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By Kate Hunger 

Bridgette Piernik-Yoder, Ph.D., OTR, Occupational Therapy Associate Professor and Department Chair was elected this winter as chair of the Academic Education Special Interest Section (AESIS) for the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).

Piernik-Yoder’s three-year term begins in July, and her role includes membership on the AOTA Commission on Education. AESIS provides academic, fieldwork and clinical educators, as well as aspiring educators and students of occupational therapy, with ways to deepen their effectiveness, including networking, continuing education and mentoring. 

Piernik-Yoder, who currently serves on the AESIS standing committee as professional development coordinator, said she is excited about the opportunity to expand her commitment to occupational therapy education on a national level in her new role as chair. 

AESIS is a great network for experienced educators, she noted.

“You meet so many wonderful educators,” Piernik-Yoder said. “It’s wonderful to continue to learn, as well.”

In addition to academic education, AOTA offers a number of other special interest sections, including developmental disabilities, children and youth, home and community health, rehabilitation and disability, work and industry, productive aging, mental health, and sensory integration and processing.