Our Team

Dr. Ryan Lavalley is the founder and primary lead of the Community Practice Lab. He has worked as a community occupational therapist since 2014, providing and developing programming most often related to aging, dementia, and housing across Orange County, NC. Ryan has and continues to work in partnership with multiple collaborators across Orange County and North Carolina to further community-rooted initiatives. Ryan is also the current director of UNC’s Partnerships in Aging Program, which is in a transitional moment in response to changes in UNC’s funding and organizational structures. Additionally, Ryan teaches the Community-Level Occupational Therapy course in the Masters of Occupational Therapy Program at UNC-CH through which he has guided student partnerships with multiple local organizations to develop programming and strategic actions steps to support community health and participation. Ryan co-hosts an occupational therapy podcast with Dr. Khalilah Johnson. Ryan is originally from West Virginia and earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH focusing on occupational therapy, social justice, and peace studies.

Leiha is a PhD student in the Geography Department at UNC-Chapel Hill. Her research focuses on geographies of urban aging with attention to care economies, age-friendly policies, and elders’ experiences in urban redevelopment processes. Leiha will be leading the CPL’s Housing Team, supporting coordination of the Orange County Home Preservation Coalition and Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition. She will also support coordination and evaluation of the Orange County Department on Aging’s Master Aging Plan. She is also part of the UNC research team, Caregiving Kids: Understanding the Identities and Everyday Spaces of Youth who are Family Caregivers in the US, funded by the National Science Foundation. Before coming to UNC, Leiha was a research associate at Urban Institute, where she led multi-method and community-engaged research focused on social and economic inequality in US cities. Leiha has also worked as a community development planner for the City of Evanston, Illinois, and as a low-wage worker organizer in Chicago and East St. Louis, Illinois. She holds a master’s degree in urban planning and policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Landon is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nursing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In his role as a Housing Intern, Landon supports the Orange County Home Preservation Coalition (OCHPC) and Master Aging Plan (MAP) in data learning and collaboration. Landon hopes that his work as a housing intern can support the county in expanding affordable and safe housing and help community members age well together.

Megan is currently pursuing a master’s degree in occupational therapy at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill. In her role as a Housing Intern, Megan supports the Orange County Home Preservation Coalition through database management and organization. Within community-based outreach, she is interested in exploring how social and economic discrimination influences access to affordable, quality housing.

Kristina is a dual degree MSW/JD student at UNC-Chapel Hill. Kristina previously spent three years working at the Community Empowerment Fund (CEF), often supporting individuals experiencing housing instability. Kristina is interning with the Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition (OCAHC), where she has the chance to remain connected to affordable housing advocacy as well as expand her understanding of affordable housing development. Professionally, Kristina hopes to continue working alongside people experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness, as she believes affordable, equitable housing is crucial to every person’s ability to survive and thrive.

Kendra is a 3rd year PhD student in the Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy in the Department of Health Sciences at UNC-Chapel Hill. Her research centers acts of grief in the context of demonstrations and protests following instances of police brutality. Kendra supports multigenerational engagement programs in the Northside community in partnership with the Marian Cheek Jackson Center. She holds a master’s degree in occupational therapy from Towson University and a bachelor of exercise science degree from Norfolk State University. Prior to moving to NC, she worked with the Howard County Department of Aging and other community-serving nonprofit organizations.

Sayoko is an occupational therapist and PhD student in the Division of Occupational Science at UNC-Chapel Hill. As a fellow in the Community Practice Lab, she coordinates an oral history and community center development project in the Fairview community at Hillsborough, NC in partnership with the local community and Habitat for Humanity of Orange County. Born in Japan and raised in Georgia, U.S., before returning to Japan, Sayoko’s interest in community work was fostered from experience working with people with disabilities advocating to sustain living in the community in the Kansai (western) area of Japan. She has experience as an OT in various settings from hospital to home care and children’s daycare centers.

Kevin is a community engagement professional with experience developing and implementing housing, aging, and community development programs. Kevin supports CPL’s community engagement team, including working with HOPE NC and Habitat for Humanity of Orange County (HHOC). Kevin also partners with the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention’s Food, Fitness and Opportunity Research Collaborative (UNC FFORC), working with communities to advance their goals of creating safer, healthier, and more active places to live. Originally from Winston-Salem, NC, Kevin holds a Master’s in City and Regional Planning from UNC-Chapel Hill and has previously worked with HHOC as well as the Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition and Orange County Home Preservation Coalition.

Dania is a second-year MPA student at UNC-Chapel Hill. Her focus is on local and state government, and she is particularly interested in how government collaborates with nonprofits and organizations to drive change. Dania is working as an intern for HOPE NC through the PiAP partnership to organize community events, develop resources, and find potential partners for the organization. With an undergraduate degree from Purdue University in Robotics Engineering Technology, Dania hopes to bridge the worlds of STEM and public administration by conducting data analysis for state and local governments in the future.

Stephanie is a PhD candidate in the Department of Communication at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she draws on performance studies, cultural studies, and Black feminist studies to understand community-based resistance to police violence and racism. She helps the Community Practice Lab tell compelling stories about community partnerships to work toward systemic justice and more equitable and humane communities. Stephanie holds a MA in Communication and Media from DePaul University. She has previously worked in professional communications with a variety of organizations, ranging from health care and social service nonprofits to higher education and the private sector.

Dr. Jenny Womack has worked since the 1990s to integrate occupation and the frameworks of occupational therapy within community contexts. Through her work as a resident services coordinator in affordable senior housing, a community-based OT with a county Department on Aging, a folklorist focused on community oral history, and an aging-in-community specialist, she has explored and expanded the boundaries of community-based practice. She was recognized in 2012 as a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association for ‘engaged occupational therapy to enhance community participation.’ She serves as a general consultant and supporter of the Community Practice Lab.