Clinical practice leader for OT
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
Kelsey Watters is the clinical practice leader for OT at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (SRAlab, formerly the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago). She graduated from University of Washington with her master’s in occupational therapy in 2011 and completed her doctorate of clinical science in occupational therapy at the University of Pittsburgh in 2022. Clinically, she works in the Think + Speak Lab and specializes in working with patients to address challenges with both functional cognition and vision/perception. In 2020, Kelsey obtained her AOTA Board Certification in Physical Rehabilitation (BCPR) and was awarded both the ILOTA “OT of the Year” award and NBCOT “Impact Award”. Her clinical interest areas include traumatic brain injury, visual/ perceptual impairments and functional cognition. Kelsey has led workshops about brain injury, functional cognition and vision at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and teaches regularly at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Occupational Therapy program. Her research interests include disorders of consciousness, functional cognition, and spatial neglect.