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University of Southern California
University of Southern California
USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
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Gelya Frank PhD, MPW

Gelya Frank PhD, MPW

Professor Emeritus of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

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Gelya Frank, PhD is Professor at the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy and the Dornsife College Department of Anthropology. A contributor to the disciplines of occupational science and medical anthropology, her award-winning books include Venus on Wheels: Two Decades of Dialogue on Disability, Biography and Being Female in America (University of California Press, 2000) and Defying the Odds: The Tule River Tribe’s Struggle for Sovereignty in Three Centuries (Yale University Press, 2010). Her new book Making Better Worlds: Occupational Reconstructions and Social Transformations (Duke University Press, forthcoming) presents a framework to understand and guide the work of activists, occupational therapists and other change agents in making social change.

Dr. Frank is the founding director of New Stories/New Cultures, media literacy project with children funded by USC’s Good Neighbors program, the NAPA-OT Field School in Guatemala (napaotguatemala.org), and the Tule River Tribal History Project. She serves on the board of USC’s Peace Center and summer Peace Camp, a project for children in USC’s downtown Los Angeles neighborhood.

Education

Selected Publications

In Chan News

In the Media