Samantha Shann

The OT Service is one of the UK’s foremost private occupational therapy companies and provides independent occupational therapy services worldwide.

Samantha qualified in 1992 as an occupational therapist and gained her masters in health and social care in 2011. In addition she holds a post-graduate teaching qualification.

Samantha has worked as an occupational therapist in numerous high, medium and low resourced education, management and practice settings. She is a regular guest lecturer at various national and international universities and frequently speaks at international conferences.

Samantha is the current President of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT). She is committed to promoting and advocating for occupational therapy and person-centred care by supporting the development of professional standards and new educational programmes.

In 2022 Samantha was awarded a Fellowship from the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the profession. She remains a member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) including membership of RCOT’s specialist sections – Older Persons and Mental Health as well as being registered with the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC).

Through her work with the WFOT Samantha represents the occupational therapy profession at the highest-level during World Health Organisation (WHO) meetings and contributes to specific WHO projects for example the GATE (Global Assistive Technology) initiative, Rehabilitation 2030 and Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP). Samantha is on the steering committee for the WHO World Rehabilitation Alliance and is also a founding board member for the International Society for Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP).