​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Visiting Scholar

Dr. Arameh Anvarizadeh, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA is the Director of Admissions and Associate Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy at the USC Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. Dr. Anvarizadeh is responsible for developing the holistic admissions process and for maintaining effective admissions strategies and procedures within the division. She also oversees each academic program and makes certain the division is filled with high caliber diverse students.

Dr. Anvarizadeh is a Founding Member and Chair of the Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity (COTAD), a non-profit organization striving to empower occupational therapy leaders to engage in practices that increase diversity, equity, inclusion, justice and anti- oppression for a more transformative occupational therapy profession. She is responsible for developing the COTAD toolkit, the Ignite Series, and COTAD Chapters. She tirelessly works to support and establish COTAD Chapters at academic programs across the country while empowering students to facilitate dialogue, awareness, and change related to issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the profession and beyond.

Dr. Anvarizadeh recently made history as the youngest and first African American/Iranian woman to become Vice President of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). She is also the youngest woman of color inducted into the prestigious Roster of Fellows (FAOTA). Dr. Anvarizadeh also currently holds leadership positions with AOTA as the Credential Review and Accountability Committee (CRAC) Chair, as a Representative Assembly Leadership Committee (RALC) member, as a Governance Task Force member, and as the liaison between the Governance and DEI task forces. Dr. Anvarizadeh was also a member of the AOTA Special Task Force on Entry Level Education, and a crucial contributor to the professional dialogue on the entry level degree requirements. She is a recent alumna of the 2020 cohort for the Executive Leadership Program for Multicultural Women.

Within the Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC), Dr. Anvarizadeh serves as a member of the Advocacy and Government Affairs Committee. She is a recipient of OTAC’s Janice Matsutsuyu Outstanding Service Award and Vision Award. She previously held the position of Communications Chair for seven years.

Dr. Anvarizadeh is an accomplished speaker who has lectured in numerous state and national conferences, as well as internationally at the World Federation of Occupational Therapists’ (WFOT) congress. Dr. Anvarizadeh is passionate about building healthy, diverse communities through inclusion, equity, empowerment, and advocacy. Using her skills as an occupational therapist and her passion for people, Dr. Anvarizadeh helps others discover, cultivate and spread their dopeness.