Heather Thomas, PhD, OTR/L, is a professor at Southern California University in La Habra, California. She began teaching activity analysis in 2004 at Loma Linda University. After obtaining her master's degree in occupational therapy from the University of Southern California in 1998, she studied health care administration at Touro University International in Cypress, California, and gained her PhD in health science in 2011. Dr. Thomas's clinical work focuses on the adult in acute and acute rehabilitation settings. From 2000 to 2002, she was director of the Casa Colina Assistive Technology Center, and from 2007 to 2008, she served as director of Occupational Therapy Services at Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation in Pomona, California. She has served in multiple leadership roles within the American Occupational Therapy Association, Occupational Therapy Association of California, and the Occupational Therapy Association of Oregon. She has presented at conferences nationally and internationally. Expanding occupational therapy's reach into underserved areas, she has volunteered in Haiti to work with those who were injured during the earthquake of 2010 and then helped develop a rehabilitation technician program in that country. A yoga instructor for many years, she now enjoys practicing yoga at home, snow skiing, gardening, teaching, and learning new occupations.
