Post-Professional OTD Faculty & Lecturers

Caitlyn Foy, OTD, MOTR/L, CLA, is the Director of the Post-professional Occupational Therapy Doctorate program and Advanced Specialty Certificates and an Associate Professor at Salus University. Dr. Foy’s clinical practice areas include Adult Rehabilitation and Mental Health. She completed the AOTA Academic Leadership Institute in 2019 and is a professional member of the National Academies of Practice. She has presented nationally on teaching in higher education, maternal health, and interdisciplinary education and practice.

Fern Silverman, EdD, OTR/L is an Associate Professor at Salus University. Dr. Silverman has an extensive clinical background in pediatrics, with an emphasis on school-based practice. She has been an occupational therapy faculty member for 15 years and was instrumental in the development of both the master's degree and doctoral programs at Salus. Her current research interests center around community participation and inclusion for children with disabilities and their families, and she is a consultant to the local museums in the region on accessibility issues. Dr. Silverman has presented nationally and internationally on various aspects of inclusion and pediatric practice, and has published numerous articles and textbook chapters on related topics. 

Andrea Carr Tyszka, OTD, MS, OTR/L, SIPT, is an Associate Professor at Salus University and enjoys teaching in both the entry-level masters and post-professional doctoral programs. She has been an occupational therapy practitioner for over 25 years with expertise in school and community-based practice and health & wellness. Dr. Tyszka received her post-professional doctorate from Salus University in the health & wellness track, where she honed her program development skills. She has overseen the development of over a dozen health & wellness community-based programs and has spoken about program development at the state, national and international levels. Her current research and program development interests center around the mental well-being of college students as they transition to post-secondary education. 

Mitchell Scheiman, OD, PhD, is a nationally known optometric educator, lecturer, and author. He has written three books for optometrists covering the topics of binocular vision and vision therapy, pediatric optometry, and learning related vision problems and has published over 230 articles in the professional literature. He is the author of “Understanding and Managing Visual Deficits: A Guide for Occupational Therapists,” and “Low Vision Rehabilitation: A Guide for Occupational Therapists” published by Slack Incorporated. Dr. Scheiman has a long and close relationship with occupational therapists, having lectured to approximately 7,000 occupational therapists in the past 20 years. Dr. Scheiman has specialized in vision therapy for the past 47 years. Dr. Scheiman is the Dean of Research at Salus University. He is a Diplomate in Binocular Vision and Perception and a Fellow in the College of Optometrists in Vision Development. All four Remedial Vision Rehabilitation courses in the OTD and Advanced Specialty Certificates program are taught by Dr. Scheiman.

Steve Whittaker, PhD, OTR/L, CLVT, is an occupational therapist and certified low vision therapist. For over 40 years, Steve has been teaching, doing research and providing clinical services in low vision rehabilitation. Prior to becoming an occupation therapist, Dr. Whittaker was a member of the faculty at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (now Salus University) where he conducted NEI, NASA, and NIDRR funded research, and taught in the optometry and vision rehab programs. A research fellow of the Academy of Optometry, Dr. Whittaker’s paper on the Visual Requirements for reading received the Garlen Clay Aware for the most influential paper over a 5-year period. He has recently co-authored (with Dr. Mitch Scheiman) - “An Introduction to Low Vision: A Practical Guide for Occupational Therapists.” Dr. Whittaker teaches courses in the Low Vision Rehabilitation Advanced Specialty Certificate and OTD program at Salus University.