Board of Councilors
Terri Chew Nishimura MA, OTR/L, Retired

Terri Chew Nishimura is one of the founders of Pediatric Therapy Network where she worked to build a premiere nonprofit therapy center committed to providing quality services for children with special needs, medical conditions and for those at risk for developmental issues. Founded in 1996, Pediatric Therapy Network served almost 2,500 children annually at clinics in the South Bay, with a staff of nearly 200. PTN was named Nonprofit of the Year in 2017 by the California State Assembly, 66th District, and Nonprofit of the Year in 2016 by the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce.

Ms. Nishimura has extensive experience in LA County. She was the Chairperson of the LA County Policy Roundtable for Childcare and Development and served on this commission for over fifteen years, as an appointee of Supervisors Don Knabe and Janice Hahn. She served on Harbor Regional Center’s Board of Directors and was appointed to several HRC committees. Ms. Nishimura was also on the Fiscal Advisory Committee and on the Autism Task Force for the Occupational Therapy Association of California.

Some honors include: 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Occupational Therapy Association of California; 2014 Entrepreneur Award from the Occupational Therapy Association of California; 2014 Women of Distinction from the CA State Assembly – 66th District; 2013 Citizen of the Year from the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce; LA County Woman of the Year in 2011; 2008 Outstanding Individual Award – Asian Pacific American Community Awards for the 53rd Assembly District;

Ms. Nishimura trained under Dr. A. Jean Ayres in 1983 and continued working with Dr. Ayres as a research assistant, helping with the piloting and normative data collection for the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests. She was one of the Directors of the Ayres Clinic when Dr. Ayres retired. She was a clinical faculty member at the University of Southern California, Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy from 1989 to 2008. In 2022, Ms. Nishimura retired and PTN merged with a larger nonprofit organization, Momentum Innovative Disabililty Services. Later that year, she was appointed to the Board of Councilors of the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy.

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USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

1540 Alcazar Street, CHP 133, Los Angeles, CA 90089-9003

ACOTE accreditation | NBCOT certification

The USC entry-level doctorate in occupational therapy (OTD) degree program (cost of attendance) is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education® (ACOTE®) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). The USC entry-level master’s degree program (cost of attendance) is in Accreditation–Inactive status by ACOTE®. View our program’s ACOTE® standards public data. ACOTE® c/o the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.®, 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD 20814, (301) 652-AOTA, www.acoteonline.org.

Professional program graduates are eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc.® (NBCOT®), nbcot.org. Program results from the NBCOT can be found online at www.nbcot.org/Educators-Folder/SchoolPerformance.