There is no immediate fire threat to Pacific’s campuses. The university is making adjustments to weekend activities, including Commencement, due to air quality concerns. Read More
Sarah Foidel’s research and clinical practice interests include neurologic conditions, quality of life in both with dementia, functional vision, and functional cognition.
She is currently serving as the Interim Director of the School of Occupational Therapy.
Sancler is an internationally trained occupational therapist and immigrant with over 25 years of experience as an OTR in acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation units, home health, and skilled nursing facilities.
Jeni’s practice experience and interests include community-based services for people living with serious mental illness as well as OT’s role in promoting recovery and providing trauma-informed and sensory-based interventions in inpatient psychiatric settings. She specializes in motivational interviewing, supported education, and family/caregiver education and training. In addition to her educational background in OT, she holds a degree in instructional design and technology, and has a scholarly focus on trauma-informed teaching, team-based learning, intraprofessional (OT/OTA) education, and online and blended learning.
Caroline Harkins McCarty’s work focuses on supports for children with disabilities and their families. Her additional scholarly interests include foster care, adoption, and family occupations. She has taught and worked within a variety of pediatric settings, and especially loves working with children in their everyday contexts of families and schools.
Dr. Diana Honorat earned her post-professional clinical doctorate in Occupational Therapy from St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her current interests and final project involved curriculum evaluation of international occupational therapy programs using World Federation of Occupational Therapy Accreditation standards. Diana received her entry-level Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Florida, completing her master’s research in young adults transition readiness through a university-based summer camp.
Alisa Jordan Sheth has a PhD in Disability Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago and is interested in studying the ways in which the field of disability studies can be effectively incorporated into occupational therapy education, practice, and research to foster critical reflection and responsiveness to the needs of the communities we serve. Clinically, she has experience working as an occupational therapist with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), their families, and other caregivers across the lifespan, from school-based services to end of life care. She has a scholarly focus on creating opportunities for people with I/DD to participate in research activities and share their experiences and perspectives, as well as better understanding the aging needs of the I/DD community.
Amanda is an adjunct faculty member of Pacific's School of Occupational Therapy. Amanda's practice experience includes working as a traveler in a wide variety of settings treating older adults and especially those in underserved communities. She holds her Executive Certificate in Home Modifications (ECHM) and her background includes working for several Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) to support older adults. Her scholarship focuses on increasing independence, access, and success for students and faculty, older adults, and those experiencing disability.
Davie has been an occupational therapy practitioner for 18 years and specializes in older adults with international practice. He has worked in skilled nursing facilities (SNF), acute care, and home health settings.
Alyssa Phillips joined the School of Occupational Therapy as the Clinical Education Coordinator and Assistant Professor in 2023. Dr. Phillips received her masters degree from Saint Francis University and her Clinical Science Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh where her primary focus was adolescent chronic pain management. Clinically she applies her lens of chronic pain and symptom management to upper extremity, industrial, and neurological rehabilitation.
Kathleen M. Weden received her PhD in Rehabilitation Science from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and MS in Occupational Therapy from Columbia University. Dr. Weden also holds a certificate in Low Vision Rehabilitation. As an occupational therapy clinician she has worked in adult and pediatric inpatient rehabilitation, inpatient behavioral health, and early intervention. Her research focuses on developing methods for supporting children with brain-based vision impairment. Additional scholarship centers on the promotion of early and increased support for vision needs within rehabilitation service delivery models. As the level II fieldwork coordinator she is inspired to align students with clinical education opportunities that mirror the field’s diversity of practice.
John’s practice career focused on the psychosocial and physical effects of rehabilitation on disability in a wide range of settings across the U.S. and internationally. More recently he’s advocating an occupational justice approach for the profession through research and practice, as in his work at the county jail addiction treatment program. Other research projects address: the history of occupational science, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the impact of summer camp-like experiences on people with aphasia (a communication disorder), their family members, and interprofessional students who volunteer to work with them.
Dr. Gregory Wintz, PhD, OTR/L, retired from his position as director of the Pacific University School of Occupational Therapy. His retirement began May 15, 2019.
