Founder
Jeff Foster, MS, OTR/L, EdD(ABD)
Occupational therapist specializing in visual performance since 2007, with a graduate degree in vision rehabilitation and an EdD in progress (ABD) at Valdosta State University, dissertation focused on vision and academics. Current MOT & OTA faculty at CBD College (Los Angeles) and former OTA Program Director there. Ongoing guest lecturer at UMMC and UAB. Founder of Visual Minds Learning and creator of the VPA™.
The Story
Vision has been the through-line since 2007.
I started focusing on visual performance in occupational therapy in 2007. I ran in-services, trainings, and district PD on how vision underlies the skills OTs treat every day. Along the way I went back for a graduate degree in vision rehabilitation so the clinical reasoning behind the work would be as deep as the delivery. I am now All But Dissertation (ABD) on an EdD at Valdosta State University, writing my dissertation on the relationship between vision and academics.
Over 26 years of practice, that focus turned into a body of work: vision CE for OTs as an AOTA Approved Provider, guest lecturing at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and OTA/MOT teaching at CBD College in Los Angeles, where I also served as OTA Program Director. Earlier faculty appointments include Jackson State University and Holmes Community College.
Visual Minds Learning exists to be one thing clearly: the all-around vision resource for occupational therapy. CE for individual clinicians, in-services and trainings for teams, curriculum and program support for OT/OTA programs, and speaking for conferences and state associations. All anchored in visual performance.
That is where the VPA™ comes in. It is a clinical framework in active development, built with clinicians, faculty, and programs willing to pilot it in the real world.
This is a startup, deliberately. Every course, talk, and partnership matters. Every clinician who trusts me with their professional development shapes what Visual Minds Learning becomes next.
Where I've Practiced
Seven settings. One through-line: vision as the foundation of function.
Most clinicians work in one or two settings their whole career. I have worked across the continuum. What changes about vision from a retina exam room to a second-grade classroom is exactly what the VPA™ is built to translate.
Retina Practice
Working alongside ophthalmology in a retina specialty setting: the foundation for how I read visual pathology and its functional implications.
Neuro Rehabilitation
Post-stroke, TBI, and neurodegenerative caseloads. This is where vision, cognition, and motor control converge, and where compensatory strategy really matters.
Home Health
Visual performance in the client's actual environment. No clinic lighting, no ideal setup. Function is defined by real tasks in real rooms.
Outpatient Clinics
Pediatric and adult outpatient. Assessment, intervention, and family education across a wide range of diagnoses and ages.
School Systems
School-based OT with vision screening, classroom accommodations, IEP consultation, and teacher training. The setting that shapes most of my current work.
Telehealth
Adapting vision assessment and handwriting intervention for the screen. Building protocols that survive when you can't hand the child a pencil yourself.
Academia
MOT & OTA faculty at CBD College, former OTA Program Director, ongoing guest lecturer at UMMC and UAB, and prior faculty at Jackson State and Holmes Community College.
University Teaching
University teaching, program leadership, and ongoing guest lecturing.
Current MOT & OTA faculty and former OTA Program Director at CBD College, with ongoing guest lecturing at UMMC and UAB and prior faculty appointments in Mississippi.
- CBD College · Los AngelesPreviously OTA Program DirectorMOT & OTA Faculty · Current
- University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC)Previously full-time Assistant ProfessorGuest Lecturer · Ongoing
- University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)Guest Lecturer · Ongoing
- Jackson State UniversityFaculty · Prior
- Holmes Community CollegeFaculty · Prior
Body of Work
What I actually do.
The All-Around Vision Resource
Since 2007, the person clinicians, programs, and districts call for anything vision-related in OT: from in-services and trainings to curriculum, consulting, and CE.
Vision Continuing Education
Vision CE for OTs delivered as an AOTA Approved Provider. Individual courses are submitted as professional development (PD) activities for approval.
University & Program Leadership
Current MOT & OTA faculty at CBD College (Los Angeles) and former OTA Program Director there. Previously full-time Assistant Professor at UMMC; now ongoing guest lecturer at UMMC and UAB. Prior faculty at Jackson State University and Holmes Community College.
The VPA™ Framework
Creator of the Visual Performance Assessment, a clinical framework in active development for how OTs evaluate visual performance in real occupations.