Cathy Malchiodi

Cathy A. Malchiodi, PhD, ATR-BC, LPCC, LPAT, REAT, holds a doctorate in Psychology with a specialization in research and health psychology, and is a clinical mental health counselor, expressive arts therapist, and art therapist who has spent over 30 years working with individuals with traumatic stress and studying how the arts support reparation, integration and recovery from trauma. She is the originator of Somatosensory Psychotherapy® and Trauma-Informed Expressive Arts Therapy® and is the founder and executive director of the Trauma-Informed Practices and Expressive Arts Therapy Institute that trains mental health and health care practitioners in medical, educational, and community settings and assists in disaster relief and humanitarian efforts throughout the world.

Cathy has given more than 550 invited presentations in the US, Canada, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia and has published numerous articles, chapters, and more than 20 books, including Trauma and Expressive Arts Therapy: Brain, Body and Imagination in the Healing Process, Understanding Children’s Drawings, Handbook of Art Therapy, Creative Arts and Play Therapy for Attachment Problems, and Creative Interventions with Traumatized Children. She has received numerous awards for distinguished service, clinical contributions and lifetime achievements, including honors from the Kennedy Center and Very Special Arts in Washington, DC. A passionate advocate for the role of the arts in health, she is a contributing writer for Psychology Today Online with more than 5.8 million readers and a visual artist and occasional ukulele and hulusi musician.

Eric Gibbons

Gibbons is a highly qualified, award winning, Nationally Board Certified art teacher, with over 30+ years experience and a second certification in elementary education. He is also a published author, speaker, publisher, award winning inventor, and gallery owner with more than 20 years experience. His novel intercurricular, choice-based, STEM/STEAM approach to art education. With work in the Obama White House collection, nearly 75 books to his credit, and experience teaching in Japan, Egypt, and the United States, Eric Gibbons will provide dynamic workshops to improve school and student performance.

In 2015, Gibbons was awarded “The 2015 High School Division Award” by the Executive Board of Art Educators of New Jersey, recognizing him for his art education excellence.

Dr. Alice Christ – University of Kentucky

Alice Christ received her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in a field called “Early Medieval Art: 44 B.C.-A.D. 1000.” She teaches courses in the arts of those periods in Europe, with interests extending backward to prehistory and the ancient near east. Her approach to studying art before the Art Museum is anthropological and social, emphasizing the role of art in constructing value and the power of art history as a tool for the diagnosis of social values sometimes very different from our own. Her special field of research is Late Roman and Early Christian art. She has also published on Russian Icon-painting, both of the Muscovite period and in the nineteenth century.

Dr. Ilona Szekely- Eastern Kentucky University

For more than two decades, Dr. Ilona Szekely has shared her love of art with others. A career in art education has enabled her to communicate her enthusiasm in varied settings. She has published numerous articles, held art exhibitions, and participated in invited lectures throughout the U.S. and abroad. Her favorite experiences have been traveling with students throughout the United States, Spain and Italy. Ilona holds a BA from the University of Kentucky, an M.A from Teachers College Columbia in New York City and a Ph.D. from the department of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation at the University of Kentucky. Currently, she teaches Art Education, and Art Appreciation at Eastern Kentucky University, and is the President of the Kentucky Art Education Association. She lives and makes art in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband and fourteen-year-old daughter Emilie.