Michelle McCann

Dr. Michelle McCann currently serves as Assistant Clinical Professor and Doctoral Capstone Coordinator in the Department of Occupational Therapy and as Assistant Dean of Community Engaged Learning and Service (CELS) within the John G. Rangos, Sr. School of Health Sciences at Duquesne University. She is a dedicated leader in both academic and professional communities, holding board positions with the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania (BIAPA) and the Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Association (POTA). Within POTA, she serves as the Special Interest Section Chairperson for Academic Fieldwork (AFW) and Doctoral Capstone Coordination (DCC), and facilitates the AFW and DCC Community of Practice, fostering collaboration and innovation in occupational therapy education and practice.

Dr. McCann has been an occupational therapy practitioner for over 30 years, with a career spanning roles as clinician, program developer, support group coordinator, program director, and quality director. Prior to her full-time faculty appointment at Duquesne University, she served as adjunct faculty at several occupational therapy programs. Her primary practice areas include program development and the advancement of interventions and quality access to care for individuals with chronic, lifelong conditions such as stroke, brain injury, multiple sclerosis (MS), and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Driven by a commitment to community health and education, Dr. McCann is passionate about strengthening and aligning program development and pedagogy in care partnerships, interprofessional mentorship, and community-engaged service learning. Her scholarly interests focus on caregiver education and support, access to long-term supports following chronic injury, building interprofessional communities of practice, and sustained community engagement partnerships between institutions. She has presented at numerous professional conferences on topics including healthcare quality outcomes in medical rehabilitation, stroke/brain injury/MS rehabilitation, obesity disease health management, community engagement, and interprofessional mentorship and practice.

Dr. McCann holds certifications from the Neurodevelopmental Treatment Association® (C/NDT), the Brain Injury Association of America’s Academy of Certified Brain Injury Specialists (CBIS), and the Uniform Data Set for Medical Rehabilitation as a Prospective Payment Specialist (PPSC). She continues to dedicate her time to advancing the field through board service, scholarship, and community engagement.

• OTD, Chatham University, 2017
• B.S., Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy, University of Pittsburgh 1995