Elissa Lee, OTD, OTR: OT in Community Engagement
In this episode, we will learn from Elissa Lee, OTD, OTR, an occupational therapist whose work is redefining what community health can look like at scale. Dr. Lee is the former Director and Senior Advisor of Community Engagement for California Volunteers in the Office of the Governor, where she led the Neighbor-to-Neighbor initiative. It’s all about building social connection across communities and as OT practitioners, we know that connection isn’t just nice to have, it’s essential to health, resilience, and belonging. This conversation is a real reflection of Uncommon OT in action. Dr. Lee’s work lives at the intersection of public health, policy, and community-based programming, leading national mental health campaigns with Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation and the Clinton Foundation, and designing programs around chronic care, CalAIM, and homelessness prevention. We talk about what it actually looks like to take the OT lens beyond traditional settings and apply it at a systems level, where the impact can reach entire communities. Dr. Lee’s work is a reminder that OT belongs everywhere, especially in the spaces where community, connection, and health intersect.
What we get into:
Social connection as a core occupation
How OTs can show up in public health and policy spaces
Designing programs that meet people where they are
Addressing real-world barriers like chronic illness and housing instability
What Uncommon OT really looks like in practice
Q & A with Elissa:
Please tell us a little about yourself and a few of your favorite occupations.
Dr. Elissa Lee was appointed as Director and Senior Advisor of Community Engagement for California Volunteers, Office of the Governor and led the Neighbor-to-Neighbor initiative, which builds social connection in Californian neighborhoods to improve community health and resilience. Dr. Lee has worked on several physical and mental health initiatives across sectors: running awareness and action health campaigns for Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation and Clinton Foundation; designing chronic care, CalAIM implementation, and homeless prevention programs for SCAN Health Plan and in her research; and writing an Oxford University Press book and several articles on health disparities in BIPOC, LGBTQ+, immigrant and disabled communities. Dr. Lee received her doctorate in occupational therapy at USC and her bachelor’s in psychology at UC Berkeley. Her favorite leisurely occupations include gathering around food (either cooking together or eating out); spending quality time with friends, family, and neighbors; dancing; and practicing Taichi.
What motivated you to contribute to this podcast series?
I love highlighting the many ways occupational therapy shows up outside of traditional clinical settings, and how you have created this space to expand how we understand OT’s role in the world. I've loved working at the intersection of social connection, public health, and population-level impact - areas that feel increasingly urgent in today’s world. Also, I've been a big fan of your work in LA!
Please describe the UncommonOT work that you do and the setting in which you work, the population you serve and the needs that you address.
I currently serve in the Governor's Office of Service and Community Engagement, leading the Neighbor-to-Neighbor and Meet 6 Neighbors initiatives, so my community of focus is the 40 million people who call California home. I'm focused on connecting neighbors to build a sense of community and address social isolation, disaster resiliency, climate change, and more. I also consult for organizations such as Obama Foundation as a facilitator for their Leaders USA program, on the topic of Trust & Pluralism. Research also shows that knowing just a small number of people nearby - around six neighbors - is associated with better physical and mental health and well-being, so we launched the Meet 6 Neighbors initiative to give people a simple, low-pressure way to start strengthening those everyday connections to help communities become more connected, support, and resilient.
What inspired you or drew you to this type of OT work?
Prior to taking on this role, I was on a Journalists in Aging fellowship covering senior caregiving in BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities. I probably interviewed 100+ seniors and was struck by how many of them would take me to their front door and start pointing out their neighbors. You see time and time again in clinical care with the revolving door syndrome, patients with more social supports tend to do better and lead happier, healthier lives.
How did you get there? Can you describe your path?
I trained as an occupational therapist at USC, and have continued to go upstream, having worked into healthcare administration, foundations, journalism and now the public sector.
Please describe a typical day or OT session at your uncommon setting? What OT skills do you utilize?
There is no typical day which is part of what I love about it - working with different communities, designing programming and initiative elements, collaborating across sectors and translating research and community needs into actionable programs. One day I could be doing community focus groups on Zoom or in person, another I could be doing Zumba with the tias in the park for their community kickoff party. OT skills I rely on daily include activity analysis (applied at a systems level), group facilitation, environmental modification, strengths-based thinking, and cultural humility. I also draw heavily on systems thinking and prevention frameworks. This is a population-wide intervention for behavior change (to get people to connect more with one another!) so I get to use a lot of Lifestyle Redesign concepts (shoutout to my former PI and mentor, Beth Pyatak), Stages of Change and other ideas to encourage Californians to connect with their neighbors!
Can you talk about some recent highs (successes) and lows (challenges) of your current role?
I get to experience a lot of joy in this role - oftentimes hearing about neighbors connecting for the first time or the tenth time, supporting each other through challenging times like the wildfires. I read one story just today that said something along the lines of, "Some of the neighbors asked me to lunch. It was a big deal." The challenges come with the territory - oftentimes there is a lot of bureaucracy to navigate and understand, and sometimes siloed nature of government work.
How do you continue to learn in order to stay on top of things within your role?
I feel so lucky that there is a whole body of growing literature on social isolation and loneliness and wonderful researchers and practitioners like Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad and Dr. Carla Perissinotto to name a few that I continue to consult with. I also spend a lot of time listening to communities directly, as lived experience is most important in co-designing programming and initiatives that will work.
Can you share a little bit about salary and compensation in this setting? How do OT or the services you provide get funded?
Compensation in community and population health roles varies widely and is often funded through public dollars, grants, or philanthropy rather than insurance reimbursement. While salaries may differ from clinical settings, these roles offer opportunities to influence health outcomes at scale.
Any career advice for our followers and listeners on how to get started on this path?
Get comfortable translating OT language into everyday terms. Build relationships outside of traditional healthcare spaces. Say yes to opportunities that stretch your identity as an OT. And trust that your skills are transferable across multiple sectors!
What’s a common myth or misconception about your job/role you’d like to call out or demystify?
A common myth is that reaching out to others - especially strangers - is awkward or uncomfortable. Wonderful research from Dr. Gillian Sandstrom shows that in reality, conversations with strangers are much more likely to be positive, meaningful, and energizing than we expect. That fear often keeps people isolated - but once you start reaching out, you realize that connection gets easier with practice, and positive experiences are far more common than we imagine.
How do we find you, follow you, be in touch with you, and promote your unique work?
You can find me through my work at Meet6Neighbors.com and CANeighbors.com.
You can also find me on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/elissaslee/)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/elissasays/).
As always, I welcome any feedback & ideas from all of you, or if you are interested in being a guest on future episodes, please do not hesitate to contact Patricia Motus at transitionsot@gmail.com or DM via Instagram @transitionsot
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