Fellowship Staff

Colleen Hogan, OTD, OTR/L, Fellowship Coordinator

Hogan started her career in acute care at a level I trauma center in Boston, mainly practicing in general medicine. She came to Northwestern Memorial Hospital to continue her focus on medicine patients. Her interests and expertise includes implementing a delirium prevention protocol for patients at risk of developing delirium and implementing intradialytic exercise, providing therapy services to patients while they undergo dialysis. Hogan additionally has a passion for ethics and sits on the Medical Ethics Committee.

Hogan supports professional development and education for the Rehabilitation Department as education coordinator. Hogan has a special interest in developing mentors’ skills and is working to develop a mentor program within the OT department. As fellowship co-coordinator, she has helped create the fellowship program, and she is excited to further the OT profession through enriching the fellowship curriculum and promoting evidence-based practice in acute care.

Meghan Morrow, OTR/L, Fellowship Coordinator

Morrow started her career in research in the robotics lab at RIC working to develop high-tech, low-cost devices for people who sustained a stroke or traumatic brain injury. She worked at a level 1 trauma hospital in Colorado to pursue education in critical care, program development and quality improvement. While there, Morrow helped develop evidence-based protocols for people who sustained SAH, experienced ICU-induced delirium and TBI recovery with a focus on minimally conscious pathways for patients off sedation.

Morrow returned to Chicago as a project manager for the Arm and Hand Lab at ShirleyRyan where she pursued her passion for exploring intermittent hypoxia for upper extremity recovery and high-intensity stimulation for people with incomplete spinal cord injury. She is now back in acute care focusing on developing new pathways to streamline the operations of Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s OT team.

She plans to cultivate a culture of evidence-based treatment interventions in acute care and optimize the approach to patient care from a preventive lens

Christopher Rudenga, OTR/L, Fellowship Director

Rudenga began his healthcare career at a level 2 trauma center as an exercise physiologist at Community Hospital. After earning his master’s degree, he began working as an OT at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in 2019. He transitioned to the role of resource coordinator in 2022 and participated in Improvement Leader Training and LEAD projects to improve the timeliness of responses to OT consultations. He also worked with interdisciplinary team members and his OT team to help establish OT’s role in ED.

In 2023, Rudenga was appointed as the inaugural OT manager at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and oversees the:

• OT Department
• Hanger Orthotics and Prosthetics
• Speech-Language Pathology Department

He was key to developing the OT Fellowship Program and serves as fellowship director.

Fellowship Mentors

Kari Brouwer, OTR/L, Pulmonary/Medical ICU Mentor

Brouwer started at Northwestern Memorial Hospital as a float therapist on all service lines. She transitioned to specializing in general medicine, pulmonary and critically ill patients.

In addition, Brouwer:

• Planned and led a service trip to Haiti, educating clinicians on evidence-based interventions for various diagnoses
• Helped develop an educational handbook for patients and families in the ICU

• Helped develop a continuing education course on treating patients with COVID-19 in the acute setting
• Developed protocols for nursing mobility in the ICU
• Established a competency for rehab clinicians working with patients on ECMO
• Leads an outpatient class for patients with Parkinson’s to promote strength, balance and more independence with everyday activities
• Works with patients with neuromuscular conditions and their families to promote independence and ease the burden of these diseases

Brouwer has experience taking several level II fieldwork students, and she is excited to be a part of the fellowship program and share her passion of treating patients in the acute care setting.

Madeline Demarais, OTR/L, Orthopaedics Mentor

Demarais has worked at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in orthopaedics since 2021, developing expertise in post-op rehabilitation. She has served as a clinical instructor, member of the Engagement Committee, OT fellow mentor, and has led several presentations on orthopaedic surgery within the Therapy Department.

Demarais is passionate about providing patient-centered care and coaching new therapists.

Jessica Lanis, MSOT, OTR/L, CSRS, Neurology Mentor

Lanis began her career at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Neurology. She has a strong interest in stroke rehabilitation and is certified as a stroke rehabilitation specialist. Jessica contributed to a clinical trial by providing upper extremity assessments to people who had strokes, evaluating the effects of a myoelectric-computer interface on arm function.

Lanis is leading a project to implement an evidence-based upper extremity protocol to improve functional outcomes after an acute stroke.

She promoted the OT fellowship program at the 2024 AOTA Inspire conference and is excited about her role as a mentor.

Laura Rodriguez, OTD, OTR/L, Emergency Department Mentor

Rodriguez began her career at Rush University Medical Central, then joined Northwestern Memorial Hospital in 2021. She is highly skilled in evaluating and treating patients in all care units, including ICUs. Rodriguez has been involved in performance improvement projects to optimize occupational therapists’ response to referral and patient prioritization processes.

Most recently, she helped develop OT’s presence in the Emergency Department to reduce hospital admissions and increase access to care. She is the chair of the department’s Operations Committee to improve efficiency and scheduling processes.

Rodriguez aims to further the OT profession as a mentor for the OT fellowship program, presenting at AOTA 2025 conference and advocating for OTs role in the ED.

