Dr. Lynn Kapitan, PhD, ATR-BC, HLM, is a Professor Emerit and former Director of Graduate and Doctoral Art Therapy at Mount Mary University, Milwaukee, WI (USA), former editor-in-chief of Art Therapy and Past President of the American Art Therapy Association. She has practiced art therapy with children, adolescents, and adults, and in community-based, intercultural settings in the U.S. and Latin America.

Through her expressive arts programs, Nadia Paredes helps people connect with their inner creativity and empower their minds and souls. Nadia founded Nadia Paredes - Creative Studio, a bilingual resource for empowering, healing, and artistic inspiration. With expertise and training as an Art Therapist, Intuition Painting Facilitator, and Licensed Martial and Family Therapist, she creates programs for transformation, creativity, and art-making as a mindfulness practice. Nadia also works in corporate wellness as a speaker and workshop facilitator and is an Adjunct Professor and Art Therapy Supervisor at Loyola Marymount University.

Michael Galarraga, MS, LPC, ATR-BC, CSAC, CSOTP (he/him) is a practicing art therapist and an AATA Board Member. He has previously served on both Virginia and Georgia Art Therapy chapters to promote community engagement projects supporting advocacy for the profession of art therapy. Michael’s work has more recently been centered on advocating for People of Color in the LGBTQIA+ community and Spanish speaking/Latinx individuals in need of therapeutic services. He is the proud owner of Intersection Therapy, LLC, a private practice in Philadelphia, PA and an adjunct professor at Thomas Jefferson University.

Delora Putnam-Bryant is a board-certified art therapist. She has experience with individuals needing treatment for PTSD, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, mood disorders, and dual diagnosis. She received her Master’s of Science degree from Mount Mary University in Art Therapy in 2012. She also had the pleasure of attending undergraduate studies at two historically Black universities, in Jackson, MS, and in Huntsville, AL, where she received a degree in Commercial and Advertising Art. Delora works in private practice in Milwaukee and the surrounding areas. Social justice is an important part of Delora’s work to maintain equality for the individuals she serves.

Susanne Bifano is a Licensed Creative Arts Therapist and Organizational Psychologist committed to advancing equitable mental health practices. She is particularly interested in how organizational structures shape the professional roles and interactions of art therapists. At NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, Susanne provides mental health care to children and young adults with chronic illnesses and delivers evidence-based interventions for healthcare staff facing moral distress.

Her research and presentations span topics such as mental health and urban poverty, integrative therapies for vulnerable populations, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) for pediatric emergency staff, and art therapy for adolescent pain management. She is currently studying integrative medicine techniques for spinal fusion surgery. A recipient of the American Art Therapy Seed Research Award, Susanne is trained in clinical hypnotherapy, EMDR, EFT, and Transcendental Meditation, enriching her holistic therapeutic approach.

Ritu Dua is an art therapist, artist, author and a Shinrin-yoku guide, based in Pune, India. She is passionate about integrating Indian Indigenous and folk-arts with contemporary art therapy practices in a culturally responsive way. Her work spans clinical, educational, and corporate settings, with a focus on nature-based practices, mindfulness and social equity. When not facilitating or writing, she reads, engages in slow-stitching and gardening.

Patricia (Pat) is a Registered, Board-Certified Art Therapist, licensed in New York State. For more than 30 years she directed the MS in Art Therapy program at The College of New Rochelle, New Rochelle, NY, where she developed the research component of the program, among many other initiatives. The college awarded her the title of Professor Emerita. Soon after the college closed in August 2019, due to financial difficulties, she began teaching undergraduate and graduate art therapy at Springfield College, Springfield, MA. She teaches various courses including research. She mentored over 300 master's thesis studies. As an active member of the AATA for the past 30 years, she has served on the Education & Training Board and co-chaired the Task Force for the preparation of Education Standards & Guidelines for our accreditation group, CAAHEP. She is currently a member and previous chair of the Education Committee and Research Committee, previously Associate Editor of the Journal, and previously elected to the AATA Board of Directors. She is a recipient of the AATA Research Award and the Distinguished Service Award. She has presented many papers, workshops, and panels at AATA Annual Conferences, as well as published papers in the Journal. Her mixed media artwork has been accepted into juried exhibits across the USA and internationally.

Bani Malhotra, Ph.D., ATR-BC, is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Virginia Commonwealth University and a lead interventionist for the Resources for Enhancing All Caregivers’ Health- REACH-TBI project, a telehealth intervention study for caregivers of veterans/service members with Traumatic Brain Injury. Bani earned her Ph.D. in Creative Art Therapies from Drexel University. Her research focuses on developing and implementing art therapy interventions for supporting individuals and their families in adjusting to stress, injuries, and chronic health conditions. Additionally, her work examines therapeutic applications of art media and engagement techniques that are accessible and congruent with the lived experiences of participants and communities. She currently serves as a Chair for AATA’s International Shared Interest Group. Bani has worked with diverse communities and her scholarly contributions have resulted in several publications related to injury/ illness adjustment and rehabilitation, and art therapy in diverse settings (www.banim.info/).

