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2025 Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture – nominate our next speaker

Do you know an occupational therapist who has made or is making a significant contribution to our profession?

If you do, we want to hear from you. 

Celebrate their achievements

Celebrate their achievements by nominating them to give our 2025 Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture.

Our lecture is an opportunity for the chosen speaker to talk about a topic important to them and our profession.

Use our nomination form to tell us why this person would make a great speaker for the Lecture.

Our Council will then choose the 2025 speaker.

Download and fill in the nomination form and email it to our Events Administrator, Dagmara Drozdowska, via dagmara.drozdowska@rcot.co.uk.

Submit your nomination by 11.59pm, Sunday 15 September 2024.

Previous successful nomination comments

Janice McClymont, Head of Occupational Therapy at NHS Lanarkshire – nominated Professor Katrina Bannigan to give our lecture in 2024 and wrote:

Katrina's expertise not only inspires students and colleagues but also the entire OT community to adopt evidence-based practices by merging research, practice and education for meaningful impact.

 

Christine Ward, Occupational Therapy Apprentice at Wolverhampton University – nominated Kier Harding to give our lecture in 2023 and wrote:

Keir lives the OT values in his practice promoting, equality, freedom, justice and dignity and he isn’t afraid to challenge us to be better

 

Ying Herng Heng, Clinical Lead for Paediatric OT at Ealing Community Partners NHS Trust’s Paediatric Occupational Therapy Service – nominated Dr Sidney Chu  to give our lecture in 2022 and wrote:

It is clear that Sidney’s contribution to the world of occupational therapy spans across service management, clinical practice and education.  He has made a positive and lasting impact on many individuals, including myself.

We value the diversity of our 36,000+ strong membership and we strongly encourage nominations for speakers from all sections of our community, especially those from under-represented groups. 

About the Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture

Our lecture – open to members and non-members – is a memorial to Dr Elizabeth Casson (1881-1954) in honour of her contributions to the occupational therapy profession.

Who was Dr Elizabeth Casson?

Dr Elizabeth Casson was the first woman to be awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of Bristol in 1929, She specialised in psychiatry and introduced occupational therapy to England, setting up the first school of occupational therapy – Dorset House – in Bristol.

Who gives the lecture?

Each year we award an RCOT member whose peers consider them to have made, and be making, a significant contribution to developing our profession, to give the lecture.

See our previous Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture speakers.

Watch our recent lectures