Esther B. Hess, PhD,is a developmental psychologist and executive director of a multidisciplinary treatment facility in Los Angeles, CA, Center for the Developing Mind. Dr. Hess specializes in the treatment of developmental/regulatory disorders. In addition to being a national and international speaker on ASD, Dr. Hess has also authored DIR/Floor Time: A Developmental/Relational Play Therapy Approach for Treating Children Impacted by Autism in Play-Based Interventions for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders,www.centerforthedevelopingmind.com
Mary E. Knysh is the founder of Rhythmic Connections, which advances education, health, and creative development through music improvisation. She is a workshop facilitator and trainer, creativity, leadership and communications consultant, professional musician, and author. Mary presents at conferences around the world. An international teacher/trainer with the Music for People organization, she is also an Orff Schulwerk clinician and teaching artist for the PA Council of the Arts, Young Audiences of NJ, and NY BOCES.
Peggy Kolodny, MA, ATR-BC, LCPAT, earned her Master’s in Art Therapy from GWU. Specializing in trauma-focused art therapy with certificates in EMDR and in IFS, she is founder of The Art Therapy Collective. She is adjunct faculty for University of Maryland School of Social Work and the professional trauma-training faculty of the Ferentz Institute. Past positions include Vice President of the Maryland Chapter of American Professional Society on Abuse of Children; Chairperson of Central Maryland Sexual Abuse Treatment Task Force; President of Maryland Art Therapy Association. Peggy recently published chapters in Art Therapy in the Treatment of Addictions and Trauma (2020).
Charlotte Reznick, PhD, is author of The Power of Your Child's Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success and contributing author of the chapter "Imagery as a Therapeutic Tool with Children" in Transformative Imagery: Cultivating Imagination for Healing, Change and Growth. She is a child educational psychologist and a former UCLA assoc. psychology professor. Charlotte has a 30-year meditation practice, and is the creator of Imagery For Kids: Breakthrough for Learning, Creativity, and Empowerment. She creates therapeutic meditation CDs, blogs for Psychology Today and Huffington Post, and teaches workshops on the healing power of children's imagination.
is a board-certified and licensed art therapist. She is Associate Director with the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition: Art-Assisted Grief Therapy. Her art therapy private practice and national presentations focus on grief, suicide bereavement, and military families suffering traumatic loss. Sharon’s experiential workshops for survivors and professionals involve creative processes that highlight meaning reconstruction and continuing bonds work with the deceased. She is author of Artful Grief: A Diary of Healing and co-founder of the Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation for Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention.