Why does OTAC exist?

The Occupational Therapy Association of Colorado (OTAC) is a member-driven nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing occupational therapy across Colorado. Our mission is to strengthen the profession while supporting practitioners, students, and the communities we serve.

OTAC works to:

• Advocate for occupational therapy through state legislation and regulatory efforts
• Interface with the national professional association (AOTA) to support advocacy efforts, facilitate communication regarding national issues and comply with national professional standards/recommendations. 
• Collaborate with other state associations for interstate advocacy and education efforts . 
• Protect and advance the profession
• Provide continuing education and professional development
• Host Colorado's annual occupational therapy conference
• Foster networking and leadership opportunities
• Increase public awareness of occupational therapy
• Support occupational therapy students and future practitioners

How OTAC is Funded

As a non-profit, OTAC makes the majority of the money through membership dues & income from our annual conference. 

• Membership dues (practitioners, students and Corporate Memberships!)
• Annual conference (attendee registration & sponsor/exhibitor dues)
• Job Board
• Donations
• Passive income from OTAC members purchasing continuing education Aspire OT and OT Potential 

Member Dues at Work

• Advocacy efforts on a state and national level
• Legislative initiatives (driven by OTAC members!)
• Administrative operations
• Member services
• Conference development and continuing education opportunities
• Professional resources
• Increase in communication to members & the community 
• Public awareness efforts
• Organizational infrastructure

Your membership directly supports the advancement and protection of occupational therapy across Colorado.

How was OTAC historically operated? 

OTAC has always been built on the dedication, passion and leadership of volunteers. Volunteers who are committed to advancing and protecting the occupational therapy profession in Colorado. For many years, the organization operated entirely through volunteer board and committee members who generously gave their time alongside their personal responsibilities.

The success and growth OTAC has experienced today is because of the incredible leaders who came before us. Past board members worked tirelessly to build the strong foundation our organization stands on, creating innovative programs, advocacy efforts, educational opportunities and systems that helped OTAC grow.

Throughout OTAC’s history, volunteer leaders created thoughtful and effective processes to support the organization. However, as leadership naturally changed over time, valuable systems, institutional knowledge and previous efforts were sometimes lost. 

As OTAC continued to grow, it became clear that additional operational support was needed to preserve organizational knowledge, create continuity between leadership transitions and allow volunteers to focus more on strategic leadership rather than administrative responsibilities.

The Executive Director role was created as a natural next step in OTAC’s evolution — building on the work of past leaders while creating greater consistency, sustainability, and support for future volunteer leadership.

OTAC is where it is today because of the incredible volunteers who built this organization, and the Executive Director role helps ensure their work continues to grow stronger for the future!

• OTAC has traditionally operated by volunteers (OTAC Board members & committee members)

• OTAC met in person for board meetings until 2020 

• OTAC has used a management company and independent contractors in the past. It wasn’t sustainable due to cost and the return was limited - unable to answer emails or edit content with an OT lens, unable to send urgent calls for action and response time was 2+ weeks. 

Since its beginning, OTAC has been led by dedicated volunteers.

Board members and committee volunteers have spent countless hours building advocacy programs, conferences, educational opportunities, and professional resources while balancing careers, families, and clinical responsibilities.

The strength of OTAC today is the result of decades of volunteer leadership!

As the organization continued to grow, however, so did the operational workload. Volunteer leaders were increasingly spending their time managing administrative tasks instead of focusing on strategy, advocacy, and member engagement.

To better support volunteers and create organizational continuity, OTAC established an Executive Director position in 2024.

Why was the Executive Director role created?

The Executive Director role was created to strengthen—not replace—volunteer leadership.

The OTAC Executive Director position was created in 2024 to oversee and optimize internal processes. This is a paid position.

