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| Dr. Kate Loukas |
Dr.
Kathryn Loukas has been a Windham resident for 29 years and heavily involved in
the community programs like Youth Soccer, Riding to the Top, and Windham/Raymond
Performing Arts. She has also been helping others since she started in
occupation therapy (OT) in the Windham School system in 1993.
Originally
from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Dr. Loukas loved the outdoors and had worked for
the Outward Bound School in Colorado. She had had the opportunity to work for
the Outdoor Education Center for the Handicapped and she described it as life
changing. She worked with five young men who had spinal cord injuries and were
skiers. She knew from that moment, she wanted to work with people who had grit
and determination and were finding joy in life on a different level.
When
she graduated with her degree in occupational therapy in 1985, Dr. Loukas and
her husband moved to Maine, eventually working for the Windham School system.
“I
had an epiphany. I had been working mostly with adults, and when my oldest son
went to kindergarten, I saw this really fun room [in the Primary School] where
the occupational therapist was helping children access education and I wanted
to be a part of that community.” The occupational therapist at the time retired
the next week and Dr. Loukas was hired shortly after that.
She
worked in Windham Schools for seven years and during that time, also taught
courses at the University of New England (UNE). She had always liked teaching
and promoting her profession but enjoyed working in the schools.
In 1998, she split her time between Raymond
(working at Jordan-Small Middle School and Raymond Elementary School) and teaching
at UNE. Dr. Loukas eventually transitioned to only working at the university.
In
2013, Dr. Loukas had the opportunity to go to Tangier, Morocco where UNE was
building a campus. She observed the cultural differences in occupations
(eating, dressing, bathing, education) and the need for occupational therapy.
Recently, she was able to teach an interprofessional course with occupational
and physical therapy students. As part
of the course the students visited service sites, including an orphanage and a
school for children with developmental disabilities. “UNE hosted the first ever
OT conference in Morocco,” stated Dr. Loukas. “[This] was really exciting to
participate in the evolution of a profession in a developing country. We could
see the need and role and were able to facilitate the infancy of the
occupational therapy profession at the service sites. The teaching was bringing
occupational therapy to Morocco.”
In
2016, Dr. Loukas and physical therapy professor, Dr. Eileen Ricci and several
others at UNE helped to develop the Maine Leadership Education for children
with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities.
Leadership
Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) provides
high-quality interprofessional education and practice training programs that
are funded through the Health Resources and Services Administration Maternal
and Child Health Bureau in 52 sites across the country. Dr. Loukas serves as the Training Director as
LEND develops interprofessional teams that
include family members, students, social workers, speech and language
pathologists. LEND also includes self-advocates as trainees working to improve the health and community participation of infants,
children, and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disabilities.
“The
idea is that we are creating future interprofessional leaders. I work directly
with students, early career practitioners, self-advocates, and family members
to build leadership and create programs in the state; it has been a culminating
experience for my career to be part of the LEND program,” stated Dr. Loukas. “It
is really exciting, as it is experiential teaching where I can spend more time
with individual trainees, helping them develop their leadership skills as we work
with children and families. The LEND
program also seeks to influence policy to support the rights of people with
disabilities through our legislative process on the state and national levels.
It is important work and I am honored to be a part of it.”
Dr.
Loukas lives with her husband, Kane, and has two sons, two daughters-in-law, a
granddaughter, and a grandchild on the way. She loves the outdoors and has a
camp in Millinocket where she hikes, kayaks, and skis.
On a personal
note, Dr. Loukas was my OT early on and I have continued working with her through
the years. I am very grateful for her patience and dedication to her profession
(and with me). She is someone who cares deeply about what she does and has her
client’s/student’s best interest at heart.
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