Cleopatra Knight-Wilkins, OT, OTD, MED, OTR Cleopatra is an occupational therapist, award-winning educator and performing artist with over 40 years of urban education experience. Her career began as the first staff occupational therapist hired directly by the Boston Public School System (BPS). She excelled in diverse school and district level positions including Special Education (SPED) classroom teacher, music teacher, SPED Evaluation Team Leader, SPED Program Advisor, SPED Senior Coordinator, Early Childhood Senior Curriculum and Assessment Director, Chief Academic Officer, and Senior Program Director for the Arts. As the founding BPS Occupational Therapy Coordinator, her leadership launched establishment of the district’s Occupational Therapy Department. Professional illuminations also include being a founding staff member of two high performing schools: The Carter Developmental Day Care School and the Reverend Michael E. Haynes Early Education Center. Cleopatra recently served as a Program Manager for SchoolWorks, Inc., a private educational consulting firm, leading School Quality Review Teams for various state departments of education across the nation. Dr. Knight-Wilkins is a Post-Professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy Quinnipiac University graduate. Her credentials also include a Master of Special Education Degree from Northeastern University and a Music Education Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies from the Kodàly Center of America. She earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in OT from Boston University. Along with NBOTC registration, Dr. Knight-Wilkins has Massachusetts’s licensures in Occupational Therapy, Special Education Teacher, Middle School Science Teacher, Music Education Teacher, and K-8 School Principal. She was also an Adjunct Professor at the Lesley University Creative Arts & Learning Graduate Program. Currently, Cleopatra is in the process of publishing her research-based, multi-media curriculum resource guide entitled Rhythm of the Words: Integrating Multicultural Songs & Games with Occupational Therapy to Improve Literacy.
Cleopatra was our featured speaker at these Saturday Seminars: