AHTF Educational Scholarship Recipient

Congratulations to the recipient of the AHTF Educational Scholarship Honoring Paul van Lede, underwritten by Orfit Industries.

LCDR Maya N. Bell, OTD, OTR/L
United States Navy

I am a native of Oakland, CA. I attended Howard University in Washington, DC where I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy in 2003. I later attended the George Washington University, also in Washington, DC where I received my Master degree in Education and Human Development with an emphasis in Special Education in 2006. In 2010, I graduated with honors from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with my Doctorate of Occupational Therapy degree with an emphasis in Early Intervention and School-Based Practice.

It has now been 20 years of practicing in the field of occupational therapy and 9 of those years, serving as a Navy Occupational therapist. I was commissioned in the United States Navy July 2014 as a Lieutenant. My first duty station was at US Naval Medical Center San Diego from 2014-2016, where I worked in the NICU. In May 2016, I reported overseas to U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa, Japan, where I was over the early intervention and school-based practice department. In July of 2019, I continued my tour overseas and reported to U.S. Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Yokosuka, Japan at the branch clinic U.S. Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Unit Iwakuni, Japan where I was promoted to Lieutenant Commander. There I continued oversight of the early intervention and school-based practice department. Continuing my overseas tours, in the Asia-Pacific, July 2022 I reported to U.S. Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command, Guam, where I am currently stations and lead the PT/OT departments, and work in the hand therapy clinic.