The name brOT (”Bro-T”) was developed in 2011 by male occupational therapy students in Philadelphia, PA.  They had used it as a unique way to reference themselves as being males in the occupational therapy field.  After attending the AOTA/NBCOT Annual Student Conclave in 2012, three occupational therapy students, Brendan Kiernan, Josh Springer and Houman Ziai,  saw an opportunity to use the brOT name as a way to fulfill aspects of the AOTA centennial vision: We envision that occupational therapy is a powerful, widely recognized, science-driven, and evidence-based profession with a globally connected and diverse workforce meeting society'soccupational needs.  With that, brOT Movement Inc. was created. 

          We know that the national occupational therapy community has made tremendous strides toward making this vision a reality, but it is our contention that if we do not step forward, the establishment of a widely recognized, diverse and powerful profession will go unrealized! We were inspired to take action in part due to, AOTA President, Dr. Florence Clark and encouragement from OT professors at our university.  Dr. Clark stated that, “without power, we will be limited in our ability to meet society’s needs and that would be a calamity, not only for our profession but for people everywhere (Clark, 2010)”.  Additionally, Dr. Clark challenged the OT community to create and support new initiatives that will diversify the profession as a whole.