Diane Powers Dirette, PhD, OTL, FAOTA, is a professor in the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences PhD Program at Western Michigan University. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Eastern Michigan University and her master’s and doctoral degrees at New York University, studying occupational therapy at all levels. She has published in national and international journals and presented at local, regional, national, and international conferences. Dr. Dirette’s primary research interests focus on treatments for people with acquired brain injuries, for whom she developed a frame of reference titled Self-awareness Enhancement through Learning and Function. She is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy. She is the co-editor of the textbooks Occupational Therapy for Physical Dysfunction, Conditions in Occupational Therapy, and Writing for Publication and Capstone Projects in Occupational Therapy, 2nd edition. Dr. Dirette was inducted into the American Occupational Therapy Association Roster of Fellows in 2016. She received the fourth annual Jim Hinojosa Distinguished Alumni Award from New York University in 2020 and the OT Award of Excellence from MiOTA in 2023.
