Entry-Level OTD Faculty
Boston University students in the Entry-Level Doctoral Program in Occupational Therapy study with outstanding faculty who have made significant contributions to occupational therapy practice, scholarship, and research. The BU faculty is known among occupational therapists and the health care community throughout the world and brings a broad and rich perspective to the education of students in the occupational therapy program. They are passionate about the profession, enthusiastic about teaching, and committed to making a positive difference in occupational therapy and health care at the state, national, and international levels.
Entry-level OTD Faculty and Areas of Interest
Children & Youth
Faculty specializing in participation and inclusion in school, at home, and in the community autism, sensory integration, transitions, motor adaptation and development, obesity, traumatic brain injury, outcome measurement, interventions, youth advocacy.
Temor “Tay” Amin-Arsala’s clinical practice history stretches across the entire lifespan, from toddler-aged youth to older adults. They have worked in a multitude of settings, including, but not limited to: inpatient mental health, residential homes for individuals in substance use recovery, skilled nursing facilities, schools, home health, and senior centers. Amin-Arsala’s academic and scholarly interests focus on the experiences of historically underrepresented and minoritized peoples, groups, and populations as they pertain to occupational performance and engagement, with an additional focus on LGBTQIA+ health. Their scholarly work also attempts to shed greater insight into the experiences of LGBTQIA+ occupational therapy practitioners and students, targeting change and inclusion at the micro-, meso-, and macro- levels of societal context.
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Simone Gill investigates how individuals’ bodies and environmental demands influence walking and motor functioning across the lifespan. She uses a variety of methods to examine how children and adults modify their walking patterns to navigate through the environment. She is particularly interested in understanding how childhood and adult obesity affect the ability to adapt to change. She is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, the Obesity Society, the Society for Research in Child Development, the International Society of Developmental Psychobiology, and the American Diabetes Association.
Gael Orsmond is a developmental and clinical psychologist who conducts research to understand how the family, social, community, and school contexts are crucial to the development and well-being of adolescents and adults on the autism spectrum. Her main areas of research are: (1) Promoting positive transition to adulthood for individuals on the autism spectrum, (3) Sibling and family relationships in the context of developmental disabilities. Orsmond’s research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, including the NIA, NICHD, and NIMH. She has current funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute on Education Sciences and NIMH. Orsmond is a Fellow of Division 33 (Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities/Autism Spectrum Disorder) of the American Psychological Association and is a past president of the Division.
Leanne Yinusa-Nyahkoon, ScD, OTR
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Mental Health
Faculty specializing in community integration, recovery, employment.
Temor “Tay” Amin-Arsala’s clinical practice history stretches across the entire lifespan, from toddler-aged youth to older adults. They have worked in a multitude of settings, including, but not limited to: inpatient mental health, residential homes for individuals in substance use recovery, skilled nursing facilities, schools, home health, and senior centers. Amin-Arsala’s academic and scholarly interests focus on the experiences of historically underrepresented and minoritized peoples, groups, and populations as they pertain to occupational performance and engagement, with an additional focus on LGBTQIA+ health. Their scholarly work also attempts to shed greater insight into the experiences of LGBTQIA+ occupational therapy practitioners and students, targeting change and inclusion at the micro-, meso-, and macro- levels of societal context.
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Kate Stewart is an occupational therapist licensed with the Massachusetts Board of Allied Health Professions and registered with the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy and the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario. She has experience working with adults and older adults with diverse occupational performance and engagement issues across various settings, including acute care, inpatient rehab, community care, and mental health. Kate’s clinical work has primarily focused on providing occupational therapy services at the individual level (i.e., via home care) and at the group/collective level (i.e., via community mental health advocacy and social policy work).
Kate’s scholarship emphasizes her interest in deepening our understanding of the occupational human. Her PhD research explored how women’s occupational lives unfold in the aftermath of sexual assault while at university. Today, her scholarship continues to examine individuals’ experiences of major life disruptions across the life course using an occupational perspective, with the aim of better supporting clients’ full engagement in everyday life.
Health & Wellness
Faculty specializing in oncology, falls prevention, obesity, self-management, ergonomics, telehealth, assistive technology.
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Jessie Franco is an experienced occupational therapist specializing in adult rehabilitation, with a diverse clinical background across multiple settings including inpatient rehabilitation, skilled nursing facilities, long-term acute care, and acute hospitals. Her areas of expertise include acute care, splinting, burns, neurology, trauma, and orthopedics. Driven by a passion for teaching and learning, she focuses on enhancing student preparedness for fieldwork and acute care practice through the use of simulation-based training. As part of her doctoral work, she identified a critical knowledge and practice gap within her workplace and created an evidence-based educational website, to improve practitioner knowledge and confidence in managing patients in the Neuro ICU.
Simone Gill investigates how individuals’ bodies and environmental demands influence walking and motor functioning across the lifespan. She uses a variety of methods to examine how children and adults modify their walking patterns to navigate through the environment. She is particularly interested in understanding how childhood and adult obesity affect the ability to adapt to change. She is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, the Obesity Society, the Society for Research in Child Development, the International Society of Developmental Psychobiology, and the American Diabetes Association.
