Heidi Baist

Heidi Baist, OTD, M.Ed., OTR/L is an Instructor at Chatham University's College of Health Sciences and serves as the Academic Clinical Coordinator of Education at Delaware Technical Community College's Occupational Therapy Assistant Program. She chairs a Department of Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) Programs in Wilmington, Delaware, and currently holds the President role at the Delaware Occupational Therapy Association.

• Doctorate in Occupational Therapy (Chatham University)
• Master of Education in Exceptional Children & Severe Disabilities (University of Delaware)
• Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy (Dominican College of Blauvelt)
• Associate Degree in Occupational Therapy Assistant (Herkimer County Community College)

Her research focuses on pediatric occupational therapy practice and evidence-based professional development. She explores how virtual collaboration and asynchronous learning modules can enhance educators' understanding of occupational therapy's role in self-regulation and social-emotional learning for students. Her work also investigates peer mentoring dynamics among occupational therapists in isolated settings like home healthcare.

Key publications include studies on virtual teacher-therapist collaboration (2021), preschool teacher confidence improvement (2020), peer mentoring in home health OT (2018), and online training modules for therapists (2017). She actively presents locally, nationally, and internationally on these topics.

• Member, American Occupational Therapy Association
• Member, Delaware Occupational Therapy Association