs for Adults with Traumatic Brain Injury”. She is currently employed as a staff occupational therapist with Kindred Rehabilitation Services. At Dominican University, she has been the lab instructor for OT 5012, Foundations of Human Occupation.
