Candidates
Bylaws
Voting is Closed
Officer Responsibilities
The nomination and election process of our board members is your voice in guiding the mission of the HTA-CA organization. Your vote will help in the promotion and education of hand therapists worldwide.
Thanks to our Members for your thoughtful nominations for Board Positions. If you don’t see your nominee here it is because they have decided to not run this election. All nominees were contacted and vetted.
Are you interested in participating? Please review the Officer Responsibilities, membership requirements, and time commitments to serve on the HTA-CA board. We welcome your feedback, your help with any of our Committees, and your future participation in the next election as a Board Nominee!
Our Bylaws have been (finally) updated to reflect our independent status as a Non- Profit Organization separate from ASHT. The Bylaws will be submitted to the Secretary of State after this vote.
Scroll down to vote YES or NO on the Current Bylaws and for our nominees for Board Positions. Voting closes September 9 and results will be announced at the September 10 webinar.
Candidates
President
Nisha Patel-Venketsamy OTR/L, CHT – 1997 Graduate OT Program San Jose State, Hand Therapy Certification, 2002, Kaiser Permanente Hand Therapy Program.
My family and I journeyed the globe prior to residing in California. I have lived in the Bay Area since 1980, and am happy to be raising my twin girls here. The cultural diversity in the Bay Area has given me a love for the uniqueness every single person has to offer.
“Our hands are vital to our various occupations, be it in an office, home, factory or farm. An occupation is not only defined by what we do but also deeper by the many roles we play in life. Opening people’s minds to listen to the wisdom from within one’s own body is a great joy for me.
Vice President
Jennifer DiGrazia MS OT/L CHT is an Occupational Therapist and Certified Hand Therapist, who graduated from Boston University. Jenn has been working in hand therapy since 2004. Although a native, she practiced in Virginia extensively and only returned to the Bay Area in 2015. She joined the Hand Therapy Association of CA formally in 2019 to take advantage of its educational offerings. Impressed with the high quality monthly webinars, she was compelled to reach out to HTA-CA to learn how she could personally contribute to the organization.
Outside of HTA-CA, she has 4 years of experience serving as board member and treasurer for a parent-teacher organization. Her board member interests include increasing membership, organizational processes, creating opportunities for members to connect, assisting with creating opportunities for relevant quality continuing education and giving back to a hand therapy community that has been instrumental in her own development.
Professionally, she works full time at Stanford ValleyCare in Livermore. She has extensive orthotic fabrication skills and specializes in hand and elbow trauma including fractures, nerve and tendon reconstructions. She enjoys spending her free time with her family, fishing and travelling.
Secretary
Stella Wang, OTR/L, CHT, MScOT has been an occupational therapist in California since March 2014 and a Certified Hand Therapist since 2017. She found her passion in hand therapy and innovative orthotic designs while studying under her mentor Pat McKee at the University of Toronto.
Stella is the co-founder and designer of Durathumb, a 3D-printed custom thumb stabilization orthosis. She plans to develop more CAD generated custom designs for orthoses in the near future. She also practices clinically at Hands on Care in San Jose.
Treasurer
Lori Stotko OTR/L, CHT – Masters in Occupational Therapy at Texas Woman’s University in 1988. BA in Journalism and Art, minor in music, Northeast Louisiana University, 1985. Certified Hand therapist awarded 1994.
1999 – 2019, MidPeninsula Hand Rehabilitation. Private practice owner. Ergonomics Consultant 1992 to present. Special Interests: Performing arts medicine, treating musicians, Breast Cancer recovery. Membership: HTA-CA, ASHT, AOTA, OTAC, PAMA and Health Volunteers Overseas.