Dianne Simons is an Assistant Professor at VCU currently serving as Assistant Chair for the Department of Occupational Therapy at VCU, a fellow with America Occupational Therapy Association, and helped to spearhead the collaboration between VCU, Art for the Journey, and a local senior assisted living residency in the Richmond area, to implement the Opening Minds through Art program.   Dianne received a BA in Art from Virginia Tech, a Masters in OT from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Virginia. She has also been involved with numerous academic publications and grants and has been serving as the Representative from Virginia to the American Occupational Therapy Association Representative Assembly since 2011. She has also been serving as the Virginia Occupational Therapy Association Consultant to the Board since 2013 and sat on the board of the Virginia Occupational Therapy Association from 2011-2013.