Meet the Guest Speakers
Gregory Youdan Jr.
Gregory Youdan Jr., MA, MS is a visiting research scholar at Brown University. He works at the intersection of dance, science, health and advocacy for various communities in NYC. He identifies as a gay, latinx, non-disabled, cisgender Dominican American. As a dancer, Greg toured domestically and internationally with the NY Baroque Dance Company, Sokolow Theatre/Dance and Heidi Latsky Dance, where he now serves as a board member. He serves as co-chair for the research committee of the National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH). He is a Westheimer Fellow and teaching artist through Mark Morris Dance Group’s Dance for PD® program. He serves on the strategic planning committee and development committee for the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science. He is also a member of the Latinx Dance Educators Alliance and is a recipient of the 2020 Latin Impact Award. Greg is a graduate of the dance program at Hofstra University and holds dual masters degrees in Motor Learning and Applied Statistics from Teachers College, Columbia University. Greg is a human movement scientist specializing in dance science. His background and research have focused on dance for health for communities including those with neurodegenerative diseases.
Jamila Kekulah Kinney (she/they), MA is the creator of The Moving Soul, a holistic movement practice that bridges the gap between soma, psyche and soul. As a qualified teacher trainer of The GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® and Pilates teacher, they have been sharing their passion for mindful movement for over 15 years.
Jamila’s practice utilizes these modalities to guide and assist clients in a personal exploration of body awareness through body conditioning and self-inquiry.
Their training and experience as a dancer, Dance/Movement Therapist, somatic meditation, Reikist, yoga and Zen Shiatsu practitioner cultivates a skillful, intuitive approach that supports and encourages curiosity, focus and self observation.
Jamila is a passionate life long learner and dedicated to the inquiry and liberation of self. As as certified mindfulness instructor, they believe that uncovering the gifts of being human occur through developing a relationship to self through mindfulness and the the body.
Jamila Kinney
Elizabet is a Board-Certified Dance/Movement Therapist. She helps women heal past trauma during transitional periods so they can feel free and whole as they step into their new chapter. She provides embodiment workshops, group, and 1:1 programs in English and Spanish. She also worked with seniors in the nursing home setting, including memory care for over 5 years. She is based in Miami, FL and her business is completely virtual.
Elizabet Abraham
Melanie Johnson French, PhD, BC-DMT, NCC, Certified KMP Analyst, RYT-200 is a dance movement therapist and trainer/researcher in the Kestenberg Movement Profile. She has taught workshops at regional and national conferences and has publications in the American Journal of Dance Therapy as well as in The Meaning of Movement: Embodied developmental, clinical, and cultural perspectives of The Kestenberg Movement Profile. She is past vice president of the New England chapter of the American Dance Therapy Association and has served as adjunct faculty at Antioch University New England and guest lecturer at Lesley University. She currently teaches at the Apollo institute in Beijing, China and offers group and individual courses and trainings in the KMP to students internationally. Her course offerings are regularly updated on the KMP website and Facebook pages. She is a dance movement therapist both in private practice and working with clients with developmental challenges at Harbor Counseling Center (MA, USA).
Melanie Johnson French
Rachele Preda is a licensed Dance Movement Therapist both in Italy and in Spain, where she earned her master's degree in DMT from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She is also an Authentic Movement practitioner, a certified yoga instructor and has extensive training in dance. Her DMT practice strives to integrate a trauma-informed, culturally humble and non-violent perspective into the areas of well-being, physical and mental health, and social embodied activism.
Rachele Preda
Dr. Jamie Marich
Jamie Marich, Ph.D., LPCC-S, LICDC-CS, REAT, RYT-500, RMT (she/they) travels internationally speaking on topics related to EMDR therapy, trauma, addiction, expressive arts and mindfulness while maintaining a private practice and online education operations, the Institute for Creative Mindfulness, in her home base of northeast Ohio. She is the developer of the Dancing Mindfulness approach to expressive arts therapy, and the developer of Yoga for Clinicians. Jamie is the author of numerous books, including the popular EMDR Made Simple, Trauma Made Simple, and Process Not Perfection. She is the co-author of EMDR Therapy and Mindfulness for Trauma Focused Care, and Healing Addiction with EMDR Therapy: A Trauma-Focused Guide. North Atlantic Books published a revised and expanded edition of Trauma and the 12 Steps in the Summer of 2020, and they are also publishing The Healing Power of Jiu-Jitsu: A Guide to Transforming Trauma and Facilitating Recovery and Dissociation Made Simple (both due out in 2022). Jamie is a woman living unapologetically with a Dissociative Disorder, and this forms the basis of her award-winning passion for advocacy in the mental health field.
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Steve Harvey
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E. Connor Kelly, MA, BC-DMT, LPC, DTAA (Prof DMT) is currently a Professional Teaching
Fellow in the Dance/Movement Therapy programme at the University of Auckland and works as a DMT in a school setting. She supervises and mentors DMTs and students in New Zealand where she also offers workshops and an annual Authentic Movement retreat. She co created Physical Storytelling with partner Dr Steve Harvey. She has been teaching Authentic Movement on line for a few years. She has experiences with many different populations including people with disabilities, brain injured adults, frail elderly and children. She has attended workshops with many DMTs pioneers and interned with Dr Judith Kestenberg. She teaches DMT in many countries including Taiwan, Australia, Guam and is on the faculty of Inspirees Institute in China. She currently is Vice President for the DTAA She currently resides in Guam, USA. She has had past roles on the ADTA Board as well as President of two Chapters.