Amiya Waldman-Levi

Name and Contact

• Amiya Waldman-Levi, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA

• Email: amiya.waldmanlevi@yu.edu 

Training and Advanced Certifications

• Post Doctorate Training at Mercy College, School of Health and Natural Sciences, NY, US

• Post-Doctorate Training at the Center for Attachment Research at the New School of Social Research, NYC, US

• Ph.D., School of Occupational Therapy of Hadassah and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

• MSc. OT, School of Occupational Therapy of Hadassah and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel  

• BOT, School of Occupational Therapy of Hadassah, and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

Area(s) of Expertise

• Research 

• Leadership in educational effectiveness 

• Academia

• Trauma, parent/caregiver-child relationship, play and playfulness

Awards and Honors

• AOTA Roster of Fellows for “Extraordinary occupational therapy practitioner, scholar, and educator”

• Cordelia Myers American Journal of Occupational Therapy, Best Article Award

• Top Downloaded Paper, Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, Wiley

• Scholarship for high academic achievements, Doctor of Philosophy, Lady Davis Foundation, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

• Master’s in Science, Magna Cum Laude, School of Occupational Therapy of Hadassah and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

• Scholarship for high academic achievements, Master’s in Science, Lady Davis Foundation, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

• Dean Honor List, School of Occupational Therapy of Hadassah and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

Leadership Accomplishments and Passions

• Four registered copyrights for inventions

• Guest co-editor, Special issue on play, the American Journal of Occupational Therapy, July 2024

• Co-Editor, Proceedings from the Katz School Symposium on Science, Technology, and Health, Yeshiva University Katz School of Science and Health New York City, May 12, 2022 

• Editorial board, EC Psychology and Psychiatry, Oct 2017 to 2019

• Co-Editor in Chief, the Israeli Journal of Occupational Therapy, Nov 2011

• Associate Editor, the Israeli Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2009-2016

• Reviewer for 13 peer-reviewed journals, 2005-2024

• Katz School Faculty Initiatives, Technology-Powered Play Assessment. 2024. Waldman-Levi PI and WangCO-PI. 

• Katz School Faculty Initiatives, Student Resilience. 2023. Waldman-Levi PI and BundyCO-PI.

• Katz School Faculty Initiatives, Supporting Families and Children’s Growth and Wellbeing. 2023. Waldman-Levi PI, HalperinCO-PI, and BrownCO-PI.

• Katz School Faculty Initiatives, Health Aging, A Wellness Intervention Program. 2022. Waldman-Levi PI StancanelliCO-PI, and LaghezzaCO-PI.

• YU Provost Faculty Research Grant, The Feasibility of the Promoting Health Through Play Opportunities Program in Improving Parent and Child Outcomes for Underserved Families. 2022. Waldman-Levi PI, HalperinCO-PI, GarfinkelCO-PI, and BrownCO-PI.

• Naclerio Faculty Scholars Program funding for (2021-22), Promoting Play Opportunities in the Classroom. 2021. HalperinPI and Waldman-LeviMENTOR.

• Faculty Development Grant, Mercy College, A Wellness Intervention Program. 2021. StancanelliPI and Waldman-Levi PI.

• LIU Seed Grant: “Peek 3” Application, The Impact of Income Inequality on Family Functioning: A Focus on Income Disparate Neighborhoods. 2020. HadenPI, JosephCO-PI, LevineCO-PI, SaundersCO-PI, MeehanCO-PI, MorelCO-PI, and Waldman-LeviCO-PI.

• Faculty Development Grant, Mercy College, Developing a Comprehensive Assessment of Parent Support of their Young Children’s Playfulness Picture. 2016. Waldman-Levi PI and Olson PI.

• Faculty Development Grant, Mercy College, Playfulness, Hope, Well-Being, and Participation among Elderly. 2015. Waldman-Levi PI and Stancanelli PI.

• The Martin Levin Institute for Child Development, The Influence of an Intervention for Mothers and Children Residing in Shelters for Abused Women, on Mother-Child Interaction and the Play Functions of the Child. 2007

• The Fund in Memory of Ramah Shuval Itiel, The Israeli Association of Occupational Therapy, The Influence of an Intervention for Mothers and Children Residing in Shelters for Abused Women, on Mother-Child Interaction and the Play Functions of the Child. 2007

• The Fund in Memory of Arie Juros, The Israeli Association of Occupational Therapy, The Influence of an Intervention for Mothers and Children Residing in Shelters for Abused Women, on Mother-Child Interaction and the Play Functions of the Child. 2007

Narrative

Dr. Amiya Waldman-Levi is the Director of Scholarship and Research at the Katz School of Science and Health at Yeshiva University. Amiya’s research agenda focuses on promoting individuals, families, and caregivers’ resiliency to overcome the impact adversity and trauma have on their social-emotional functioning. Amiya co-developed strength-based programs, the Family Interaction for Improving Occupational Performance Intervention model (FI-OP©), and with Dr. Lola Halperin the Playing Playfully to Overcome Adversity telehealth, a group-based program. Together with Prof. Anita Bundy, they developed an observation-based assessment, the “Parent/Caregiver Support of Children Playfulness” (PC-SCP, 2023). Throughout her 20 years in academia, she assumed various leadership roles such as the Director of Clinical Education and Fieldwork, Assessment Fellow, Co-Chair of the teaching and learning assessment group in preparation for Middle States self-study. At the professional and interprofessional levels, Amiya served as one of the American Occupational Therapy Foundation grant reviewers, a peer reviewer and co-editor for over twenty national and international professional journals. A guest co-editor for the American Journal of Occupational Therapy (AJOT) special issue 2024-25 on play. Amiya is also engaged in scholarship and advocacy supporting equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging of the Jewish people.

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