Sandy Willett, PhD, is a board-certified specialist in pediatric physical therapy with over 35 years experience in clinical, academic, and research settings. She teaches pediatric content, evidence-based practice/research principles, and Practice/Management/Interprofessional education content in the Physical Therapy Program at CMU. Willett believes that learning, regardless of your age or stage of development, is an inherently reciprocal process that invites curiosity, fosters exploration and scaffolds intellectual humility. A member of the national START-Play and NICU Supporting Transitions by Enhancing Parent Support from Hospital to Home research consortiums, her research interests are focused on the impact of early intervention on infant development and on healthy parent/child relationships.
Willett has practiced as a pediatric physical therapist for over 35 years with focused expertise in infants from birth to three (NICU, early intervention and NICU/Developmental Follow-up Clinics). She served as the Director of an Accredited Pediatric Residency Program at Munroe-Meyer Institute/UNMC for 9 years and the Director of the Physical Therapy Department at MMI/UNMC for eight years. In this latter role, she led a talented team of 22 individuals in a four-pronged mission: education, clinical excellence, research and community engagement endeavors. Willett founded the GoBabyGo! NE! Chapter, an organization that modifies and provides ride-on cars to children with mobility impairments. The MMI chapter received over $200,000 dollars in philanthropic and grant support since its inception in 2016.
Willett believes in meeting each student where they are and challenging them to embrace the topic as it relates to their interests and future pursuits. She believes that learning should be interactive, in and through action; that said, she also believes it is developmental and that each student 'grows' at a different rate. As such, teaching is both a personal challenge and passion since it has to embody both adaptability and resiliency at the highest level!
Willett, and her husband Gib, are new to Colorado having spent the majority of their adult lives in the flatlands of Nebraska. A mom to three wonderful adult children, she loves baking, trying new recipes, gardening, hiking and spoiling her schnauzer, Peppa.