Dr. Veronica Llerena joined DePaul University in January 2023, bringing over 20 years of experience as a pediatric occupational therapist. Her clinical work has focused primarily on Early Intervention, supporting families of children ages 0–3 in under-resourced areas of Chicago. Veronica also has prior experience working with adults in community-based settings and played a key role in establishing the occupational therapy program at Alexian Brothers' Bonaventure House.
Before coming to DePaul, Veronica served as an adjunct clinical instructor in the Occupational Therapy graduate program at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) for almost two decades. Her clinical and scholarly interests include advancing family engagement and family-centered care in Early Intervention, fostering self-efficacy in children and caregivers, and supporting families navigating new disability diagnoses. Since 2023, Veronica has collaborated with a Chicago church-based migrant ministry, applying her occupational therapy perspective to support the resettlement of recently arrived families.
Veronica is deeply committed to mentoring OT students who are interested in working with families, supporting them in exploring systemic inequities and advocating for inclusion, respect, and culturally responsive care in Early Intervention. Her Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) project focuses on creating a mentorship guide for clinical instructors supervising entry-level OTD capstone students in Early Intervention settings. Veronica continues to mentor therapists and students at the Child and Family Development Center in Chicago.
Outside of her professional life, Veronica most enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, playing board games with her kids, reading, and embracing happy surprises.
Education
- MS, Occupational Therapy, University of Illinois at Chicago (2000)
- BA, Anthropology/English, Northwestern University (1993)
- OTD, University of Illinois at Chicago (2023)
Licenses and Certifications
- Illinois Occupational Therapist Licensure
- NBCOT Credentials
- Illinois Early Intervention Specialist, Evaluation/Assessment
Professional Memberships
Selected Presentations
- Llerena, M.V., Jones, R.C., Gutierrez, R.R., (2025). Imagination and transformation: A church ministry and community collaborate to house migrant families. International Journal on Homelessness Conference, Santiago, Chile
- Llerena, M.V., (2024). Weaving the American Dream: Applying occupational therapy principles to empower migrant women through asset-based community initiatives. Illinois Occupational Therapy Conference.
- Llerena, M.V., (2024). The Doing and Becoming of Families. Scholarship of Practice Lecture Series at University of Illinois Chicago.
- Popova, E., Llerena, M.V., Brennan, S. (2023) Institute. Empowering Whole Family Participation in Wellness Routines in Early Intervention. American Occupational Therapy Association Conference, Kansas City, KS
- Llerena, M.V. (2022) Interdisciplinary Topics in Early Intervention: Engaging the "hard to engage" families. Illinois Early Intervention Training Program. Virtual
- Burks, K.A., Popova, E., Llerena, M. V. (2022) Poster. Trauma informed approaches to Promoting Family Resilience in Early Intervention. World Federation of Occupational Therapy Conference Paris, France
- Burks, K.A., Popova, E., Llerena, M. V. (2021) Trauma informed approaches to Promoting Family Resilience in Early Intervention. Illinois Occupational Therapy Association Conference, Virtual.
Publications
- De las Heras, C.G., Llerena, M.V., Kielhofner, G. (2019). The Remotivation Process: Progressive intervention for people who experience severe volitional challenges. The Model of Human Occupation Clearinghouse, University of Illinois at Chicago.
- Stoffel, A. & Llerena, M. V. (2015). Royce: developmental delay/early intervention. In S. M. Cahill & P. Bowyer. Cases in pediatric occupational therapy: assessment and intervention (pp. 25-30). Thorofare, NJ: SLACK Incorporated.
- De las Heras, C.G., Llerena, M.V., Kielhofner, G. (2003). The Remotivation Process: A manual for strategic interventions in volition. The Model of Human Occupation Clearinghouse, University of Illinois at Chicago.
- Braveman, B., Kielhofner, G., Belanger, R., de las Heras, C. G., Llerena, M. V. (2002). Program development. A Model of Human Occupation: Theory and application (3rd Ed.). Baltimore: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, pp. 491 – 519.