Passion: Nina is deeply passionate about empowering individuals to maintain their autonomy through understanding and collaboration. She believes in developing a personalized, client-centered approach to help clients achieve their goals and meet their unique needs. By fostering independence, she aims to enhance her clients’ quality of life.

Experience: Nina has been a practicing Occupational Therapist since 2017, after completing her Master’s degree and passing the OT board exam. She began her career working with individuals with disabilities in outpatient and adult day programs. From there, Nina transitioned to travel OT, which took her from South Carolina to Syracuse. In South Carolina, she managed the OT department for two skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities before moving to Syracuse to work in acute inpatient care at SUNY Upstate. At Upstate, Nina’s focus was on spinal orthopedic surgeries, general medicine, and criminal functional assessments.

Following her travel experiences, Nina worked for three years at an independent and assisted living campus, where she was the sole occupational therapist for approximately 300 residents. During this time, she provided care for individuals with chronic cardiac and neurological conditions, post-operative needs, pain management issues, and those requiring home safety assessments. Nina also worked at an acute rehabilitation center, evaluating inpatient clients for eligibility and planning for their most independent outcome.

In 2024, Nina transitioned to a full-time advocacy role with EverHome as a Life Care Coordinator. Across all her roles, Nina’s core focus has remained the same: meeting clients where they are and prioritizing their needs and goals to preserve their independence and enhance their overall quality of life.

Background: A Capital Region native, Nina attended Keuka College, earning a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Science, followed by a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy. During her studies, she completed internships at the Capital District Psychiatric Center, Albany Stratton VA, St. Camillus short term rehab, and various local schools. Nina developed a strong connection with older adults during her work, particularly focusing on this population in her academic pursuits.

For her first Master’s thesis, Nina conducted a qualitative study on a woman with ALS, exploring the disease’s impact and its effects on the wider ALS community. For her second thesis, she created a study to support individuals with Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder in obtaining sustainable and independent employment.

Unique Interests: Outside of her professional life, Nina has a deep love for animals. She has traveled to Australia to study the migration patterns of koalas along the east coast, as well as to Bimini, Bahamas, where she worked in the Shark Lab. In Bimini, she contributed to research on tiger sharks and adolescent lemon sharks, engaging in activities like free-diving with sharks, handling adolescent sharks, and tagging them for research purposes.