Caroline Welch, OTD, OTR/L

Dr. Caroline Welch is an Assistant Professor in the Rutgers University Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) Program and a licensed occupational therapist with more than 20 years of clinical, educational, and leadership experience. Her clinical practice has focused on serving infants, children, adolescents, and young adults across early intervention, school-based practice, pediatric outpatient rehabilitation, and community settings. She holds advanced certification in Sensory Integration and Neurodevelopmental Treatment (NDT) and remains actively engaged in pediatric clinical practice within New Jersey schools.

At Rutgers, Dr. Welch teaches across the OTD curriculum, including Pediatrics I, Pediatrics and Adolescents II, Occupation in Community-Based Practice, Issues in Professional Practice, and Level I fieldwork courses. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes experiential, occupation-centered, and community-engaged learning, where students develop clinical reasoning through authentic partnerships, reflective practice, interprofessional collaboration, and service to the community. She is passionate about preparing future occupational therapists to become compassionate, evidence-informed practitioners who promote participation, inclusion, and occupational justice across diverse practice settings.

As a faculty member, Dr. Welch has developed innovative community-based educational experiences that connect classroom learning with meaningful service. She has established and expanded partnerships with organizations throughout New Jersey, creating opportunities for students to engage in program development, quality improvement, advocacy, and health promotion while addressing unmet community needs. She also mentors doctoral capstone students and supports the development of emerging occupational therapy leaders through experiential education and faculty advising.

Dr. Welch serves as a Board Member for Club DREAMS, a program of the Down Syndrome Association of Central New Jersey, where she collaborates with community members, families, students, and interdisciplinary partners to develop inclusive programming for children, adolescents, and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Through this partnership, she has helped create opportunities for occupational therapy students to participate in community-based fieldwork, inclusive recreation, sensory-friendly programming, safety education initiatives, transition programming, and health promotion events that foster belonging and meaningful participation.

Her scholarship focuses on pediatric occupational therapy, neurodiversity-affirming practice, community-based and experiential education, fieldwork education, implementation of inclusive programming, and interprofessional collaboration. She is particularly interested in translating evidence into practice through community partnerships that promote participation, health equity, and occupational justice. Her recent scholarly work includes presentations and publications related to inclusive safety education, neurodiversity, mental health, community engagement, fieldwork education, and competency-based occupational therapy education.

Dr. Welch’s professional mission is to educate future occupational therapists who are reflective, collaborative, and committed to improving health and participation through occupation. She believes that meaningful learning occurs when students work alongside community members, families, and interdisciplinary teams to co-create innovative, occupation-centered solutions that improve the lives of individuals across the lifespan.