• To maintain institutional knowledge year after year.
• Support with strategic planning.
• Create foundational processes and organization to support volunteers
• To assist volunteers and board members so they can focus on strategic initiatives.
• To provide organizational continuity as board positions rotate.
• To ensure timely responses to members, sponsors and community partners.
• To manage daily operations and administrative functions.
• To support advocacy efforts and send time pressing action alerts
• To increase efficiency and professionalism while remaining a member-driven organization.
• To increase communication in a timely manner - emails, website updates & social media support

This allows volunteer board members to focus on leadership, advocacy, and advancing the profession.

Learn more about OTAC's Executive Director here!

What the Executive Director Does

The Executive Director oversees the organization's day-to-day operations, including:

Membership Support

• Responding to member inquiries
• Processing memberships
• Supporting member engagement initiatives
• Creating and sustaining community partnerships with Corporate Members

Conference

• Creating and managing website
• Strategic planning with committee members
• Coordinating sponsors and exhibitors
• Supporting conference logistics

Advocacy

• Sending advocacy alerts
• Updating website
• Supporting Hill Day and advocacy initiatives

Operations

• Financial: paying bills, tax preparation oversight, & improving revenue sources
• Website updates
• Email communications
• Board meeting support
• Corporate member relations

Communications

• Weekly email development
• Social media oversight
• Keeping the website current

This is not an exhaustive list, but represents many of the daily responsibilities that keep OTAC operating year-round.

How does the Executive Director support Board volunteers?

OTAC has always been a volunteer-driven organization, led by occupational therapy practitioners who generously give their time to support and advance the profession in Colorado. For many years, the OTAC Board managed nearly all aspects of the organization.

As OTAC continued to grow, so did the responsibilities placed on volunteer leaders. Board members were balancing full-time careers while also managing membership services, advocacy efforts, conference planning, finances, communications and organizational operations.

Historically, stepping into an OTAC Board position could feel overwhelming. Limited onboarding processes, minimal documentation of previous efforts and inconsistent transition planning often meant new board members were forced to start from scratch. Valuable institutional knowledge could be lost as leadership changed and volunteers were spending significant personal time rebuilding systems rather than moving initiatives forward.

The Executive Director role was created to provide stability, continuity and operational support so that volunteers can focus their time and energy where it matters most: leading the profession.

Today, the Executive Director supports volunteer leadership by:

• Creating and maintaining organizational systems that allow smooth transitions from one board member to the next
• Developing onboarding materials and foundational processes so new board members can step into their roles with confidence
• Preparing materials for board meetings and helping organize strategic discussions
• Managing follow-up tasks and ensuring projects continue moving forward between meetings
• Maintaining organizational records, historical documents and institutional knowledge
• Ensuring initiatives continue despite leadership transitions or board turnover
• Managing administrative and operational responsibilities that previously fell solely on volunteers
• Supporting board members in pursuing passion projects and new initiatives that advance the profession
• Allowing volunteer leaders to focus more on strategy, innovation, advocacy and member engagement rather than administrative tasks

By creating structure and consistency behind the scenes, the Executive Director helps make volunteer leadership more sustainable, more effective and ultimately more impactful for both OTAC members as well as the occupational therapy profession across Colorado.

How OTAC Remains Member-Driven

OTAC continues to be governed by its volunteer Board of Directors.

• President
• Vice President
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Communications Chair
• Conference Chair
• Member Services Chair
• Professional Development Chair
• Public Policy Chair
• EDJI Chair
• OT Representative
• OTA Representative
• Student Representatives (1 collective vote)
• Members elect the executive officers, while additional board positions are appointed according to OTAC's bylaws.
• The Board sets the organization's vision, priorities, and strategic direction. The Executive Director implements those priorities, manages day-to-day operations, and supports the work of volunteer leaders.
• OTAC remains, first and foremost, a member-driven organization.

Thank You!

OTAC exists because of the dedication of its members.

Whether you volunteer on a committee, serve on the Board, attend conference, respond to an advocacy alert, or simply maintain your membership, you are helping strengthen occupational therapy throughout Colorado.

Together, we are protecting, advancing, and growing our profession!