Marie Deschamps, PhD, LPC-A, ATR-P (she-her) is an art psychotherapist, researcher, and artist whose work bridges expressive arts, innovation, and healthcare. She is a visiting scholar at The New School University in New York and serves on the leadership committee of Expressive Arts Without Borders. Originally from France and Germany and now based in Houston, Texas, Marie has collaborated internationally across Europe, Latin America, and the United States. She recently earned her PhD in Expressive Therapies from Lesley University, where her dissertation introduced Icanfeel, a digital art-based platform designed to amplify patient voices in oncology and pain medicine. This innovation explores how metaphors, images, and voice recordings can become meaningful health data, opening new pathways for empathy, symptom detection, and patient-centered care.

Marie has shared her work at global forums, including the Latin American Pediatric Oncology Conference in Mexico, the EU4Health Conference in Romania, and MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Collective Soul Symposium. A graduate of the MIT–Harvard Innovation in Healthcare Bootcamp, she is passionate about the ethical use of AI to support healing, resilience, and dignity.

Assist. Prof. Mia Janković Shentser, univ. spec. art. therap. is the co-founder and president of the Croatian Art Therapy Association (HART) and a lecturer in the Art Therapy Program at the Osijek Academy of Art and Culture, Croatia. She holds an MA in Sculpture and Art Education from the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb, and an MA in Art Therapy in the postgraduate specialisation Art Therapy Program at the University of J. J. Strossmayer in Osijek.

Mia is an artist, art educator, art therapist, and certified supervisor with advanced training in trauma-informed approaches, including Somatic Experiencing, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Polyvagal Theory, and the Instinctual Trauma Response method. She has extensive experience working with trauma survivors and a wide range of mental health challenges, including work with Holocaust survivors and the elderly, immigrants, and refugees. Since 2023, she has been involved with trauma and resilience work with war-affected persons.

Her integrative, humanistic, client-centred practice emphasises the mind–body connection and resilience building. She has published articles and research in Croatian and international journals. Mia established and serves as editor-in-chief of the scientific art therapy journal Transfer (www.harterapija.com/transferjournal).

Mia has presented at numerous national and international conferences, including the Conference of the American Art Therapy Association (2018), the Conference of the European Federation of Art Therapy, EFAT (2023, 2025), the Conference of all-Ukrainian Art therapy organisations (2023), and academic institutions such as George Washington University (2018), the Expressive Art Therapy program at Ljubljana University, Slovenia (2023/24), and the Art Therapy Program at the University of J. J. Strossmayer, Croatia (since 2021).

She is a member of HART, EFAT, HDLU, and HZSU.

Rebecca is co-founder of Creative Wellbeing Workshops which provides therapy, supervision, consultation, and training to help individuals and organizations manage stress, reduce burnout, and improve wellbeing. Creative Wellbeing Workshops is a National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) approved continuing education provider in Positive Ethics, Creativity, Art Therapy, and Positive Psychology. CWW has offices in DC and Tucson, AZ. Rebecca is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Licensed, Registered, and Board Certified Art Therapist, and a Certified Trauma Therapist in the Instinctual Trauma Response ®. She completed the 250 hr training as a Certified Psychedelic Therapist with the Integrative Psychiatric Institute (IPI) and Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS/Lykos). Rebecca serves as adjunct faculty at the George Washington University Graduate Art Therapy Program, teaching Positive Psychology and Art Therapy, Art Therapy and Mental Illness, and Supervision.

Rebecca also served as a Wellness Specialist at the internationally renowned Miraval Spa in Arizona and a regularly featured creativity facilitator at the Smith Center for Healing and the Arts for clients affected by life-threatening illnesses and providers working with them. She was a regular trainer for Business Health Services providing professional development and training to private corporations and government agencies in the DMV area and she coordinated the Washington Adventist Hospital Expressive Therapies Department. She was awarded Clinician of the Year by the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) for outstanding contributions to art therapy for adults from diverse cultural backgrounds, her skills as a therapist, and for serving as a model of excellence in service to others. She was instrumental in developing AATA's Institute for Continuing Education and helped the Potomac Art Therapy Association and Smith Center gain NBCC provider status. She served as President of the Arizona Art Therapy Association. Rebecca's focus has been on crisis stabilization and it is through this work both personally and professionally that she has developed an appreciation for the power of the human spirit to prevail even in the darkest moments.

