Dianne has a BA in art from Virginia Tech and began her career working in the development of instructional materials for nursing and medical education. She returned to school to earn a Masters degree in occupational therapy (OT) from VCU. She worked for twelve years in mental health OT in psychiatric, chemical dependency and juvenile correctional facilities. In all of these settings she used expressive arts to help clients identify and learn to address personal challenges in their lives.
She earned her PhD in instructional technology at UVA. She taught OT Theory, Activities, and Psychosocial courses, oversaw admissions and was the director of the Masters of OT and the OT Doctorate programs for 26 years. She retired in 2020. As a result of her role as a capstone advisor Dianne chose to train as an Opening Minds Through Art (OMA) facilitator and then later as a facilitator trainer.