Alison Hendricks
Once upon a time, in a small Canadian town, nestled in the heart of Southwestern Ontario a girl was born. Her name was Alison: daughter to two loving parents, and the youngest of two to a sibling brother. She grew up in a home and environment of positive role models and inspiring leaders who instilled in her a confidence, perseverance and glowing sense of humor that would become foundational elements of the woman she would become. Through the power, strength and courage of love that presented itself, particularly in her early teenage years, she took the experiences of her life to help create a level of understanding for the complex nature of being human as she continued the pursuit of being the person she had been encouraged to be her whole life: herself.
From valedictorian to a successful post-secondary path of studies at McGill as an Occupational Therapist, she embarked on a career choice whose required skillset she would continue to hone while also pursuing adventurous life experiences involving travel, culture and embracing her magnetic energy to be surrounded by people. Her learning in the field never slowed, even as life became busier, and in the months just before a fierce pandemic shut down most of the world, Alison opened her own clinic, committed and dedicated to supporting families through her practice. Despite facing shut downs and limited resources, she kept the business open in both physical and virtual formats, which provided families access to services and support when they needed it perhaps more than ever.
Her appearances in Occupational Therapy conferences from Brazil to Toronto, as well as her frequent podcast contributions, have cemented her as a true figure in the field. Mentoring students, coaching parents, leaning from peers, and supporting the broader community, her work has helped to shed light on a subject that continues to prove itself a growing and integral part of understanding, appreciating and accepting people and all of their unique abilities.
Not to be defined solely by her career, as of 2024 she was still living in a small, albeit different town in Ontario where she has taken on a role that sees her playing multiple parts, each one more demanding than the last. She has two daughters of her own, the home and husband of her dreams (a devilishly handsome man of wit, charm and charisma that she met at the crossroads of friendships and music), and she has become a well-known staple within the community for her smile, caring nature and her belief in supporting local.
Outside of the core family structure, and having learned and been encouraged by her father since she was the age she could strap on a pair of skates, hockey has stayed consistent throughout her adult life, participating in year-round events and sharing her passion for the ice with her kids; inspiring the next generation of girls and women in sports, community and what it means to be a part of a team.
Her dedication to friends is one that bonds people, and no characteristic defines this truer than her sense of humour. While she takes everything that she does with a sense of pride, she encourages the world to be able to all at once laugh at itself when the laugher is needed most. She also understands and teaches others that there is such thing as good enough, to be kind to yourself, that falling is the best form of learning, and that one of the most powerful words known in English language is: yet. What we don’t know today we may come to learn tomorrow and that practice makes progress.
Through kindness, compassion, humour, love, teamwork, perseverance, education, and the ability to turn any floor into a dance party, Alison Hendricks is, indeed a woman who has already inspired at least one generation in this life, and her legacy will certainly not stop there.
“Practice doesn’t make perfect, but it does make progress”
-Alison Hendricks
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