Specialties: trauma resolution, art therapy, psychedelic facilitation and integration, improving well-being, creativity, end-of-life issues, crisis stabilization, stress management, burnout prevention, substance abuse, codependency, affect regulation, group presentation, positive psychology, individual psychotherapy, ethics.

Alyssa Gursky, MA, LPC. Alyssa is a Psychedelic Assisted Art Therapist. They are currently a study therapist & research associate at the Portland VA Social Neuroscience and Psychotherapy Lab working on MDMA Assisted Group Therapy for Transgender and Gender Diverse Veterans. They have trained with Polaris Insight Center and Ketamine Training Institute for Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy. They hold 2 degrees from Naropa University, focusing on Transpersonal Psychology & Transpersonal Art Therapy. They are a Clinical Skills Practice Group Leader at Naropa University. They offer education on Psychedelic Healing & The Creative Process at various training institutions, including Alchemy Community Therapy Center & Tam Integration’s Coaching Program.

Simone Alter Muri, ATR-BC, ATCS, LMHC, is the Director and Founder of the Art Therapy/Counseling and Art Education programs at Springfield College, where she serves as a Professor of Art Therapy. She holds a Doctorate in Creative Behavior and Child Development and a Master’s degree in Art Therapy. An exhibiting artist, her work spans glass art reflecting the plight of refugees, installations exploring barcodes and Holocaust memory, and plein air paintings. Her recent sculptural installation invites contemplation of the Ukrainian/Russian conflict. Simone was the 2021 recipient of the Outstanding Applied Creative Practice in Art Therapy Award from AATA. Her current research focuses on tattoos and healing. Widely published, she is recognized for her work on the body as canvas, children’s art development, art in times of war and political trauma, and postmodern approaches in art therapy.

Anushree Bhargava is a distinguished multidisciplinary artist, art therapist, and author whose diverse expertise spans visual arts, media, film, tattooing, production design, fashion, and graphics. Driven by a passion for the therapeutic potential of art, she earned her Master of Fine Arts in Art Therapy from MIT ADT University, Pune. With a career marked by extensive work in mental health settings, including hospitals, rehabilitation centers, schools, and community spaces, Anushree has also forged impactful collaborations with Rapid Action Force officials. By seamlessly integrating tattooing and art therapy, she offers a distinctive platform for self-expression, healing, and personal growth. Through bespoke tattoos designed in collaboration with her clients, Anushree empowers individuals with lasting symbols of strength and resilience, cultivating enduring mental well-being and positivity

Shirin Mazdeyasna, MA, ATR-BC, LCAT is an Iranian artist, a board certified and registered Licensed Creative Arts Therapist. As a certified rape crisis counselor, she offers trauma therapy to survivors of crime and prolonged abuse in the Upper Hudson Valley, NY. Shirin received her MA in Art Therapy from New York University (2021) and has subsequently been trained in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, EMDR, and is IFS informed. Her work with Iranian women on sexuality under the influences of social, cultural, and family impacts through the sensible approach of art therapy was published in the Art Therapy Journal of the American Art Therapy Association in 2023.

Sandy Mildenberg has a Bachelor’s of Fine Art in Communications Design and a Masters of Professional Studies in Art Therapy and Creativity Development from Pratt Institute. She is an art therapist at the Child Advocacy Center of Columbia-Greene Counties in Hudson, NY. She works in collaboration with a diverse MDT to support children, teens, adults, and families who have been impacted by trauma. She is trained in EMDR. Ultimately, Sandy hopes to shift her focus and dig deeper into the impact of art therapy as a supportive tool for women experiencing fertility struggles.

Alison Fox, MFA, MA is an artist and art therapist, provisional, living and working in Upper Hudson Valley, NY. Alison has experience teaching and working clinically with people across the lifespan. She has been trained in trauma informed yoga and sandtray. Alison sits on the board of Free Columbia. She received her MA in Art Therapy from Syracuse University.

Renielle Yankana-Tracey is the Program Director at the Child Advocacy Center of Columbia and Greene Counties. Renielle is also the Safe Harbour Coordinator for both Columbia and Greene County since 2019 working with survivors of sexual exploitation and trafficking and at-risk youths. She received her MS in Counseling with a Concentration in Applied Behavior Analysis and has been an avid advocate for children of abuse, neglect, and exploitation with the CAC since 2019 and prior to, worked with young children in the school setting and beyond.

Alison Sanzi is an investigator with the New York State Police specializing in crimes against children. Investigator Sanzi became a member of the New York State Police in 2016 as a New York State Trooper and was promoted to Investigator in the Bureau of Criminal Investigations in 2021. As an investigator, she has received training on child forensic interviewing and conducts the interviews as part of the investigative process at the Columbia County Child Advocacy Center.  

