Stephanie Cheng

Stephanie Cheng, MD is a palliative care physician with a longstanding commitment to integrative medicine. She currently works at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, providing supportive care for patients with cancer. Dr. Cheng has a special interest in holistic management of symptoms and improving quality of life through integrative approaches, especially by considering psychosocial and spiritual aspects of wellness. She also serves as one of the principal investigators for a pilot study evaluating innovative group medical visits pairing psycho-oncology and integrative palliative care for patients with advanced cancer. With colleagues at the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, she also studies integrative approaches to treating common cancer-related symptoms. Dr. Cheng completed a chaplaincy certificate program through the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies and a two-year training through Spirit Rock Insight Meditation Center and the Metta Institute focused on incorporating contemplative practice, mindfulness, and compassion into one’s personal and professional life. Dr. Cheng has a background in anthropology, earned her medical degree at Oregon Health & Science University, then completed a family medicine residency at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in hospice and palliative medicine, with an integrative medicine focus, at George Washington University.

Kofi Essel

Kofi D. Essel, MD, MPH, FAAP, is a community pediatrician at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, and the Director of the George Washington University School of Medicine’s Culinary Medicine Program, the Community/Urban Health Scholarly Concentration, and the Clinical Public Health Summit on Obesity. Dr. Essel has dedicated his career to advocacy and research around healthcare training, health disparities, and community engagement, with expertise and national recognition in addressing obesity and food insecurity in families. He was nationally recognized by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation for helping to create an innovative curriculum to enhance pediatric resident trainee skills in obesity management. He also co-authored a national toolkit for pediatric providers to screen and intervene for food insecurity with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Food Research & Action Center. He is the Principal Investigator of a large multidisciplinary population health initiative that aims to strengthen community-clinical ties to address diet related chronic diseases in marginalized settings in Washington, D.C. Dr. Essel earned a BS from Emory University, Medical Degree and Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology from GWU. He completed pediatric residency and General Academic Pediatric fellowship training at Children’s National Hospital.

Renee Fleming

Renée Fleming is one of the most acclaimed singers of our time, performing on the stages of the world’s greatest opera houses and concert halls. Honored with four Grammy® awards and the US National Medal of Arts, Renée has sung for momentous occasions from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to the Diamond Jubilee for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. In 2014, Renée became the first classical artist ever to sing The Star-Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl. Renée has given presentations with scientists and practitioners around the world on the connection of arts and health, earning Research!America’s Rosenfeld Award for Impact on Public Opinion. In 2020, she launched Music and Mind LIVE, a weekly web series exploring the intersection of music and arts with human health and the brain, amassing nearly 700,000 views from 70 countries. The series was inspired by the Sound Health initiative she leads as Artistic Advisor to the Kennedy Center, in partnership with the NIH and the NEA. She is a Founding Advisor for the Sound Health Network at UCSF and Co-Chair of the Johns Hopkins/Aspen Institute NeuroArts Blueprint. In August 2021, she launched Healing Breath, a collaboration with Google Arts and Culture and the Kennedy Center, in which world-renowned vocalists share their breathing exercises to help people in recovery from COVID-19. Renée’s other awards include the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal, Germany’s Cross of the Order of Merit, and France’s Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur. www.reneefleming.com

Paula Gardiner

Paula Gardiner, MD is an Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Gardiner conducts patient-oriented research regarding chronic pain and evidence-based integrative medicine access in low-income patients. Her current research is focused on the adaptive role of an Integrative Medicine Group Visit (IMGV) combining mindfulness-based stress reduction and a medical group visit to support health behavior change and reducing pain and stress.

Aviad Haramati

Aviad “Adi” Haramati, PhD, is an award-winning physiologist and medical educator. He is Professor of Integrative Physiology, Director of the Center for Innovation and Leadership in Education (CENTILE), and co-director of the graduate program in Integrative Medicine & Health Sciences at Georgetown University Medical Center, in Washington, DC. Dr. Haramati teaches mindful practices to medical students, residents and faculty to foster professional identity formation and well-being. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of American Medical Colleges and has been a visiting professor at over 100 medical schools worldwide

Rogier Hoenders

Rogier Hoenders is an integrative psychiatrist and head of research and clinical affairs of the center for integrative psychiatry (CIP). He initiated and directs the Lentis lifestyle program and supervised the implementation of mindfulness, compassion training and yoga in the CIP. He obtained his PhD in integrative psychiatry from Groningen University. Rogier is PI of several clinical trails on Yoga, Mindfulness and Lifestyle change. Rogier is co-founder and chair of the Dutch Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health. As a world expert Rogier works with WHO and the presidents of other national Consortia for TCIM on the integration of medicines.

