18th Annual Evening with a Leader in Occupational Therapy (Virtual)
Thursday, Feb. 10 & Friday, Feb. 11, 2022
Featuring Arameh Anvarizadeh, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Thursday - 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Using Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Framework to Dismantle Systemic Barriers in Occupational Therapy: taking action, creating sustainable change and cultural impact in education, practice, and in the communities we serve
Friday - 12:00-2:00 p.m.
Acknowledging and Addressing the Power of Culture, Intersectionality, and Access in Occupational Therapy: the establishment and growth of COTAD
Featured Speaker:
Dr. Arameh Anvarizadeh, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA

Learn More About Our Speaker
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.
For more information, call 419-434-6936 or email
[email protected].
Previous Visiting Scholars

2021 - Catherine Verrier Piersol, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA
Professor and Chair, Department of Occupational Therapy, Thomas Jefferson University
Director, Jefferson Elder Care, Jefferson College of Rehabilitation Sciences
2020 - Wendy Hildenbrand, Ph.D., MPH, OTR/L, FAOTA
Rise Above! Role Conflict at the Intersection of Policy and Frontline Practice
Population Health and Occupational Therapy: Yes, We Can…and We Do!
2019 - Tina Champagne, OTD, OTR/L, CCAP, FAOTA
A nonlinear dynamic approach to integrating sensory processing, trauma-informed care and occupational therapy practice across practice areas
Navigating sensory processing across the lifespan
2018 - Janice P. Burke, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA
Productivity, Outcomes & Evidence in the Clinic: Protecting the Future of the Therapeutic Encounter
How Conceptual Ideas Take Hold & Endure: The Model of Human Occupation
2017 - Michael Iwama Ph.D. OT(C)
Addressing Diversity: Occupational Therapy's Promise of Cultural Relevance
An Introduction to the Kawa Model
2016 - Dr. Virginia Stoffel
Dr. Virginia (Ginny) Stoffel, current president of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), addressed a large gathering of students, clinicians, and educators on February 4th and 5th, 2016. Her presentations were entitled: Leadership in Mental Health Occupational Therapy: Building Capacity and Workforce Development and Leadership in Mental Health Occupational Therapy: Becoming a Change agent Promoting Mental Health.
2015 - Dr. Neil Harvison
Practice after 2017: What are Driving the Changes in How We Will Be Practicing Occupational Therapy?
Leading Occupational Therapy Into its Second Hundred Years: What Will Our Future Leaders Need to Know?
2014 - Dr. Jaime Muñoz
Culturally Responsive Caring: What, Why, How?
The Scholarship of Practice in Community-Based Programs
2013 - Dr. Amy Lamb
Health Reform: Strategies for health care professionals on the frontline
Advocacy in policy: Making the Occupational Therapy Voice Heard
2012 - Dr. Diane Parham
Why Play? The Serious Nature of Play in Health and Development
Play: A Powerful Tool in Occupational Therapy
2011 - Dr. Renee Taylor
The Intentional Relationship: Reinvigorating the Vision for Client-Centered Practice in Occupational Therapy
The Intentional Relationship: Clinical Tools for Navigating the Challenges of Fieldwork and Beyond

2010 - Dr. Roxie Black
Is Culturally Competent Care Achievable?
Becoming Culturally Competent Students: Focus on Self
2009 - Dr. Karen Jacobs
How Full is Your Backpack?
Being an Occupation FANATIC
2008 - Dr. Florence Clark
AOTA's Centennial Vision: What is it and What Does it Mean for Practice?
The Centennial Vision and Occupational Therapy in Health and Wellness: Lifestyle Redesign
2007 - Dr. Charles Christiansen
Occupational Therapy's Vision for 2017 and Beyond
Promoting Resilience Through Life-Style Intervention
2006 - Dr. Winnie Dunn
Going Public: We're Not Just About Disability Anymore
Creating a 'Sensational' Practice
2005 - Dr. Carolyn Baum
The Future of Occupational Therapy
The Older Adult
Students Making a Difference Engagement in Everyday Activity