Emilia has been an occupational therapist for 14 years. Her clinical experience ranges from acute care to skilled nursing, outpatient, community-based intervention, rehabilitation, and more. She has also worked academically as adjunct faculty at Texas Woman’s University Master of Occupational Therapy program, where she taught advanced clinical reasoning and hands-on clinical skills. Emilia is the CEO and founder of Higher Standards Caregiver Training, which provides practical care training to family and non-medical caregivers locally, nationally, and internationally. Emilia is the creator of the DEFFT care tool, which was developed specifically for the use of lay-people providing daily care for people with dementia. Emilia has spoken professionally on dementia care, fall prevention, and improving function through environment, is a board member of the Dallas Area Gerontological Society, a clinical board advisor to Rosarium Health, and has been academically published for her post-graduate research.