Christine Kaiser

Christine Kaiser, DACM, LAc, FABORM, Dipl. OM (NCCAOM) serves as the Clinical Manager of Acupuncture and Quality at University Hospitals Connor Whole Health. She leads a team of six acupuncturists who provide care across the hospital system from outpatient facilities to inpatient care, as well as supporting acupuncture research. She is a Licensed Acupuncturist, Chinese Herbalist, and Fellow of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine (FABORM). She specializes in women's health and brings Integrative Medicine to the University Hospitals Fertility Center. Christine also serves as President of the Ohio Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and is the Ohio state representative for the American Society of Acupuncturists, and she enjoys advocating for policy changes on the state and national level. She played a key role in Ohio Medicaid adding and expanding coverage for acupuncture services.

Gunver Kienle

Dr Gunver Sophia Kienle studied medicine in Witten-Herdecke and Göttingen, Germany and received methodological training at Harvard, USA. She is co-founder of and senior research scientist at the Institute for Applied Epistemology and Medical Methodology at the University of Witten-Herdecke, Freiburg, Germany. She is also senior scientist at the University Centre for Complementary Medicine, University of Freiburg. Her research interests and activities include clinical trials in integrative medicine and cancer care, mistletoe therapy, eurythmy therapy and Tai Chi, therapeutic nursing applications, telemedicine, placebo effects, in single-case study designs, case reporting, cognition-based medicine, clinical research methodology, guideline development, clinical judgement, in systematic reviews on pre-clinical and clinical studies on mistletoe therapy, and reviews on tumor biology, tumor immunology, bacterial vaccine therapy, and system approaches in medicine. Dr Kienle has conducted a health technology assessment report on Anthroposophic Medicine. She is vice chair of the Commission C for Anthroposophic Medicinal Products at the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, in Bonn, Germany, a member of the German Network Evidence-based Medicine and the Society for Integrative Oncology. Dr Kienle has published five books and ca 180 papers, articles, book chapters and monographs.

Mary Jo Kreitzer

Mary Jo Kreitzer PhD, RN, FAAN is the founder and director of the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing at the University of Minnesota where she also serves as a tenured professor in the School of Nursing. Within the School of Nursing, Dr. Kreitzer is the coordinator of the doctorate of nursing practice (DNP) specialty in integrative health and healing. She has served as the principal investigator or co-principal investigator of numerous clinical trials focusing on mindfulness meditation with persons with chronic disease including studies focusing on solid organ transplant, cardiovascular disease, chronic insomnia, diabetes, and caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Recent studies include the use of social technology to enhance healing and wellbeing and the impact of mindfulness on brain-computer interface performance. Dr. Kreitzer has authored over 150 publications and is the co-editor of the text Integrative Nursing 2nd Edition published in 2018 by Oxford University Press. She earned her doctoral degree in public health focused on health services research, policy and administration, and her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in nursing. In 2020, Dr. Kreitzer was named as one of the 100 most influential health care leaders in Minnesota by MN Physician, became a distinguished policy fellow in the National Academies of Practice and was inducted as a Fellow Ad Eundem of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Rue Mapp

Rue Mapp is the Founder and CEO of Outdoor Afro, a national not-for-profit organization with offices in Oakland, CA, and Washington, D.C. Rue oversees a carefully selected and trained national volunteer leadership team of more than 100 people who represent 56 cities around the US, and shares opportunities to build a broader community and leadership in nature. Her important work has generated widespread national recognition and support. Since Outdoor Afro's inception in 2009 as a blog, Rue has captured the attention and support of millions through a multimedia approach that is grounded in personal connections and community organizing. From its grassroots beginning, Outdoor Afro now enjoys national sponsorship and is recognized by major organizations. Mapp remains in high demand to speak around the country about her innovative approach that has successfully connected thousands of Black Americans to nature. In 2020, Outdoor Afro was chosen to be highlighted and visited by Oprah on her 2020 Vision Tour. A graduate of UC Berkeley (with a Degree in Art History), Rue's skills and background make her a unique voice via the leadership and programs she has instituted through her career, enlightening a diverse community to the wonders and benefits of the outdoors. Visit www.ruemapp.com.

Michelle Morse

Dr. Michelle Morse serves as the Deputy Commissioner for the Center for Health Equity and Community Wellness (CHECW) and inaugural Chief Medical Officer at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYCDOHMH). Dr. Morse is responsible for leading the agencyfs work in bridging public health and health care to reduce health inequities, guiding CHECWfs place-based and cross-cutting health equity programs, and serving as a key liaison to clinicians and clinical leaders across New York City. Dr. Morse is an internal medicine and public health doctor who works to achieve health equity through global solidarity, social medicine and anti-racism education, and activism. She is a general internal medicine physician, part-time hospitalist at Kings County Hospital, Co-Founder of EqualHealth, and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. EqualHealth builds critical consciousness and collective action globally, in the pursuit of health equity for all. In 2015 Dr. Morse worked with several EqualHealth partners to found the Social Medicine Consortium (SMC), a global coalition which uses activism and disruptive pedagogy rooted in social medicine to advance health justice. She served as Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Partners In Health (PIH) from 2013 to 2016 and now serves on the Board of Directors of PIH. In 2018, Dr. Morse was awarded a Soros Equality Fellowship to launch EqualHealth and the SMCfs global Campaign Against Racism. From September 2019 to January 2021, she served as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy fellow in Washington, DC and worked with the Ways and Means Committee, Majority Staff, in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Sabrina N'Diaye