Becca Schroeder, MOT, OTR/L, Pulmonary/Medical ICU Mentor

Schroeder began her career at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in 2018. Since then, she has been a primary therapist on the Medicine, Pulmonary, and Medical Intensive Care units. Schroeder has been involved in several projects and committees, including a committee that worked to reduce hospital readmissions and a project to increase mobility in the MICU.

Schroeder earned a certificate from Boston University for interprofessional leadership in health care. She provides consultative services for people with ALS and muscular dystrophy, and she has since given multiple presentations on occupational therapy’s role in care for people with neuromuscular conditions.

Schroeder has several years of experience supervising level II fieldwork, and she is excited to continue mentoring through the fellowship program.

Lisa Shabosky, OTD, OTR/L, General Medicine Mentor

Shabosky is an Occupational Therapist with more than seven years of experience committed to preventive approaches for high-risk populations on the Medicine Service Line. She believes that exposing fellows to self-management strategies, health literacy interventions targeting behavioral outcomes, and functional cognitive assessments is crucial for determining the level of assistance required for patients to achieve safe community discharge.

Over the years, Shabosky has developed a passion for advocating for the unique role of occupational therapy in emerging areas of practice and implementing evidence-based treatments for diverse populations, including the postpartum population.

She is proficient in collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, demonstrated by her membership of the Research and Evidence Based Practice Shared Leadership Committee, involvement in ALS Clinic, leading a monthly Parkinson’s class, and serving as both a mentor and mentee in various programs.

Committed to education, Shabosky oversees the fieldwork student program as student coordinator, mentors staff, has led two quality improvement projects to better the student program, and is passionate about enhancing the fellowship program with inclusive curriculum design, equipping fellows with essential skills to perform at the top of their license.

Andrea Vissing, OTR/L, CLT, Oncology Mentor

Vissing started her OT career in the home health and outpatient setting at an independent senior living center. She transitioned to the acute care setting at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and developed her skills mainly with post-cardiothoracic surgical and general cardiology patients. She was part of the team that began mobilizing patients in the ICU on ECMO support at Northwestern Medicine.

Vissing transitioned to the oncology units in the acute care setting and earned her lymphedema certification in 2021. She is working on developing a lymphedema program to improve inpatient care for people with cancer and bridge the gap between acute care and outpatient services.

Alyssa Winter, OTR/L, Surgery Mentor

Winter has worked at Northwestern Memorial Hospital since 2018, having initially started as a student completing her fieldwork. She has spent over five years as a part of the surgical service line, developing expertise in post-surgical rehab.

Winter has led many process improvement projects, one of which won at a Northwestern Medicine Improvement Day. One of her research projects was published in the Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Health. Her leadership roles within the department have included:

• Interim education coordinator
• LEAD Level 3
• ILT leader
• Innovation Champion
• Member and chair of the Informatics Committee
• Doctoral student clinical instructor

Rachel Wurtzel, OTD, OTR/L, Cardiac Mentor

Wurtzel started her career in acute care at a suburban Northwestern Medicine hospital, refining her skills as a generalist acute care practitioner. She came to Northwestern Memorial hospital where her practice has centered on patients with cardiopulmonary and thoracic diagnoses.

Wurtzel has been involved in process improvement projects to:

• Shorten the length of stay of patients with heart failure
• Improve therapists’ documentation efficiency
• Improve outcomes for patients with LVADs

She also chairs the Rehabilitation Department’s committee for Professional Promotion and Advocacy. Wurtzel demonstrates a passion for teaching and mentorship exhibited by serving as a lab instructor at a local university, developing Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Student Capstone Program and designing the cardiothoracic curriculum for the fellowship program.

Current Fellow

Leah Thoma, OTD, OTR/L, 2025-2026 Cohort

Thoma is honored to join Northwestern Medicine as the next Occupational Therapy Fellow. She is eager to deepen her clinical knowledge, enhance her skill set, and build the confidence needed to grow into an advanced practitioner. Thoma looks forward to learning from the program’s exceptional mentors and discovering the patient population she is most passionate about serving.

She brings diverse fieldwork experience across inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient, and acute care settings. For her doctoral capstone project, Thoma focused on advocacy and program development for individuals living with HIV, designing a fieldwork placement model within a community-based agency to expand occupational therapy’s reach and impact.

A strong advocate for the profession, Thoma enjoys mentoring undergraduate students pursuing careers in OT. She is committed to becoming a leader and educator in the field and is excited about building a long and meaningful career with Northwestern Medicine.

Former Fellows

Casey Cushing, OTD, OTR/L, Fellow, 2024-2025 Cohort

Her post-professional doctorate project focused on self-management in the diabetes population in an outpatient setting. Specifically, she developed and implemented a workshop to train people with diabetes to become peer mentors to others with diabetes, creating the foundation for a peer mentor program.

Cushing was excited about becoming the first OT fellow at Northwestern Medicine, and she strives to be a confident and competent therapist. The fellowship has helped her ease into a full-time clinician role through additional support and collaboration with experienced clinicians. She looks forward to rotating between the different service lines, growing her skills and applying what she has learned to different patient populations.