Project Co-Directors
Susan Magsamen
Susan Magsamen, MAS, has dedicated her career to putting basic science in service to health, well-being, and learning.Susan Magsamen has dedicated her career to putting basic science in service to health, well-being, and learning. Committed both to rigorous research at the intersection of the brain and the arts, and to rigorous translation of the findings, she is founder and executive director of the International Arts+Mind Lab, a pioneering neuroaesthetics initiative from the Pedersen Brain Science Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Ms. Magsamen is author of the evidence-based Impact Thinking model, designed to accelerate the use of art to enhance human potential, and has also written seven books, including The Classic Treasury of Childhood Wonder, The 10 Best of Everything Families, and Family Stories.
Susan’s newest book with Random House is called, Your Brain On Art: How the Arts Transform Us written with Ivy Ross, Vice President of Design for Hardware at Google. It is a journey through the science of neuroaesthetics that offers proof of how our brains and bodies are transformed when we participate in the arts and aesthetic experiences, and how this knowledge can improve our physical and mental health, help us learn and flourish, and build stronger communities.
Ruth J. Katz
Ruth J. Katz, JD, MPH, is an expert health policy strategist whose rich network of ties across disciplines, ideologies, and social issues helps to foster cross-disciplinary, solutions-oriented conversations.Ruth J. Katz, JD, MPH, is an expert health policy strategist whose rich network of ties across disciplines, ideologies, and social issues helps to foster cross-disciplinary, solutions-oriented conversations. Ms. Katz is director of Aspen Ideas Health, a vice president of the Aspen Institute, and executive director of its Health, Medicine & Society Program, which brings together groups of thought leaders, decision-makers, and the informed public to consider US health challenges and identify solutions. Previously, she was the Walter G. Ross Professor of Health Policy at George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, where she served as dean from 2003 to 2009. From 1997 to 2003, Katz was associate dean for administration at Yale University School of Medicine. She also served as chief public health counsel to the US House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee on the Affordable Care Act.
Project Staff
Andrea Camp
Andrea Camp, a senior policy advisor for the Civil Society Institute, helps to guide its communications, outreach, and public policy strategies designed to support creative communities and expand health research, among other issues.Andrea Camp, a senior policy advisor for the Civil Society Institute, helps to guide its communications, outreach, and public policy strategies designed to support creative communities and expand health research, among other issues. She provides framing and other strategic guidance to the NeuroArts Blueprint.
Karyn Feiden
Karyn Feiden is a writer and editor who covers public health, health care, and medicine for nonprofit and professional organizations, as well as for the popular media.Karyn Feiden is a writer and editor who covers public health, health care, and medicine for nonprofit and professional organizations, as well as for the popular media. She provides editorial services to the NeuroArts Blueprint.
Katya Wanzer
Katya Wanzer, MPH, manager of operations at the Aspen Institute’s Health, Medicine & Society Program, has worked on public health issues including HIV, terrorism, health information technology, and emergency response services.Katya Wanzer, MPH, manager of operations at the Aspen Institute’s Health, Medicine & Society Program, has worked on public health issues including HIV, terrorism, health information technology, and emergency response services.
Samuel Garrett
Samuel Garrett is a composer who is committed to advancing knowledge of how aesthetic experiences influence human well-being.Samuel Garrett is a composer who is committed to advancing knowledge of how aesthetic experiences influence human well-being. He coordinates research projects and programs for the NeuroArts Blueprint.
Suzanne Joyal
Suzanne Joyal is a visual artist and educator who believes that the Arts are fundamental to our wellbeing. She leads the work on Community Neuroarts Coalitions at the Neuroarts Blueprint initiative and is the point person for outreach and engagement with the Initiative.Suzanne holds a Master of Arts in Adaptive Arts Education from Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, PA, and is currently working on her doctorate in educational leadership at the University of Maine. Suzanne has extensive experience teaching students with disabilities, providing professional development workshops for educators and families, and building model programs aimed at utilizing the arts to better engage every learner. During her long tenure at Youth in Arts, Suzanne’s projects included the ARTSbank (Arts Resources for Teachers and Students), VALuEd (Virtual Arts Learning Experiences) and scaffolded, sequential visual arts curriculum designed to help students from traditionally under-resourced schools to utilize the arts to find their voice and develop the confidence to share it.
Suzanne believes wholeheartedly in the power of the arts to improve our physical and emotional health. Whether it’s working with families in Zambia, children with disabilities, or newcomers building new communities, Suzanne has seen first-hand how the arts help us speak a common language.