Linda Crawford OTR/L, CDWF

Linda Crawford is a past president of the Occupational Therapy Association of Colorado (OTAC), leading the organization through a period of transformative change from 2001 to 2004. She oversaw successful rebranding, organizational restructuring, membership growth, legislative and other advocacy achievements, conference innovation, and leadership development. During this time OTAC grew financially strong enough to hire its first paid executive director, allowing volunteer board members to focus on expanding the association’s mission to support, serve, and advocate for the occupational therapy profession in Colorado.

From 2022-2024, Linda mentored and collaborated with three Creighton-Regis OT doctoral capstone students to create the Live Your Best Life pain self-management program. This included a six-session curriculum, marketing materials, and a 12-hour certification training, which was offered free of charge to 50 OTAC members in 2024. This project—developed in response to the passage of Colorado House Bill 21-1276 in 2022, which mandates insurance coverage for a minimum of six occupational therapy sessions as an alternative to opioids—was the first program of its kind by a state OT association.

During Linda’s presidency, OTAC was recognized nationally by the Affiliated State Association Presidents (ASAP) group of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), receiving the “Thinking Outside the Box” Award for innovation in 2022 and the Leadership Development Award in 2024.

Linda has received multiple Service Commendations from AOTA, including for her contributions to the AOTA position paper The Role of Occupational Therapy in Pain Management and her work with the ASAP group on various projects and committees.

As a clinician, Linda previously owned a private practice specializing in complex pain conditions including pelvic pain and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). She also spent over a decade specializing in brain injury and stroke rehabilitation. Her clinical experience spans acute hospital care, burn units, inpatient and subacute rehab, outpatient clinics, and home health. A committed educator, she has served as a fieldwork educator and has presented widely at state and national OT conferences, as well as to student groups and interdisciplinary audiences at local, national, and international conferences and events.

A passionate advocate for the profession, Linda has been a certified Daring Way™ facilitator of Brené Brown’s shame resilience curriculum since 2014. She has integrated this work into OT conference keynotes and mentorships, inspiring OT students and practitioners to embrace their professional worthiness.

Beyond her OT roles, Linda is a Colorado Certified Health Navigator and completed the Older Adult Research Specialist (OARS) training at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in 2023. She has served as a Community Outreach Liaison for the Arts and Humanities in Healthcare and Music and Medicine programs, and as a Geri-Educator and conference consultant at CU Anschutz.

Now in retirement, Linda will continue to support and advocate for the value of occupational therapy in any setting where opportunities arise!