Senior Occupational Therapist, Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre       | 2021 Health Care Hero Award Finalist

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Nicole is a Senior Occupational Therapist in the Augmentative and Alternative (AAC) Clinic at Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre and was instrumental in developing the AAC Clinic for people who cannot speak or handwrite. Nicole has been a registered occupational therapist for 15 years, won the Forty Under 40 award, is a graduate of Leadership Niagara, and is currently pursuing her MBA with a specialty in Innovation at the University of Fredericton. 

Nicole is passionate about giving back to the people of Niagara. She is a strong advocate for people with disabilities, whether it is facilitating the building of an accessible natural playground, helping people navigate the complex healthcare system, training adults with Down Syndrome through adaptive CrossFit, improving spiritual health through the ministry of reading at St. Julia Church or developing an app to give people who cannot talk or move the ability to communicate. 

Nicole has led a multidisciplinary team in developing a smartphone communication app for people with ALS who lack movement and speech. This app was chosen 100% of the time by people with ALS as being more effective than its paper-based equivalent.