Bani Malhotra, Ph.D., ATR-BC, is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Virginia Commonwealth University and a lead interventionist for the Resources for Enhancing All Caregivers’ Health- REACH-TBI project, a telehealth intervention study for caregivers of veterans/service members with Traumatic Brain Injury. Bani earned her Ph.D. in Creative Art Therapies from Drexel University. Her research focuses on developing and implementing art therapy interventions for supporting individuals and their families in adjusting to stress, injuries, and chronic health conditions. Additionally, her work examines therapeutic applications of art media and engagement techniques that are accessible and congruent with the lived experiences of participants and communities. She currently serves as a Chair for AATA’s International Shared Interest Group. Bani has worked with diverse communities and her scholarly contributions have resulted in several publications related to injury/ illness adjustment and rehabilitation, and art therapy in diverse settings (www.banim.info/).

Susan Ainlay Anand, MA, ATR-BC, ATCS, LPAT, LMFT, is a graduate of New York University and has worked with children and adults in inpatient and outpatient settings since 1982. She served on faculty in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Mississippi Medical Center from 1987-2025 and is a faculty member and supervisor in the MFA in Art Therapy Program, School of Fine Arts, MIT-ADT University in Pune, India. Susan facilitates art therapy groups at the Mississippi Museum of Art (https://www.msmuseumart.org) in Jackson, including The Creative Healing Studio, Art in Mind I and II, and the Art Thrive Collective. She has presented and published accounts of her work in journals and books and authored and co-edited the book The Legacy of Edith Kramer: A Multifaceted View. Susan has served as a board member and treasurer for the Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATCB) and as a member of committees and the Board of Directors for the American Art Therapy Association (AATA). She frequently volunteers for community projects that use art-making for healing and wellness and has conducted workshops or presented at conferences across the U.S. and other countries.

Grayston Barron “Gray” attended Millsaps College in Jackson, MS where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art and Art History with a concentration in Museum Studies. For the past eight years, she’s been working in museum education. She is currently the Manager of Interpretation at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum where she works to make exhibitions more visitor-centered, accessible, and meaningful. In her previous role at the Mississippi Museum of Art, she also oversaw two art therapy programs with art therapist Susan Anand. Art in Mind is a program for people experiencing Alzheimer’s or related dementias, and their care partners. ArtThrive Collective is a program for adults who want to focus on wellness. In both programs, they utilized a combination of VTS and art therapy techniques to create opportunities for connection, self-expression, and wellbeing.

Monica Carpendale, BFA, DVATI, RCAT, BCATR, HLM, is the founder and professor emeritus of the Kutenai Art Therapy Institute in Nelson, BC, Canada. She has over 40 years of experience in education, art therapy, and supervision. Her books are Essence and Praxis in the Art Therapy Studio (2009); A Travelers Guide to Art Therapy Supervision (2011); A Geography of Dreamwork and Art Therapy (2021); A Magpie’s Nest: Arts-based Supervision (2023). She co-edited Walking With: an emerging dialogue with art therapists in the cultural commons (2023). She has also designed 9 therapeutic board games, now going digital, and produced three art therapy documentaries. Monica invented and co-designed nine Blue Heron Therapeutic Board Games, and she has produced three art therapy documentary films. Most recently, she has presented on the art of art therapy supervision focusing on self-care and self-compassion in Belfast, Ireland and at the EFAT Conference in London, UK. Monica has been writing a book with Will Parker on their dialogue and work together entitled ‘The Golden Salamander: Environmental Education and Art Therapy” its expected publication date is September 2025. Monica and Will have also been engaged in “Waking up the Park” - giving a new lease of life to the Vallican Eco Sculpture Park.

William Crow Parker, BA, MES. Expressive arts coach. Will is a faculty member of the Kutenai Art Therapy Institute working on the research committee as an advisor and reader. He worked with Monica on developing a course on Land-based healing, eco art therapy, and ecological identity. Will has worked with children and youth in local schools and on reserve with various therapeutic arts and environment education citizenship groups and workshops. He has provided training in environmental education and creativity to childcare workers, teachers, and art therapists.

Will is a poet, artist, and stone synthesizer - building stone walls and co-creating spaces in the relationship to the environment. As a member of the Vallican Whole Community Centre RARTS board, he has been instrumental in the development of the Sculpture Park. Will is very involved in community being a longstanding board member of the Dumont Creek Burial society, digging graves and overseeing burials for 20 years.

Will has been writing a book with Monica Carpendale on their dialogue and work together entitled ‘The Golden Salamander: Environmental Education and Art Therapy” its expected publication date is September 2025. Will and Monica have also been engaged in “Waking up the Park” - giving a new lease of life to the Vallican Eco Sculpture Park.