Board of Directors

Ryan Lavalley
PhD, OTR/L

Interim Chair

Ryan Lavalley, PhD, OTR/L is the Interim Chair of COTAD and also functions as Chair of the COTAD Operations Committee.

Dr. Ryan Lavalley (he/him/his) is a community occupational therapist and assistant professor in the Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Ryan Lavalley is also the founder and primary lead of the Community Practice Lab. He has been a part of COTAD leadership since 2020 and prior to stepping into the Interim Chair position, acted as the Chair of Operations for COTAD. As a practitioner, he has worked as a community occupational therapist since 2014, providing and developing programming most often related to aging, dementia, and housing. His research and publications focus on social relationships and community living, particularly constructed by occupation and everyday living. Ryan is originally from West Virginia, unapologetically queer, and committed to anti-racism and anti-oppression. Ryan earned his PhD at UNC-CH in Occupational Science and completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH focusing on occupational therapy, social justice, and peace studies.

Jabari Hoyte
OTD, OTR/L

Secretary

Jabari Hoyte (he/him/his) joined COTAD in 2017 as a student member at West Coast University, Los Angeles campus. During that time, he progressed to COTAD chapter co-chair organizing and hosting on campus events, and presented at the 2019 AOTA conference on the relevancy of nationwide COTAD chapters, how to start a chapter, and the importance of furthering the conversation of diversity and inclusion. Passionate about serving his community, he completed his capstone project in the inner city of East Orange, NJ on the occupational effects of gentrification in an underserved community and how occupational therapy can play a role in urban renewal, and presented his research at East Orange's city hall.

Upon graduation, Dr. Hoyte remained in Northern New Jersey, providing home care services to post acute patients during the global pandemic in the inner city before transitioning to an outpatient setting with a focus in orthopedics. Dr. Hoyte continued to advocate for diversity and inclusion, co-presenting on his lived experience as a Black male occupational therapist, and co-creating a safe space for other Black male occupational therapist practitioners and students to connect via social media platforms. Dr. Hoyte has furthered his role within the COTAD organization as a member of the COTAD Chapter Overview Committee before being elected onto the COTAD Board of Directors as Secretary in 2021. In his new role he has been instrumental in acting as a liaison between COTAD leadership and the various branches of COTAD National, as well as those who are interested in learning more about and spreading the message of COTAD. Dr. Hoyte continues to strive to be a mentor to the next generation of diverse occupational therapists, and be an agent of change within the evolving world of occupational therapy!

Stacy Wilson
MS, OTR/L

Co-Founder, Treasurer

Stacy Wilson (he/him/his) is a founding member of COTAD (2014) and currently serves as the Treasurer. He earned his BA in Psychology (2007) and MS in Occupational Therapy (2010) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). His professional experience includes work in a variety of adult rehabilitation settings. He is currently the Supervisor of Acute Rehabilitation Services at WakeMed Cary Hospital in the Raleigh-Durham area of NC. Mr. Wilson is an AOTA Emerging Leader (2012), and he is passionate about investing in and increasing recruitment and retention of diverse students/practitioners to the profession. In order to accomplish this, he established a scholarship at UNC-CH to increase diversity in occupational science and occupational therapy that has provided financial support to multiple students since its inception. Additionally, Mr. Wilson has published multiple articles around the topic of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, is an active member of the Diversity council at his current employer, has presented locally and nationally, and collaborated with students from Kunming University in Southwest China to create the country’s first Student Occupational Therapy Association. Mr. Wilson’s work at the local, national, and international levels demonstrates his passion for increasing awareness of occupational therapy and recruiting and retaining more OT students of diverse backgrounds.

Adam Cisroe Pearson
OTD, OTR/L

Strategy & Operations (S&O) Officer

Adam Pearson (he/him/his) joined COTAD in 2015 and has made significant contributions to the organization’s development and achievements since then. He earned his B.S. in Psychology at Missouri State University and then earned a clinical doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Pearson is presently the chief operating officer of Peter and Paul Community Services, a non-profit organization that provides homeless services in St. Louis, Missouri. In this role he oversees all programming, facilities, strategic planning, and leads a team of over 50 healthcare professionals and support staff for the seven programs. He also serves as faculty at the program and occupational therapy at Washington University School of medicine, where he teaches classes related to management, leadership, and community practice.

Dr. Pearson has held numerous clinical, administrative, teaching, and research roles, all with a focus on health, health equity, strategy development, and program management. His long term goals involve working with multi-disciplinary, diverse teams to develop and implement dynamic programs to end homelessness, and aid in the development of policy that can ensure that every single person gets access to affordable housing.

Nadine Signe
MBA, MS, OTR/L

Co-Founder, Business Development and Partnerships Officer

Nadine Signe (she/her/hers) is a founding member of COTAD (2014) and earned her Masters of Business Administration from Cornell University and Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy from Towson University where she graduated with departmental honors. She has served as Professional Action Chair for the National Black Occupational Therapy Caucus, Alternate Representative for the State of Maryland in the AOTA Representative Assembly, and is a graduate of AOTA’s 2014 cohort of the Emerging Leaders Program. Mrs. Signe received recognition from Cornell University as a Forte Fellow for her academic and leadership achievements. Mrs. Signe has held clinical leadership positions and has worked in diverse healthcare settings: Intensive care, acute care, sub-acute, polytrauma, oncology, skilled nursing, maternity, emergency department, ambulatory surgery, assisted living, outpatient, and home health. She has also presented in national and international conferences. She is passionate about the field of occupational therapy catalyzing diversity AND inclusion from a PEO (person, environment, and occupation) perspective. Her goal is to apply her knowledge, expertise, and diverse experiences to further COTAD’s mission. Mrs. Signe currently works as a healthcare executive and resides in Washington DC.