Helping People Thrive with Occupational Therapy Instructor Karen Romanowski

In this episode, we sit down with Karen Romanowski, a highly experienced Madison College Occupational Therapy instructor. Karen shares her vast knowledge and expertise in the field, discussing the problem-solving skills and diverse range of activities that Occupational Therapists address. She emphasizes the importance of reflection in student assessments, shares her go-to teaching techniques, and offers valuable insights into diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives happening in the School of Health Sciences. Karen also shares a touching student story and offers advice for new faculty members at Madison College.

Karen Romanowski (she/her/hers) has been teaching at Madison College for almost 25 years in the Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) Program. Prior to this, she worked as an Occupational Therapist managing a community behavioral health program for adults. She was also a part-time clinical instructor in the Occupational Therapy Program at UW-Madison.

During her time at Madison College, Karen has served as the Program Director and Academic Fieldwork Coordinator for 13 years. Throughout her tenure in the program, she has collaborated with over 500 students to reach their educational goals of entering the Occupational Therapy profession. In addition, Karen has been actively engaged in numerous college initiatives including faculty learning communities, various quality improvement processes, and creating best practices for student advisement, curriculum development, and strategic planning. Over the years she has thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with colleagues to advance the mission of Madison College. For the past two years, Karen has worked as the Faculty Lead for Equity and Inclusion in the School of Health Sciences. Responsibilities in this role include leading, organizing, and supporting academic efforts to infuse equity and anti-racism in our pedagogical practices and school community. Karen is also serving as an Equity Partner in the Institute for Equity and Transformational Change.

Karen enjoys gardening, reading, hiking out west, collecting and refurbishing mid-century furniture, and most importantly spending time with her husband, two children, a faithful Norwegian Elkhound and a sassy Maine Coon cat.