Houman Ziai, MS, OTR/L, CDRS  
Founder/Director of Development
ziai.brot@gmail.com

        I was born in Ruston, Louisiana on a balmy July morning. I soon moved to West Windsor, NJ, where I grew up.  In high school, I developed an interest in the healthcare field throughout volunteering at a local hospital where my mother worked as an RN in the ICU. I went on to receive my undergraduate degree in exercise physiology from The University of Delaware in 2010.  

        I learned about occupational therapy as an undergraduate.  I thought about how distressed I would be if I was unable to engage in my in activities of choice, such as playing a game of basketball, let alone being able to dress myself or bath independently. With that in mind, I became inspired to help others live life on their terms and as independently as possible.  After graduation there I moved to Philadelphia , where I enrolled in a Master's program for occupational therapy. I currently reside in Philadelphia where I am a practicing occupational therapist and driver rehabilitation specialist with MossRehab.  

                                          Jonathan Forkin, MS, OTR/L  
Director of Outreach
      forkin.brot@gmail.com

        My OT journey began in a town just outside of Scranton, PA. My interest for occupational therapy began when I was an angsty 16-year-old volunteering in the OT department at a local rehab hospital. I was fascinated by the use of creative interventions to develop various physical, social, and cognitive skills as well as the use of adaptive strategies and compensation versus total remediation.  I wanted to learn more in this setting and was given the opportunity to work hands-on as an OT aide.

        Knowing early on in high school that I wanted to pursue OT, I applied and was accepted into an accelerated BS/MS OT program in Philadelphia, PA where I graduated in 2016. Through my education, I gained a passion for neurologic and cognitive disorders. I was fascinated at the complexity of the brain and nervous system; given its influence of functions related to movement, thought/cognition, and making us social beings.

        Currently, my interests are in neuro-cognitive impairments, martial arts implementation, and plan to pursue academia