Faculty Focus: Brandi DeVeaux, MS, OTR/L, CLT

She’s affectionately known as “Bee the OT.” And, the latest buzz is that she’s now part of the Salus University faculty. 

Brandi DeVeaux, MS, OTR/L, CLT, joined the Occupational Therapy (OT) Department just before the fall 2021 semester as an associate professor. She’s teaching courses in geriatrics, development and Tenets 3, the last class students take before embarking on their fieldwork rotations. 

“I’ve always loved teaching, said DeVeaux. “Students would tell me that I had a unique and effective way of communicating what they learned in school and helping them apply it to actual practice.” 

DeVeaux is a certified lymphedema therapist and her clinical specialties include women’s health and prenatal and postpartum exercise. A graduate of the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, DeVeaux spent several years as an adjunct there and then as a clinical instructor at Temple University Hospitals before making the decision to enter academia full-time. 

“Salus is pretty similar to where I actually graduated and have experience teaching. They’re both small schools,” she said. “I love that Salus is unique and that we teach low vision.” 

In addition to her full-time teaching duties, she will still maintain her business, DeVeaux Rehab. That’s actually where the “Bee the OT” originated. The “bee” actually stands for the “B” in Brandi, which she changed to “bee” and incorporated into her company’s logo. 

While she’s happy doing what she’s doing right now teaching and with her rehab business, that doesn’t mean she’s still not thinking ahead. She has a strong sense of professional development and would like to continue to grow in the area of research. She eventually would also like to pursue her doctorate degree. “I like to be challenged at all times,” she said. 

A self-described military brat, DeVeaux spent a lot of time traveling from base to base when she was young. Both her parents are in the military and were assigned to a U.S. base in Germany. While there, the family would spend weekends traveling to different countries and immerse themselves in the cultures of those countries. 

The family eventually settled in Willingboro, New Jersey, where her parents worked at nearby Fort Dix, but the military experience developed a lifelong love of travel in DeVeaux, which she still does when pandemic protocols allow. She’s also passing along that love of travel to her son three-year-old son, Touré. 

“Since COVID-19 has happened, we haven’t gone overseas, but we have been to different parts of New Jersey,” she said. “I’ve also taken him to Washington, D.C., Georgia, South Carolina, and California.” 

But back to work. She is impressed by the faculty at Salus, where everyone has been friendly and welcoming. 

“There is a sense of teamwork and camaraderie among the professors here. If I have any questions or things that I want to bounce off other professors, they are all willing to help me,” she said about the easy transition. 

DeVeaux admits she’s still learning to hone in on the best teaching methods to develop emerging OTs. She believes her passion for learning and sharing information comes naturally to her and translates to other areas of OT. 

"My experience with facilitating an AOTA conference short course solidified my love of sharing areas of expertise and content,” she said. “It's important to advance the profession.”