Cindy K. Smalletz, M.S., M.A., OTR/L, BCB

Cindy Smalletz, MS, MA, OTR/L, BCB is the Program Director for Narrative Medicine CPA program and Associate Faculty in the Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics, as well as the Department of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. In addition to an MS in Narrative Medicine and an MA in Instructional Design and Technology, she joined the Division with a career background in education and technology in both corporate and medical education and currently teaches and designs programming at the medical center, including the Virtual Group Sessions. Originally created for connection, stress-reduction, to remedy isolation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, these sessions are still ongoing today. She is also the creator, designer, and director of the first online Certificate Program in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University, envisioned as a way to globally connect practitioners to study narrative medicine. Working in narrative medicine led Cindy to complete an MS in Occupational Therapy with the goal to create new ways to join narrative medicine with clinical care, education, and advocacy. Cindy currently works in multiple settings, including a supervising students on clinical rotations in community and behavioral health settings, as well as a supervisor at the CHHMP community clinic in Harlem.