Heather Van Diest, MPH, LCSW

Clinical Biography

Heather Van Diest, MPH, MSSW, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker in the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease, a clinical partnership between UT Health Austin and Dell Children’s Medical Center. She is also a part of UT Health Austin's Integrated Behavioral Health care team. She provides and oversees clinical social work activities to ensure high-quality services are delivered to patients with congenital heart disease and their families. Additionally, Heather Van Diest is an assistant professor of practice in the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin.

Heather Van Diest earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Suffolk University. She earned her master’s degree in social work from The University of Texas at Austin and her second master’s in public health from The University of Texas Health Science Center. She has extensive experience working with children and families at some of the leading pediatric hospitals in the nation, including Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital.

Heather Van Diest also participates in and leads research, program development initiatives, and quality improvement projects to help redesign the way care is delivered to patients with congenital heart disease and their families. She has been involved in the Dell Medical School Department of Health Social Work’s COVID-19 response efforts. She is also a member of the National Association of Social Workers and the Society for Social Work Leadership in Healthcare.

Heather Van Diest is a clinical social worker with UT Health Austin.