Paula juggles her primary family occupations with her interests in occupational therapy. She is married to David, a business executive, and they are the proud parents of Andrew, their son. Paula enjoys theater, traveling, shopping and especially spending time with family and good friends. She has recently been to Japan and Alaska. Paula lives in Central New Jersey.

She enjoys the role of professor and scholar in occupational therapy and has been the recipient of many awards. In 2012, Paula received the prestigious Award of Merit, the highest award given by the American Occupational Therapy Association. She was given the A. Jean Ayres Award from the American Occupational Therapy Foundation in 2005, for her contributions to scholarship in practice, education and research. In 1985, she received was named a Fellow (FAOTA) of the AOTA for her service and scholarly contributions to the profession in the area of pediatrics. Paula has been very active in the profession serving on the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Association (ACOTE), the AOTA Board of Directors and the Board of Therapy Missions, a non-for profit organization. Paula received her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D in Occupational Therapy from New York University. She has co-authored 6 texts that are widely used.