Cathy Schelly, Director, M.Ed., OTR
Cathy Schelly, M.Ed.., OTR is an Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy at CSU and the Director of the Center for Community Partnerships (CCP). During her 23 years at CCP, Ms. Schelly has worked in a variety of roles including direct service provision, educational materials development, grant writing, research, ADA expert consultation, classroom instruction and program development. She has served as the PI, Co-PI or Project Director for 19 federal grant projects with a focus on promoting the education, employment and ultimate independence of individuals with disabilities. In 2008, Ms. Schelly established a partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), beginning community-based service delivery (New Start) for injured veterans. She was invited to submit a proposal to establish a Compensated Work Therapy contract with the DVA to provide individualized supported employment services for injured veterans. This contract was awarded to CCP and is currently underway. Ms. Schelly is the PI for the ACCESS Project, her second consecutive federal project funded by the Office of Postsecondary Education, to implement universal design for learning (UDL) and student self-advocacy (SA) at CSU and at the 33 Institutions of Higher Education in the Colorado/Wyoming Consortium of Services for Students with Disabilities. Ms. Schelly and ACCESS project staff are conducting research on the impact of UDL and SA implementation on student academic outcomes. In addition, Ms. Schelly is the PI for the Passport to Recreation and Work Project, a partnership between the City of Fort Collins Adaptive Recreation Opportunities Program and the Poudre School District. Through the Passport Project, transitioning high school students with disabilities participate in a variety of recreational activities, developing life-long recreation and employability skills.
