Australian Hand Therapy Association Credentialing Council

The Accredited Hand Therapist (AHT) credential is a program that has been developed by the Australian Hand Therapy Association (AHTA) and is administered by the Australian Hand Therapy Association Credentialing Council. It provides a pathway towards the establishment and maintenance of high standards of hand therapy practice in Australia. 

Andrea Bialocerkowski Chair | Academic Member of Council | Physiotherapist

Andrea is a registered physiotherapist and the Head of the School of Allied Health Sciences, at Griffith University. Her PhD, which she completed in 2002 focused on the measurement of outcome following wrist injury. Since that time, she has completed 2 post doctoral fellowships - one funded through by NHMRC on brachial plexus injuries in children. Andrea is an active researcher who has an interest in upper limb outcomes / rehabilitation and the education of allied health professionals. She has published over 90 works, and also has a Master of Applied Science (Physio) and Graduate Diploma of Public Health.  Andrea was the first academic member of the AHTA and has been an active member of the research and scholarship subcommittee for almost 10 years.

Tracey Clark | AHT Member | Physiotherapist

Tracey has chaired the Accreditation Steering Committee from 2015-2018. She is a past Vice President and President of the AHTA, and has chaired or been part of the AHTA Governance Committee, the Advocacy Committee, and the Research and Scholarship Committee of the AHTA.   Tracey works both in the private and public sectors in Sydney as a Physiotherapist and Hand Therapist. She has a Master of Science (Hand and Upper Limb Rehabilitation) from Curtin University, Perth, and is a Certified Hand Therapist (USA).   Tracey is also a member of the Scientific Committee for the IFSHT 2019 Berlin Conference. 

Celeste Glasgow | AHT Member | Occupational Therapist

Celeste is a past President of the AHTA. She has chaired the Research and Scholarship Committee and been involved in member Advocacy. She has held many other executive roles over the years including Vice President, membership secretary and QLD divisional representative. Celeste has a PhD from the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences of the University of Queensland, and a Master of Science (Hand and Upper Limb Rehabilitation) from Curtin University, Perth. Celeste is an Occupational Therapist who currently works as an Advanced Practitioner at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.  She continues to be actively involved in research and has won multiple awards for her research work and publications.

Sara Brito | AHT Member | Occupational Therapist

Sara is an Accredited Hand Therapist (as awarded by the Australian Hand Therapy Association). Sara joined the AHTA Credentialing Council in 2021. She was a member of the Education & Professional Development Sub-committee (2016 - 2020) and was the Digital Education Coordinator 2016-2020.

Sara Brito is an Associate Professor at Eastern Kentucky University. She has previously worked as a lecturer of Occupational Therapy in the Institute of Health and Wellbeing at Federation University (Regional Victoria, Australia), as well as, the Department of Occupational Therapy at Monash University (Melbourne, Australia). Sara’s area of clinical practice was rehabilitation and hand therapy. Her PhD explored recovery following brachial plexus injury from a psychosocial and occupational perspective. Sara has an interest in collaborative and inclusive research opportunities. Since completion of her doctoral studies, she has been involved in projects related to healthy aging and teaching and learning.

 

Melanie McCulloch | AHT Member | Occupational Therapist

Melanie is the Director and Senior Hand Therapist at Re-wired Hand Therapy & Nerve Recovery in Melbourne, Victoria. She has extensive experience in the treatment of brachial plexus injury, and has presented at numerous AHTA conferences including a workshop on Nerve Transfer Rehabilitation in 2017.  She has previously worked in the public sector and the UK as a hand therapist in a variety of settings since 1997. Melanie graduated from La Trobe University in Occupational Therapy, and has a Graduate Certificate in Hand Therapy from Derby in the UK. 

Elissa Campbell | Independent Member of Council

Elissa is a lawyer with extensive experience in health law and policy. She has worked for many years in a variety of health policy and legal roles in the public, private and university sectors with a focus on not-for-profit member associations. She has a strong understanding of the health system and policy issues of important to health professions. Elissa is currently working as Policy and Advocacy Manager at Audiology Australia and prior to that was Policy Manager at the College of Psychiatrists for several years. She has a Masters of Health Law from Melbourne University and a Masters of Public Health from the University of Sydney and was previously a committee member and policy lead for the Victorian Branch of the Public Health Association of Australia.