Dr. Beth Velde is the Director of the Engagement Outreach Scholars Academy (EOSA), Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy and Assistant Dean in the College of Allied Health Sciences at East Carolina University.

She holds a baccalaureate degree in zoology, masters degrees in recreation and park administration and occupational therapy, and a PhD in Educational Psychology.

Her research interests include culture and community engagement and community quality of life. For 12 years she has partnered with the community of Tillery and with the Caswell Center. Her work appears in occupational therapy, educational and allied health journals and she is the author of six books. She serves on the Council on Engagement and Outreach and the Transformative Regional Engagement Partnering Roadmaps Toolkit work groups affiliated with the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities.

In her role as Director of EOSA, Velde developed and implemented a 5 year fundraising plan for community engagement plan as part of a strategic plan for public service at ECU. These plans have been essential as ECU goes through the SACS Reaffirmation and the Baldridge review processes. The integration of fundraising into integrated planning created a research project on the role of community partners in marketing ECU's public service endeavors.