Thank you to all who submitted applications for our Annual Scholarship and Award for School-Based Therapists. 

We received many compelling applications and it has proven difficult to chose the winners among the many talented and dedicated candidates.

We are thrilled to announce that Brij Maliya is the recipient of the ERI Creative Therapies Award. Recognizing an individual who has made an extraordinary commitment and outstanding contributions to the practice of school-based therapy by enriching the lives of students through creative solutions.

 Hong Elizabeth Tran receives the ERI Scholarship for New to School-Based Practice, honoring and supporting an emerging leader in the field of school-based therapy

Brij Maliya has over 22 years of experience working in a variety of settings all over the world and is currently working in the Cambridge Public Schools in MA and literally pours his heart, time and energy into the world of school based services in so many ways. 

During the pandemic, our awardee went above and beyond spending a lot of time and personal money to distribute therapy supplies to his clients that were socioeconomically challenged.  He provides  support services to his colleagues, by creating Facebook groups aimed  at providing community forums  where school-based/pediatric clinicians, special educators and related practitioners can gather for interdisciplinary discussion, collaboration and networking.

In addition to the hands-on work he does with his students both here and oversees, our awardee is passionate about advocacy and professional service.  He was an integral part of the team that corrected a discriminatory policy (based on immigration status) in the MA state licensure for qualified overseas license candidates. He was recently elected as an Executive Board Member (Member-At-Large) for the Massachusetts Association for Occupational Therapy, he is a member of the Alumni Advisory Board, Diversity, Inclusion, Equity Racial Justice (DIERJ) Committee at Tufts University and a Member of the Advisory Board, of the International Chapter All India OT Association.

Hong Elizabeth Tran works with medically involved students and 3-4 year olds in multiple schools and is on the district feeding team in Dallas Texas.  

Her colleagues lauded her saying “she is humble, patient, and willing to do what it takes to strengthen her skills and become the best clinician she can be.  She employs a continuous growth mindset and holds herself to a high moral standard in practice, especially when working with marginalized populations. She is a curious, open-minded learner who will undoubtedly do right by the students and school communities”.  She caters interventions to be client centered and culturally appropriate.  

When asked what her favorite thing about working in the schools is?  She said….”it’s fun to interact with each kid and see their personality and incorporate what they like into therapy.  I hated school when I was younger, so I really enjoy finding ways to engage and inspire the students.  It’s nice to be able to see the work you put in come to life.  For a lot of students, you can see the progress each week and month”.  As you can imagine, her students love to work with her.

CONGRATULATIONS to both Award Recipients. 

They be recognized at the 23rd Annual Therapies in the School Conference November 17-18, 2022 – LIVE WEBINAR

Registrations are still be accepted for the popular 2 day conference
LEARN MORE HERE

For 23 years, ERI has been committed to renewing your passion for school based therapy and providing you with tools and strategies you can use right away to improve learning outcomes for your students. This year is no different! We are excited to tell you about this year’s Annual Therapies in the School Conference.

By joining us this November, you will remember why you joined the profession, and bring your students new and easily applicable evidence-based tools and strategies as well as new methods to address the continuous COVID-19 related challenges.