Dr. Persch is an Associate Professor in the Occupational Therapy Department at Colorado State University and is Director of the Transition, Employment, and Technology (TET) Lab. The TET Lab is focused on improving the transition to adulthood and employment among those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This work has been funded by NIH, NIDILRR, SSA, and various state and local organizations. He worked with Dr. Dennis Cleary, MS, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA and partners in special education and vocational rehabilitation to create the Vocational Fit Assessment (VFA), providing an accurate, person-centered measure of work-related adaptive behavior that informs job placement and customized employment decision-making. Launched in 2016, VocFit.com is a knowledge translation tool designed to implement the VFA using a custom-developed web-app. Over 7 years, the registered userbase of VocFit.com has grown to more than 12,000 employment support professionals across North America and Europe. Dr. Persch teaches pediatrics and program development at CSU. He served as Chairperson for the AOTA Special Interest Sections Council, a nationally-elected leadership position, from 2016-2020. He is an Associate Editor for AOTF's publication, OTJR: Occupational Therapy Journal of Research.

Aimee Piller, PhD, OTR/L, BCP, FAOTA, is the owner and director of Piller Child Development, a multi-site outpatient pediatric therapy practice in the greater Phoenix area. She specializes in sensory integration and feeding therapy and holds a PhD in Occupational Therapy from Texas Woman’s University, where her research examined the impact of sensory environments on preschool participation. Dr. Piller’s scholarly interests include knowledge of translation and the development of evidence-based treatment protocols to enhance clinical practice. She has published and presented extensively through peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, international conferences, and webinars/podcasts. Dr. Piller is also the author of Implementing School-Based Occupational Therapy Services: A Multi-Tiered Approach to Sensory Processing Needs.