Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Erin Smith, O.T.D., and Lynn Wilde and reappointed Eddie Jessie to the Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners. Their terms will expire on February 1, 2031. The board is responsible for licensing and regulating occupational therapy services in Texas.
Erin Smith, O.T.D., from Dallas, works as an occupational therapist and hand therapist at OrthoTexas. She is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association and the Hand Therapy Academy. She previously belonged to the Texas Occupational Therapy Association (TOTA) and the American Society of Hand Therapists. Smith volunteers with Lake Highlands Church and Feed Lake Highlands. She holds a Master of Occupational Therapy from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and a Doctor of Occupational Therapy from Texas Woman’s University.
Lynn Wilde, based in Houston, is a certified occupational therapy assistant with the Harris County Department of Education. She serves on the Lone Star College Advisory Committee for the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program and was formerly part of TOTA. Wilde earned her Associate of Applied Sciences in Occupational Therapy Assistant at Lone Star College – Tomball.
Eddie Jessie, also from Houston, works as an aftercare housing coordinator at The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD Services. He previously co-chaired the Houston Mayor’s Commission on Disabilities, sits on the advisory board for the Texas A&M University Center on Disability and Development, and serves as a committee board member for Volunteers of America. Jessie received his Bachelor of Science in social work and criminal justice along with a Master of Arts in sociology and counseling from Prairie View A&M University.
The Office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott operates out of Austin at the State Insurance Building https://gov.texas.gov/ and delivers services across Texas https://gov.texas.gov/. Since his election in 2014 https://gov.texas.gov/, Governor Abbott has focused on job creation, economic opportunities, education enhancement, protection of individual liberties, parental empowerment in schooling decisions, and southern border security https://gov.texas.gov/. Under his leadership, Texas has led national job growth according to official records https://gov.texas.gov/, while Abbott himself was named among TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in 2024 https://gov.texas.gov/.