Therapist ~ Storyteller ~ Peacebuilder Dr. Sabrina N’Diaye began her career as a Social Worker in the New York City foster care system, where she served as a therapist in a residential treatment/educational facility. Over the years, she has served underserved populations in public schools, community mental health, and addictions programs. She is currently an integrative psychotherapist and founder of the Heart Nest Center for Peace and Healing in Baltimore, Maryland. There, she lovingly serves women, couples, other healers, and small groups. Her approach to healing is a blend of wisdom, science, and ancient spiritual practices. Sabrina received her PhD in Mind-Body Medicine from Saybrook University, where she studied the use of complementary and alternative interventions for physical, emotional, and spiritual growth. Her dissertation study focused on the use of guided imagery as a healing tool for African-American women with chronic STIs. Since completing her doctorate, she has developed curriculum and served as adjunct faculty for the Maryland University of Integrative Health and Saybrook University. She is a proud senior faculty member of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, where she teaches the art of self-care to healthcare professionals around the globe. As Center faculty, she has responded to community trauma in Las Vegas, Houston, the Pine Ridge Reservation, New York City, and Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. She is currently serving the Center as a teacher and guide for healthcare professionals in Jordan, East Africa, and Central Asia. Seven years ago, she became a student of Sidi Muhammad al-Jamal, a healer and peacebuilder in Jerusalem. Sabrina has committed her live to continuing the sacred Sufi teachings of peace, love, justice, mercy, and freedom. Dr. Sabrina is a highly-respected member of the treatment community, and frequently lectures on cultural diversity, spirituality, stress management, self-care for healers, addictions, and the “magic” of connection. Her many audiences include police departments (including Baltimore City, MPD, and NYPD), flight attendants, healing artists, peacebuilders, and aspiring writers. She is passionate about her work as a mentor for mental health professionals across the country, serving them in their desire to make a living while serving humanity. She is currently completing her first book, The Laugh of Love, based on her maternal grandmother’s ability to transcend multiple traumas and chronic illness. Dr. Sabrina is a devoted wife, mother, daughter, and life-long learner, who remains humbled by the healing power of compassion, love and forgiveness.

Sheri Robb

Sheri L. Robb, PhD, MT-BC is an Indiana University School of Nursing professor with international recognition for her expertise in pediatric music therapy and behavioral intervention research. She is a member of the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, and serves as Director for the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (I-CTSI) Early Career Investigator Program. Dr. Robb is a board-certified music therapist with degrees in music therapy and early childhood special education. She also completed a post-doctoral fellowship in behavioral oncology and cancer control at Indiana University, followed by a training award in clinical and translational research from the I-CTSI. Dr. Robb’s program of research focuses on development and testing of music interventions to manage distress and improve positive health outcomes in children and adolescents with cancer and their caregivers. Most recently, her team has begun incorporation of biomarkers to understand more fully how active music interventions work to mitigate cancer-related stress and its potential to improve immune function. Dr. Robb is an established investigator with fifteen years of continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health. She also led publication of Reporting Guidelines for Music-based Interventions to address calls for more transparent and accurate reporting in music intervention research.

Zindel Segal

Zindel Segal, PhD, is Distinguished Professor of Psychology in Mood Disorders at the University of Toronto Scarborough. An award winning clinical psychologist and continuously funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health, his program of research characterized psychological markers of relapse vulnerability in affective disorder which, in turn, provided an empirical rationale for offering training in mindfulness meditation to recurrently depressed patients in recovery. An author of over 10 books and 180 scientific publications, including The Mindful Way Through Depression – a patient guide for achieving mood balance in everyday life – Dr. Segal continues to advocate for the relevance of mindfulness-based clinical care in psychiatry and mental health.

Jon Wardle

Professor Jon Wardle, BHSc (Nat), MHlthMedLaw, MPH, PhD, is Foundation Director of the National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM) and Maurice Blackmore Chair of Naturopathic Medicine, Southern Cross University. He has qualifications in nursing and naturopathic medicine, public health, law and health economics and holds visiting positions at Boston University, University of Washington and University of Oxford. With more than 200 academic publications, Jon is a highly accomplished researcher. He works on the editorial board of eight peer-reviewed international academic medical research journals, including as Editor-in-Chief of Advances in Integrative Medicine. He is actively involved in research and policy in public health and integrative medicine.

Shannon Zenk

Shannon N. Zenk, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN is Director of the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). She joined NINR in September 2020, following a 14-year career as a faculty member at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) College of Nursing and Institute for Health Research and Policy. Her background is in nursing and public health. Dr. Zenk’s own research focuses on community environments as a social determinant of health and health inequities. She and her team conducted pioneering research on food deserts in the United States. Dr. Zenk was inducted into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame in 2019.