RACHEL THIBEAULT is Full Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa (Canada). She has extensive experience in the field of occupational therapy, psychology and community development. Her current work focusses on community-based rehabilitation, psychosocial care and issues of meaning, resilience and social justice in health care, using an approach that is at all times community-driven. Her participatory action research has taken her to many hard-to-access regions of the world, including communities affected by HIV/AIDS, ex or current war zones and leprosy communities. Rachel received her B.Sc in Health Sciences (Occupational Therapy) from Laval University (1979), her M.Sc. (Psychology) from Acadia University (1986) and her Ph.D. (Community Psychology) from the Université de Montréal (1991). She completed post doctoral studies at the University of Southern California (Los Angeles) and at the University of Århus (Denmark). In 2012 Rachel was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, in recognition of a lifetime of achievement in expanding the boundaries of occupational therapy and advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities in Canada and abroad.