Ivy Kuschke grew up in Rice Lake, WI with a love for the outdoors and pediatric development. She began her work with children and health/well-being through the local Rice Lake Municipal Pool providing private and group swimming lessons and adult water exercise. While completing her undergraduate degree in Psychology at The College of St. Scholastica she continued her love of aquatics as a local outdoor aquatic director during the summers and her work with children as a nanny and in-school paraprofessional. Between her undergraduate and graduate degrees, she worked as a guide assistant in a Montessori school setting assisting with outdoor exploration and classroom support. She received her Master’s of Occupational Therapy from the college of St. Scholastica in 2019. During her graduate degree Ivy conducted research on the importance and effectiveness of mindfulness practice and presented at the National Occupational Therapy Student Conclave in Las Vegas, NV in the fall of 2019. Ivy has worked in the acute care setting with pediatrics as well as adults with an emphasis on neurologic disorders and trauma as well as served as adjunct faculty at The College of St. Scholastica providing supervision and support to students completing their first clinical rotation serving adult and pediatric clients. She has experience working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Sensory Processing Disorders through The Minnesota Autism Center, serving both in-person clients as well as telehealth clients throughout the state.

Special Areas of Interest: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder, Animal Assisted Therapy, Aquatic Therapy, Spinal Cord Injuries, Stroke Recovery, and Traumatic Brain Injuries.