Faculty and Staff

• Grace Fisher, EdD, OTR/L
  Chair & Associate Professor
• Gwen Bartolacci,OTD, OTR/L
  Associate Professor & Weekend Program Director
• Joseph Cipriani, Ed.D., OTR/L
  Professor & Admissions Coordinator, Weekday Program
• Verna Eschenfelder, PhD, OTR/L
  Assistant Professor
• Amy Gerney, OTD, OTR/L
  Assistant Professor
• Ellen McLaughlin, Ed.D., OTR/L
  Associate Professor & Doctoral Program Director
• Lalit Shah, Ed.D., OTR/L
  Professor & Coordinator, Pediatric Specialization
  Weekday Program & Research Coordinator

• Lisa Sunday-Lefkowitz, M.S., OTR/L
• Amy Lynch, PhD, OTR/L

• Jeffrey B. Becker, O.D.
• Jennifer Cave, OTR/L
• Karen Kangas, OTR/L
• Jason Meixsell, MS, OTR/L
• Beth Pfeiffer, PhD, OTR/L, BCP
• Jennifer Rugletic,M.S., OTR/L
• Joan Surfus, OTR/L, B.C.P.
• Tom Swartwood, M.S., OTR/L
• Nancy Swiderski Baranowski, M.S., OTR/L
• Maria Unger, M.A., CCC/SLP

• Sue Barry, MS
• Debbie Carey
• Dawn Evans, MS, OTR/L

Dr. Cipriani earned his B.A. degree from Wilkes College, a B.S. degree from Misericordia University, M.A. degree from Wichita State University, and his Ed.D. from Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Cipriani is a full professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy. He teaches courses in Human Development, Applied Functional Anatomy, Research Methods, and supervises student research projects.

Professor Cipriani has presented 12 papers at national or international conferences in occupational therapy, often in conjunction with student research groups. He has presented in venues as diverse as the American Occupational Therapy Association National Conferences; World Federation of Occupational Therapists Congress (Montreal,Canada; Stockholm, Sweden), and the World Congress of Rehabilitation International (Oslo, Norway).

He has also co-authored 10 articles in professional journals, and written two book chapters. Dr. Cipriani has published in well known journals such as Physical and Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics; The Australian Journal of Occupational Therapy; The World Federation of Occupational Therapists Bulletin; and Arthritis Care and Research. Most of his published research has been in the practice area of geriatrics.

Dr. Cipriani was honored with the 1995 Misericordia University Teaching Excellence Award and in 2007, the Lewis & Barbara Alesi Excellence in Scholarship Award. He is one of only 4 professors in the history of Misericordia University to win two of the three highest faculty awards. He maintains a clinical practice at a regional medical center in acute care (including intensive care unit, cardiac services unit, and trauma care), rehabilitation, and outpatient services.

Grace Sheldon Fisher, Ed.D., OTR/L, is the Chair of the Misericordia University Occupational Therapy Department. Dr. Fisher holds a doctoral degree in educational administration from Temple University (’97), a master of science degree in human services administration from Misericordia University (’87), a post-baccalaureate certificate of proficiency in occupational therapy from the University of Pennsylvania (’79), and a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Wilkes College (’74). She previously held positions at White Haven Center, Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, and Gannon University. At Misericordia University Dr. Fisher teaches OT 520 Research Design and OT 320 Impairments and Disabilities.

Dr. Fisher’s professional experience includes adult and geriatric physical disabilities practice and occupational therapy management. She is certified in neurodevelopmental therapy for the person with adult hemiplegia. She also serves as a faculty research committee chair in the graduate research series for the occupational therapy program. Dr. Fisher is involved in conducting collaborative research with graduate occupational therapy students in areas which include environmental safety for older persons, the role of occupation in the lives of individuals with chronic pain, and the provision of occupational therapy to individuals who have severe and persistent mental illness. She has a special interest in the development of health care assessment instruments. Recent publications of which Grace is a co-author are listed below.

• Fisher, G.S., Beckwith-Cohen, C., Edwards, S., Howe, C., Smith, L., and Sugrue, T. (2009). Developing and Field Testing the Pain and Functional Performance Assessment for Individuals with Chronic Pain. Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain. 17(3), 258-270.
• Fisher, G, Bradley, E., Costulas, D., Kintner, L., Kozlevcar, J., Mahonski, K., McMenamin, K., Rompilla, A., Woods, J., and Stine, J. (2008). Home Modifications Made by Older People as a Result of Cougar Home Safety Assessment (Version 4.0) Recommendations. Californian Journal of Health Promotion, 6(1), 87-110.
• Evans, D., Conte, K., Gilroy, M., Marvin, T., Theysohn, H., and Fisher, G. (2008). Occupational Therapy- Meeting the Needs of Older Adult Workers? Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment, and Rehabilitation. 31(1), 73-82.
• Fisher, G.S., and Hotchkiss, A. (2008). A Model of Occupational Empowerment for Marginalized Populations in Community Environments. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 22(1), 55-71.

