IRHWC Bios

Gail Fisher, MPA, OTR/L,

Ms. Fisher is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where she has worked for 15 years. She is also the Associate Department Head for Administration, and previously was the Director of Professional Education. She teaches in the area of policy and legislation, trends in health care and occupational therapy service delivery, and community-based practice. She is also the project coordinator for an allied health federal training grant, which prepares students for work with underserved urban populations. Her clinical background is in worker rehabilitation and management. Her research includes studies of the occupational therapy workforce at the state and national level. She has also co-authored two clinical assessment tools and has conducted research with adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities. Her workforce research and assessment development work has been published in several journals, including the Journal of Allied Health, Occupational Therapy in Health Care, Work, and the Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation.

Ms. Fisher holds a B.S. in Occupational Therapy from UIC and a Master's in Public Administration from Southern Illinois University. She has completed additional graduate coursework in disability studies and curriculum design.