As a UF student Lauren studied psychology, but a lifelong love of dance brought her to UF Health Arts in Medicine. There she discovered how the arts could bridge the gap between what is medically and spiritually needed in times of illness. In 1999 she began working for AIM as an Artist in Residence/Coordinator. She completed the UF Center for Arts in Medicine Dance in Healthcare Certificate and went on to become a registered nurse. Using her dual education, she helped form a unique employment model wherein she serves as a clinical resource for AIM and manages the integrative therapies team.

In her spare time, Lauren enjoys taking pictures, spending time in nature, and making memories with her family.

Contact:

arcelb@shands.ufl.edu

Rachel Carrico (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Dance Studies in the School of Theatre + Dance. She is currently preparing a book manuscript tentatively titled Footwork! Dancing Politics and Pleasure at the New Orleans Second Line. It explores second lining, an improvisational dance form that, for more than a century, has carried people of African descent through the streets of New Orleans. Weekly second line parades contribute to community health in many ways, not only inviting physical exercise, but also building intergenerational networks of care and security, providing venues for spiritual connection, and wresting control of city streets from structural forces of dispossession. An emerging area of Carrico's research concerns disaster and the body. This research grows from her experiences with bodily performance in post-Katrina New Orleans but has taken sharper focus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Carrico holds a Ph.D. in Critical Dance Studies from the University of California–Riverside, an M.A. in Performance Studies from NYU, and a teaching certificate from the Limón Institute. She parades in New Orleans annually with the Ice Divas Social & Pleasure Club. 

Dr. Daisy Fancourt is Associate Professor of Psychobiology & Epidemiology and a Wellcome Research Fellow at University College London. Her work focuses on the effects of social, cultural and community engagement on health. Daisy has received over £17 million in funding and her work has been recognised with awards from the British Science Association, Leverhulme Trust, Wellcome Trust, British Academy, British Federation of Women Graduates, American Psychosomatic Society, Arts and Humanities Research Council, Royal Society for Public Health and NHS England. Daisy is currently a consultant to the World Health Organisation on arts and health, recently publishing an evidence synthesis of 3,500 studies on arts and health that was named the Global Aesthetic Achievement of 2019. She also works closely with NHS England and Public Health England on the evaluation of social prescribing and leads the MARCH Mental Health Research Network, bringing together over 1300 researchers and community organisations focusing on community assets and mental health. Daisy has been named a BBC New Generation Thinker and a World Economic Forum Global Shaper.

Virginia (Ginger) Pesata, DNP, ARNP, FNP-BC, NEA-BC, FNAP

Dr. Pesata is a nurse educator, nurse practitioner and researcher.  She has worked in several settings in home health, community hospitals, academic medical centers, and universities as a pediatric and family nurse practitioner, and in roles in nursing administration, research and higher education. She received a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from George Washington University and two Master of Nursing degrees as both a Family Nurse Practitioner and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner.  Her certifications include Family Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified and Nurse Executive Advanced-Board Certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. She is an Assistant Program Director and Associate Professor at South University and a Research Scholar at the University of Florida, Center for Arts in Medicine. Her research studies and publications are related to nursing and healthcare leadership, administration, HIV, health literacy, global health, the use of the arts in health communication, and the integration of the arts in hospital settings.  She is a Fellow of the National Academies of Practice Nursing Academy and recently received the Faculty Research Award from South University.

Contact: pesata@ufl.edu

Michelle Tillander is an artist/educator whose research explores digital media technologies and contemporary learning. Teaching and learning have changed as sensory-rich media transforms the infastructure of connectivity, networking, and dynamic information by altering our consumption and production of knowledge. Prior to joining the University of Florida Art Education Department, she completed her MFA in photography, where she explored alternative process and the cultural circulation of imagery. After teaching in K-12 and developing the Governor's School for the arts, she eventually attended The Pennsylvania State University for her PhD, where she coordinated the Zoller Gallery. In 2009, she co-developed with Dr. Roland the UF online Masters in Art Education.

She regularly exhibits her art, which ranges from drawing and photos, to installation work. Her more recent work uses metaphor to raise awareness about a rare group of progressive and fatal diseases (lung, muscle, and brain) that affect the body at a cellular level, and was on display in 2019 at the Harn Museum. She had a chapter about special needs and digital technology in Exploring Digital Technologies for Art-Based Special Education: Models and Methods for the Inclusive K-12 Classroom published by Routledge. From 2017-2020, she was a University of Florida Term Professorship, and in 2019 University of Florida Anderson Scholar Faculty Honoree. Follow Michelle's current projects here.