Cynthia Cooper received the American Society of Hand Therapist’s prestigious Paul Brand Award on November 12, 2020

This award recognizes individuals who have exemplified humanitarianism in their work as a hand therapist in addition to providing clinical and professional excellence in several facets of practice.

Cynthia has provided volunteer hand therapy education and treatment in Kumasi, Ghana; in La Paz, Bolivia; and in Peru. She has sponsored a deserving therapist from Ghana for membership in the international hand therapy organization. She has also volunteered at a free medical clinic in San Diego and has helped coordinate rehabilitation volunteers to help refugees in tent cities in Mexico. Her hand therapy textbook, Fundamentals of Hand Therapy, is used internationally to educate rehabilitation professionals in a humanistic approach to hand therapy