Hispanic Heritage Month Profile

By Office of Communications & Marketing | Sep 21, 2022

Brigitte C. Desport, DPS, OTR/L, BCP, ATP is Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Associate Professor for the School of Health Professions.

Her professional research interests focus on the transition process of infants and their families from the neonatal ICU (NICU) to home-based services. Dr. Desport’s professional specialties are in early intervention and pediatrics, with a concentration in high-risk infants.

Dr. Desport is the PI of an academic partnership with the NYCDOHMH Bureau of Early Intervention. In addition, she was appointed as a board member of the Early Intervention Coordinating Council by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and a member of the AOTA Board of Directors. 

Dr. Desport is AfroLatinx, and her parents are from Cuba and Panama. This rich culture inspires her to give back to the children and families of Upper Manhattan.

Dr. Desport dedicates her time to Downstate’s At-Risk Follow-up clinic in Brooklyn by monitoring the development of babies who graduated from the NICU and supporting their families. Dr. Desport and her mentee founded the NYS chapter of the National Perinatal Association Student Society (NPASS). She remains the faculty advisor of NPASS. She is board certified in pediatrics from the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), a certified Assistive Technology Professional, and a board-certified Telepractice Specialist.

Another one of her priorities is preparing students to be culturally intelligent when providing services to oppressed and underserved communities. She is the campus representative of the SUNY Interprofessional Consortium. This initiative brings together interprofessional teams and students to model best practices in clinical care. She also takes great pride as a faculty advisor for the Black Students of Excellence (BSE).

Since joining SUNY Downstate in 2014, she has chaired the Organizational Culture and Transformational Working Committee for Downstate’s Strategic Plan Impact 2025—now IMPACT 2030. Dr. Desport was a University Faculty Senator and served as the Health Sciences Sector representative. Recently, Dr. Desport became a New York State Student Success Center coach for SUNY campuses.

Dr. Desport obtained a BS in Health Sciences and an MS in Occupational Therapy from Touro College School of Health Sciences, a MA in Communication Arts from New York Institute of Technology, and a DPS in Occupational Therapy from New York University.

We salute Dr. Desport with a special profile during National Hispanic Heritage Month.