Meet the experts

Dr. Nishi Patel Brahmbhatt, MOTR/L, CAPS, CDP, Realtor®, has been an occupational therapist since 2008, practicing in acute care, skilled nursing, and home health settings. For the past twelve years, she has been a Keiser University Occupational Therapy Assistant program faculty member. She is the Academic Fieldwork Coordinator for the Master of Science Occupational Therapy Bridge program at Keiser University. Whilst pursuing her post-professional doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Shenandoah University, Nishi became a Realtor® in 2021 and a Certified Aging in Place Specialist in 2022. As an OT Certified Aging in Place Specialist, Nishi is interested in utilizing her unique skillset to serve clients in the real estate industry. She is also interested in promoting student success by focusing on strategies to target students’ health domains.

Lynn Hellerstein, OD, FCOVD, FAAO is a developmental optometrist. For more than 40 years, Dr. Hellerstein has treated children and adults with learning and reading deficits, visual processing disorders, or brain injuries. She has inspired thousands of individuals to improve their vision and enhance their school/work success, sports performance, and confidence. Dr. Hellerstein is a nationally and internationally acclaimed speaker, educator, and leader in the areas of vision therapy, vision rehabilitation, and sports vision.  An author of numerous professional journal articles, she has won multiple awards, including #1 Amazon Best Seller, for her books. Dr. Hellerstein is an adjunct faculty member at five schools of optometry and past president of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD). 

Nicole has been a pediatric occupational therapist for 15 years. She received her Master’s in Occupational Therapy from San Jose State University. Nicole began working with exceptional children at age of 17 when she fell in love with a child with autism and never wanted to do anything else with her life but to serve and love exceptional children. She has experience working in sensory integration clinics, schools, and even camp settings, where she was able to help direct residential camps for children and adolescents with autism. In addition, Nicole is a certified PEERs counselor. The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) is world-renowned for providing evidence-based social skills treatment to preschoolers, adolescents, and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, depression, and other socio-emotional problems. Nicole believes the best thing about being an occupational therapist is getting a chance to celebrate the large and small victories that her clients experience each day! In her free time, Nicole performs improvisational comedy. She enjoys camping, dancing, live music, and hiking.