Duke OTD Students Collaborate with Nonprofit to Support Farmworker Advocacy and Improve Conditions

Duke’s Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) students joined forces with Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF), a nonprofit dedicated to connecting students and farmworkers to share experiences, resources, and skills, improve conditions for farmworkers, and foster diverse coalitions working toward social change.

Dr. Denise Nepveux, PhD, initiated the partnership and engaged with SAF while collaborating with Communication Arts Director Yessie Bustos in planning the 2024 North Carolina Farmworker Institute in Chapel Hill. Recognizing the potential for mutual benefit, Dr. Nepveux saw this as an opportunity to connect Duke OTD with SAF’s impactful work to champion social justice and provide support for farm workers

This semester, a team of first-year OTD students—Sydney Fialkow, Jessica LeBeau, Betsy Li, Brooklyn Pierce, and Kyra Sommerstad—are researching SAF’s alumni engagement. By immersing themselves in SAF’s programs, reviewing archives, and meeting with staff, the students aim to understand alumni perceptions of connectedness. 

"While we were interviewing her, a SAF alum asked us what occupational therapy students were doing researching the organization. Early on in the semester, I had the same question. With this in mind, I jotted down a few keywords and phrases she used to describe her experience with SAF: empowerment, person-centered, advocacy, justice, and enabling one’s ability to flourish. By the end of our encounter, we had found several connection points between SAF and our learnings about occupations in Duke OTD." – Sydney Fialkow

"Through this partnership, students are helping us enhance our capacity to connect with alumni, share SAF’s mission, and gather insights on how we can further deepen and strengthen these important relationships," Bustos said.

The SAF student team and other student groups will present their community-engaged quality improvement projects at Duke OTD’s Scholarship Showcase, a public poster session scheduled for May 2.

View this fact sheet for more information about farmworker health and well-being.