About Us

Aster Harrison, PhD, OTD, OTR/L is a disabled occupational therapist and disability studies scholar based in Marseille, France. His current work as a post-doctoral researcher at Aix-Marseille Université focuses on psychiatric advance directives, peer workers, and reducing coercion in psychiatric treatment. He also publishes on the topics of OT practitioners with disabilities, Mad Studies, stigma, chronic pain, and health equity. He is the co-author of a chapter on Disability Rights in Willard & Spackman’s Occupational Therapy textbook, and a chapter on mental health stigma and sanism in the Occupational Therapy for Mental Health : A Vision for Participation textbook. You can reach Dr. Harrison at aster.a.harrison@gmail.com

Dr. Jenna Heffron (she/her) holds a PhD in Disability Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she completed an interdisciplinary Albert Schweitzer Fellowship and became active in disability community and cultural spaces. As a founding member of the Occupational Therapy & Disability Studies Network, Dr. Heffron is committed to exploring applications of disability studies approaches to advance healthcare and social service professions, with emphasis on improving accessibility and facilitating anti-ableist approaches in occupational therapy and healthcare education. Dr. Heffron has presented her work interprofessionally and internationally and has published in the American and Scandinavian Journals of Occupational Therapy, Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, and Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Jacqueline received her PhD in Disability Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago studying people with disabilities' experiences on public transportation using accessible and participatory methods. She hopes to continue research on transportation access and equity for people with disabilities because it is a vital link to community participation. Jacqueline currently works as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab doing systems research on Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) that support people with disabilities to live in their communities. She is trained as an occupational therapist with 15 years of clinical experience and her relationship with her disabled sister has positively impacted her career trajectory and motivation to engage in advocacy work. She has been involved in the Occupational Therapy and Disability Studies Network since its inception with a current interest in OT practitioners’ opportunities to address community living and de-institutionalization through HCBS waivers. She participates on the ILOTA sponsored HCBS Medicaid Waiver Taskforce in Illinois working to understand the state’s waiver system to increase opportunity for OT reimbursement.

Danbi Lee, PhD, OTD, OTR/L, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Core Faculty in the Disability Studies program, and Faculty Affiliate with the Center for Health Workforce Studies (CHWS) at University of Washington in Seattle. She earned her Doctor of Occupational Therapy and PhD in Disability Studies from University of Illinois at Chicago and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Health Services and Outcomes Research at Northwestern University in Chicago. Her research focuses on evaluating ecologically-focused self-management interventions to support individuals who had a stroke to be able to participate in the community as they wish. Another line of research focuses on addressing disability-related diversity, inclusion, and equity issues within healthcare and health workforce education. She is particularly interested in supporting disabled OT students in their education by creating an inclusive and accessible learning environment.

Amy McArthur is currently a post-doctoral fellow at Northwestern University. She received her PhD in Disability Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the department of Disability and Human Development. She is also an occupational therapist with experience in acute care and inpatient rehabilitation. Her scholarship is focused on cancer-related disability experiences and clinical ethics.

Alisa Jordan Sheth earned her PhD in Disability Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago where she worked on disability-focused research projects examining housing discrimination, transitions from institutional to community living, and environmental supports for those aging with Down syndrome and dementia. As a founding member of the Occupational Therapy and Disability Studies Network, she 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. Her collaborative work in this area has been published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy, Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, and a chapter in Occupational Therapy Without Borders.

After earning a bachelor’s degree and post-professional master’s degree in occupational therapy from Boston University, Alisa has many years of experience working 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 interest in supporting improved service provision, community-based supports, and addressing the aging needs of people with I/DD, including creating inclusive and accessible opportunities for people with I/DD to participate in research activities.

Laura VanPuymbrouck, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA is an associate professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Rush University. Her clinical experience as an occupational therapist spans over 35 years across the care continuum of physical rehabilitation. She received her PhD in disability studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research areas of interest are informed by her professional experience as a health care provider and her participation in community-engaged collaborations with the disability community. In her research she primarily explores contextual, structural, and systemic factors that produce inequities / disparities of health outcomes for disabled people including: provider lack of knowledge of disability, access barriers to equitable care, the under-representation of health care providers in health care fields, and policy issues that impact health and everyday living.