Karen Jacobs, EdD, OTR, CPE, FAOTA
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Jennifer M. Kaldenberg, OT, DrPH, MSA, OTR, SCLV, FAOTA
Jennifer’s clinical experience has been primarily with adults in a variety of settings including rehabilitation, home care and outpatient with extensive focus on working with individuals with visual impairment. Additionally, she has trained and educated occupational therapy and optometry students on the functional and social implications of visual impairment on occupational performance and quality of life. She has become a leader within this specialty area. She served on the Board of Advanced and Specialty Certification and was a Panel member for the development of the low vision specialty certification. Her current scholarly work centers on clients with visual impairment and its impact on occupational performance, community and population based health, and clinical education. She is a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association.
Leanna Katz’s primary clinical focus is neuro-rehabilitation. She has extensive clinical experience in a range of healthcare settings, including acute care, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, and homecare (community-based and hospice). Katz conducts research on improving quality of life and incorporating self-management strategies for adults with strokes and brain injuries. Another research focus of hers is on the use and application of the Rehabilitation Treatment Specification System (RTSS). Katz is an active member of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM), serving as a task force co-chair in the Rehabilitation Treatment Specification Networking Group. She is also a member of various special interest groups through ACRM and is an active member of AOTA. Katz is committed to supporting future agents of change within the occupational therapy profession through facilitated learning opportunities and inclusive teaching methods.
Robin Newman, OTD, OTR, CLT, FAOTA 
Robin Newman’s clinical experience has been primarily with adults in the acute care, inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient rehabilitation settings. Her current clinical work is with cancer survivors and adults living with neurological disorders. She has a specialty certification in lymphedema therapy. She has extensive experience in the delivery of self-management interventions for individuals with multiple sclerosis, stroke and breast cancer. Her research focuses on cancer survivorship with an emphasis on the late effects of cancer treatments and their impact on occupational performance.
新兴市场
Monica Watford has a background in neuroscience and health disparities. Her research focuses on acquired and traumatic brain injury outcomes, population health in underserved communities, interventions in cognitive rehabilitation, and health disparities in older minority adults with chronic conditions. Her dissertation focused on trends in caregiver support in older minority adults with Traumatic Brain injury using secondary data from Uniform Data System (UDS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). She has been a practicing Occupational Therapist for eleven years in inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation settings working on multitrauma and neuro teams. Dr. Watford has been teaching in entry-level OTD programs for 7 years where she has taught foundational courses in occupational therapy, clinical neuroscience, and has mentored students in their capstone projects.
Productive Aging
Faculty specializing in low vision, stroke, Parkinson’s, driving/community mobility and musculoskeletal conditions.
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Jessie Franco is an experienced occupational therapist specializing in adult rehabilitation, with a diverse clinical background across multiple settings including inpatient rehabilitation, skilled nursing facilities, long-term acute care, and acute hospitals. Her areas of expertise include acute care, splinting, burns, neurology, trauma, and orthopedics. Driven by a passion for teaching and learning, she focuses on enhancing student preparedness for fieldwork and acute care practice through the use of simulation-based training. As part of her doctoral work, she identified a critical knowledge and practice gap within her workplace and created an evidence-based educational website, to improve practitioner knowledge and confidence in managing patients in the Neuro ICU.
Jennifer M. Kaldenberg, OT, DrPH, MSA, OTR, SCLV, FAOTA
Jennifer Kaldenberg’s clinical experience has been primarily with adults in a variety of settings including rehabilitation, home care and outpatient with extensive focus on working with individuals with visual impairment. Additionally, she has trained and educated occupational therapy and optometry students on the functional and social implications of visual impairment on occupational performance and quality of life. She has become a leader within this specialty area. She served on the Board of Advanced and Specialty Certification and was a Panel member for the development of the low vision specialty certification. Her current scholarly work centers on clients with visual impairment and its impact on occupational performance, community and population based health, and clinical education. She is a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association.
Leanna Katz’s primary clinical focus is neuro-rehabilitation. She has extensive clinical experience in a range of healthcare settings, including acute care, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, and homecare (community-based and hospice). Katz conducts research on improving quality of life and incorporating self-management strategies for adults with strokes and brain injuries. Another research focus of hers is on the use and application of the Rehabilitation Treatment Specification System (RTSS). Katz is an active member of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM), serving as a task force co-chair in the Rehabilitation Treatment Specification Networking Group. She is also a member of various special interest groups through ACRM and is an active member of AOTA. Katz is committed to supporting future agents of change within the occupational therapy profession through facilitated learning opportunities and inclusive teaching methods.
Robin Newman, OTD, OTR, CLT, FAOTA
Robin Newman’s clinical experience has been primarily with adults in the acute care, inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient rehabilitation settings. Her current clinical work is with cancer survivors and adults living with neurological disorders. She has a specialty certification in lymphedema therapy. She has extensive experience in the delivery of self-management interventions for individuals with multiple sclerosis, stroke and breast cancer. Her research focuses on cancer survivorship with an emphasis on the late effects of cancer treatments and their impact on occupational performance.
Monica Watford has a background in neuroscience and health disparities. Her research focuses on acquired and traumatic brain injury outcomes, population health in underserved communities, interventions in cognitive rehabilitation, and health disparities in older minority adults with chronic conditions. Her dissertation focused on trends in caregiver support in older minority adults with Traumatic Brain injury using secondary data from Uniform Data System (UDS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). She has been a practicing Occupational Therapist for eleven years in inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation settings working on multitrauma and neuro teams. Dr. Watford has been teaching in entry-level OTD programs for 7 years where she has taught foundational courses in occupational therapy, clinical neuroscience, and has mentored students in their capstone projects.