Suzanne Jonas, Ed.D
Instructor
Dr. Jonas’s degrees in music, behavioral medicine, and transpersonal psychology emphasize the mind/body/spirit connection. She believes, as do many others, true healing only takes place when all the facets of a person are addressed.
Dr. Jonas taught at the Universities of Massachusetts and Connecticut, worked in a general hospital, a physical rehabilitation facility, women’s health clinic, and in 2 surgical practices. She has done definitive research on music and sounds effects on physiology and emotion with one day surgery patients; co-authored a Cardiac Healing Tape and a Relaxation tape with the Monroe Institute; produced several other healing CDs as a result of her research and experience with a variety of patients, one of which was chosen by National Public Television as a premium for their pledge drive; and she is a frequent presenter for a wide variety of groups and conferences. Her guide to passive music therapy, “Take Two CDs and Call Me in the Morning” is widely used by hospital practitioners, teachers, and those interested in using music and sound to enhance their endeavors. She has contributed a chapter on the use of Music Therapy in Physical Rehabilitation for the Baylor school of Medicine’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: The Definitive Approach, and she has authored the first book on Vibroacoustic therapy.
She also trains teachers, healthcare workers, and business personnel in the uses of music, sound, Vibro Acoustic Therapy, and HeartMath biofeedback for stress reduction and to increase whole brain learning, healing, and productivity. She currently teaches a one day class on MusicMedicine and Guided Imagery for the American Wholistic Nurses Assn. She is a 25-year faculty member of the Creative Education Foundation from which she received their Outstanding Leadership Award in 1993.
Robert Bonham, PhD
Instructor
Robert is Professor Emeritus of Maryville College where he taught courses in music history, individual piano instruction, and life skills. He currently offers personal sessions at Inner Harmony Health Center, workshops, and trips designed to enhance personal growth. These include holistic keyboard practices to optimize performance and prevent injury, reconnective healing, and HeartMath training. He is also a member of Trillium Piano Trio that performs throughout the U.S.
Esther Krams Johnson, RN, BSN, PHN
Adjunct Faculty
Esther’s forty years of experience as a Registered Nurse has focused on a holistic philosophy and integrative modalities. Certified as a Public Health Nurse, she holds additional certifications and/or training in Acupressure & EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique, Acutonics®, Clinical Aromatherapy, Energy Work, HeartMath, HIV/AIDS education, Integrative Imagery, Medical Hypnotherapy, Mind-Body Medicine and Sound Healing. She is also an End of Life Doula and Hospice nurse.
She served as Integrative Therapies Program Director for Pathways Home Health & Hospice, where she created, developed and directed the Integrative Therapies program, Esther served as an adjunct faculty member at colleges and universities in the San Francisco Bay area, and has been a leader in providing retreats for community members and groups of healthcare professionals. She has authored professional articles for a number of nursing journals and has contributed to several books and on-line educational programs profiling her complimentary therapy case studies.
She has presented professionally for the California Hospice Foundation, the National Association of Home Care and Hospice, the National Hospice & Palliative Care Association, the American Holistic Nurse Association, the American Society of Aging and the Australian College of Holistic Nurses in Brisbane, Australia.
Bob Johnston, Founder and Managing Principal, Strategy Innovation Group
Advisory Board Member
Bob’s professional career has been at the intersection of strategy, innovation and creativity,-collaborating with both non-profits and global corporations to design and realize a preferred future for their organizations. Eli Lilly, 3M, P&G, IBM, BMW, Johnson & Johnson, United Way Worldwide and Carl Zeiss, among others, are organizations that have benefited from a futureback strategy to create a better future for themselves and more value for the world. Bob has co-authored, with Doug Bate, The Power of Strategy Innovation which introduces the process for creating a futureback strategy. He is a past President, Chairman of the Board and currently Board Director at the Product Development and Management Association and was elected to the Hall of Fame of the Creative Problem-Solving Institute.
Mary Natschke, BAS, RN, HNB-BC, IAC, CHMT
Advisory Board Member
Over 35 years in nursing and integrative therapy training, Mary is Ascension Michigan Health System's clinical expert and co-lead educator for Holistic Nursing and Clinical Aromatherapy. She is board certified in Holistic Nursing, a Caritas Coach®, Clinical Aromatherapist and a certified HeartMath® Trainer. A long-time student of yoga, meditation and mindfulness, Mary also holds certifications in Emotional Freedom Technique, Korean Hand Therapy, Reiki Master/Teacher, and Sacred Geometry. She presents locally and nationally on the topics of holistic nursing and aromatherapy along with integrating the wisdom of these ancient practices to support the mind-body-spirit.
Doris J. Shallcross, Ed.D.
Advisory Board Member
Dorie is Professor Emerita of the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she directed the Graduate Program in Creativity. Her major work there was with doctoral candidates specializing in creative behavior. She is past president of the Creative Education Foundation and continues to serve as a consulting editor for The Journal of Creative Behavior. She has published five books: Teaching Creative Behavior; three with Dorothy Sisk – The Growing Person, Leadership: Making Things Happen, and Intuition: an Inner Way of Knowing, and one with Rosalie Deer Heart, Celebrating the Soul of CPSI. She is also the author of numerous articles and a monograph on intuition. Dorie has done extensive work around the world in creativity, presenting at conferences and teaching at universities. For five summers she taught in the Masters’ degree creativity program at the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
Dr. Shallcross is a founding Board of Trustees member and spent 15 years of service – 11 as president - working with working with the Pioneer Performing Arts Charter School in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She served on the Massachusetts Charter School Association as well with three years as vice-president, and has served on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Commission on Creative and Innovative Opportunities in Schools.
Stacey Murphy Wilner, B.M.E., M. M.
Advisory Board Member
Stacey serves as Director of Choral Activities at Maryville College, where she directs the Concert Choir and Off Kilter, supervises the community choral music program and teaches conducting courses and supervises student projects. She is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, TN-TMEA and ETVA. In 2007, Wilner was the recipient of Maryville College’s Administrator of the Year Award. She served as president of the TN-ACDA from 1997-99, and recently as the Repertoire and Standards Chair for Colleges and Universities. She currently serves a Collegiate Representative for the East TN Vocal Association and is active as a guest conductor and clinician at festivals in the south. Wilner served as the conductor for the Freshman All-East Chorus in Chattanooga in November, 2016.
Choirs under her leadership have participated in joint concerts with ensembles such as the United States Army Chorus and the St. Salvator’s Chapel Choir of St. Andrew’s University in Scotland. She has facilitated both international performance and alumni tours for the college. In January of 2016, Stacey was a nominee for the Athena Leadership Award in Blount County.