Rondalyn V Whitney

Rondalyn V. Whitney, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA, is an associate professor and director of Faculty Scholarship and Development in the Division of Human Performance in the West Virginia University School of Medicine. She earned her doctorate in international health science from Trident University. Her scholarship focuses on the use of narrative (journal writing, structured interviews, health narratives) as a mechanism to reduce stress and improve mother-child coregulation. She has received national recognition for her lifelong service to families and children, including induction into the Roster of Fellows for the American Occupational Therapy Association and receiving the distinguished Virginia Scardina Award of Excellence from the American Occupational Therapy Foundation. She is certified in many advanced practices related to the treatment of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities, including the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT). She has a distinguished career as an academic, presenter, and author. She is currently completing a certificate in narrative medicine at Columbia University, has authored seven books, is widely published in the profession of occupational therapy, and has had her poetry appear in several journals, including Yankee. She believes in the power of occupational engagement as a path to well-being and can been seen in her community blowing bubbles with neighborhood children, creating afterschool STEAM programs, and sitting on her porch with her journal among the maple trees in Appalachia.