Lauren A. Ortega

Lauren Ortega, MS, CTRS, earned her BS in Physical Education: Sports and Fitness Studies and her MS in Recreation and Sport Management: Recreational Therapy from FIU. After getting her MS in RT, she started working at FIU as the Internship Coordinator for the Recreational Therapy program. Then, she went to work as an Activities Director at a nursing and rehabilitation center in Miami, FL. Currently she is the Director of the Recreational Therapy Internship Program at FIU and a member of ATRA (American Therapeutic Recreation Association). She has also served as a visiting instructor for the program. Director Ortega also works part time as a Recreational Therapist for Strive Recreational Therapy Services. She has done one poster presentation at a ATRA National Conference in 2013 and she has, furthermore, co-authored a chapter on Equine Assisted Therapy in the textbook, Facilitation Techniques in Therapeutic Recreation (Dattilo & McKenney, 2016). Major areas of interest within RT include Equine Assisted Therapy, Special Olympics, Aquatics, SCUBA therapy, and Paralympics.

Courses Taught

• LEI 3703 Introduction to Recreational Therapy
• LEI 3707 Inclusive Recreation Services
• LEI 4705 Program Planning in Recreational Therapy
• LEI 3723L Facilitation Techniques Lab Aquatic Therapy
• LEI 4940 Internship I
• LEI 4941 Internship II

Education

• BS Physical Education: Sports and Fitness Studies, Florida International University
• MS Recreation and Sports Management: Recreational Therapy, Florida International University