Primary teaching responsibilities of Dr. McLaughlin's are within both the undergraduate and graduate courses pertaining to pediatric intervention and occupational therapy theory. Other responsibilities include supervising student research projects and advising freshman students. Dr. McLaughlin is coordinator of the research series in Occupational Therapy.

Dr. McLaughlin's clinical experience is in school based occupational therapy and early intervention programming for children with autism. Her research interests are in the areas of haptic perceptual development and accessibility issues for the disabled.

Professor Lalit J Shah Ed.D., OTR/L, graduated in 1978 with B.Sc. in Occupational Therapy from Seth G. S. Medical College- Bombay University- Bombay, India. In India he practiced OT primarily in Orthopedics, General surgery, and Plastic surgery with specific interest in burn patients. After coming to the USA in 1982, he worked in a rehabilitation center for 2 1/2 years. He then practiced in the area of Developmental Disability and became Director of the OT Department at St. Joseph's Center in Scranton, PA. He also practiced in Home-Health care, consulted with several Nursing Homes, and worked with children in Early intervention programs. He completed his SI certification in 1994. After completing his MS in Occupational Therapy from Misericordia University, where he was awarded a Research Fellowship, he became Adjunct Professor in OT since 1989 in the weekend program. He became a full-time faculty member in 1993 and joined the University as an Assistant Professor, teaching several different courses in both the Traditional Program and Weekend Program. Following is the listing of classes taught in the past: OT 313/713 (Neuroscience Lecture/Lab), OT 312/712 (Functional Anatomy), OT 335 (Environmental Dimensions of Human Performance), OT 422/522/722 (Intervention I Lecture/Seminar /Lab), OT 423/523/723 (Intervention II Lecture/Seminar/Lab), etc.

Dr. Shah graduated in 2001 from Nova Southeastern University with Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) degree in higher education. He received his tenure in 2002 and became Associate Professor. He also developed Pediatric Specialization Track in traditional OT program and is teaching classes covering topics like Sensory Integration, NICU, Pediatric splinting etc. He became Full Professor in 2007.

He has served on various advisory boards in the local area agencies including PAC of VNA Hospice in Scranton, PA. His research interests include SI and application of long distance technology in the learning /teaching process. He has several extra-curricular interests and enjoys traveling and playing various sports. He lives with his wife Shakun Shah, daughter Dr. Gunjan Shah, and son Paurush Shah in Clarks Summit, PA.

Lisa Sunday-Lefkowitz, MS, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist for over two decades. She received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Occupational Therapy (1987) and a Master of Science Degree in Education (1994) with a focus in technology-both from Misericordia University. She began her career at MU in January, 1992 as the Associate Coordinator of Fieldwork Education and served in that capacity until August, 1995. In August, 1995, Lisa began teaching full-time as an Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy (teaching Health Professions, Introduction to OT, Physical and Mental Conditions, Occupational Behaviors, and Intervention I) and was a contributing faculty member to the development of the Professional Entry Level Master’s curriculum. During those years she continued her clinical practice as a consultant to local school districts. In September, 1996 Lisa moved to teaching as an adjunct member of the faculty for the year and focused primarily on her clinical work in early intervention for the next several years.

In January, 2004 Lisa returned to MU to teach Pediatric Assessment (HP450) in the weekday program. She currently serves as a part-time occupational therapy faculty member as Adjunct Assistant Professor since August, 2007. Primary teaching responsibilities include Occupational Behaviors I (OT 205-705) and II (OT 275-775), Pediatric Assessment (HP 450) as well as Introduction to Health Professions (HP 100)-an interdisciplinary course for the school of health sciences.

Lisa’s clinical experience centers mostly in Pediatrics-both early intervention and school-based therapy and as a consultant in that arena to area school districts and their programs. She has also worked in home health, skilled nursing facilities, and adult rehabilitation. She has been awarded the Who’s Who of American Teachers award five times in her career. Most recently she mentored an OT Honors student in their research regarding the Gluten-Free Diet for children with Autism.

Dr. Pfeiffer developed the Post-Professional Pediatric Certificate Program for Occupational and Physical Therapists. She also advises students in the Post-Professional Master Degree in Occupational Therapy program. Primary teaching responsibilities of Dr. Pfeiffer’s include graduate pediatric and research courses in the weekend college and the post-professional pediatric certificate and MS programs.

Dr. Pfeiffer maintains her clinical work as the Senior Occupational Therapist at Pediatric Therapy Associates of the Lehigh Valley, P. C. where she provides services to children in early intervention and private practice. Her current research focuses on Pervasive Developmental Disorders/Autism, sensory integration, and the relationship between affective disorders and sensory processing.

Dawn is the Academic Coordinator of Fieldwork Education. She holds a Master of Science degree in Organizational Management and a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy with a minor in Psychology from Misericordia University.