Hospital Artist-in-Residence Program

Smith Farm Center-in partnership with Washington metro area hospitals-transforms the experience of illness for many in the hospital setting through our artist-in-residence program.

 

Our artist-in-residence program complements Smith Farm Center's philosophy and approach to working with patients challenged by life-threatening illness. We engage patients in creative arts activities as part of the healing process; we educate and support artists to work in the healthcare community; and we create awareness and support for the arts in healthcare among professionals, caregivers, and the community-at-large.

Our artists-in-residence are trained to engage patients and medical staff in creative expression-guiding them to tap inherent creative and cultural roots- through a variety of mediums including visual arts, music, storytelling, and creative writing. Though not trained or expected to function as therapists-they are educated about the issues and challenges faced by patients, caregivers, and staff they will encounter in hospital settings.

Periodically, Smith Farm invites artists from the local community to apply for openings available on the artist-in-residence team. Visit this website for future opportunities to apply as a Smith Farm Center artist-in-residence.

 

Smith Farm Center maintains a dynamic and culturally diverse team-approximately 15 artists-representing the visual arts, creative writing, storytelling, music, creative movement, and guided imagery. Many of our artists use an inter-disciplinary approach as they work alongside patients. Smith Farm Center artists-in-residence bring personal skills, creativity, and most of all, compassion to their work-whether with outpatients in the infusion center or patients on medical and surgical floors; with family and friends in waiting areas; or with clinical staff for monthly mid-day creativity sessions. Following is a list of our Smith Farm Center artists-in-residence.

Vicki Berman is a dance instructor and certified movement analyst. She is the creator and teacher of the Helping to Heal through Movement program for cancer patients and survivors. Vicki is a breast cancer survivor and shares with others the tools that helped her in her own personal healing journey. Guided imagery, meditation, writing, movement explorations with props, stretching and strengthening exercises and nature photographs are the tools she uses to empower people to heal emotionally and physically.

Alpine Bird earned her BA in Italian Literature at Brown University with a minor in Art. She apprenticed for a year at the Shady Hill School in Cambridge, MA while earning her Massachusetts teaching credentials as an Art Specialist.  She taught art full-time at the Maret School in Washington, DC for four years and later taught classes for neighborhood children in her home and as a volunteer in public and private schools.  Her interest in integrating the arts for patients in healthcare settings began with her experience as a candy striper at Children’s Hospital in Boston. She studied with Joan Kellogg at the Mandala Assessment and Research Institute, Mona Brooks at the National Learning Center, and took mini-courses in Art Therapy at GW.  She is certified as a yoga teacher and also in the first level of Reiki and Cranial Sacral work. She is on the Board of Directors for the Art Connection in the Capital Region.  Alpine’s greatest challenge as a teacher was to find ways to reengage children who had given up on their “artistic ability” and to motivate them to trust their ability to learn to visually communicate their unique, ever-changing viewpoints and feelings. It is this same challenge with diverse adults in a hospital setting that fascinates her most in her work as a Smith Farm Artist-In-Residence.

Letitia Brooks, has been creating art from a very young age. She is a gifted artist and uses acrylic, water color and a variety of mediums to create unique art pieces that she hopes will inspire others to go beyond the limitations of this world. Letitia's colorful art incorporates the beauty, strength and spirituality of the family. She views art as a healing force and does not limit herself to one form of expression. She currently has created unique art pieces by applying mixed media to a carved black board base. Letitia also works with young children and adults to use the creative arts as an avenue for self-improvement. She has provided sessions at Howard University, Muhammad University School and various support groups. Letitia has displayed her artwork at a variety of venues including the Montpelier "All Hung Show," and Howard University's Blackburn Center Art Gallery.

Nazeeha Howard earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Howard University and is a certified music therapist who has worked with children and adults in a variety of settings in Washington, D.C. since 1997. As a self-employed consultant and therapist, she is committed to a "multi-modality" in which motivated individuals participate in music and related creative activities as part of a comprehensive and integrative healing process. She has provided creative healing sessions, including the use of harps and other instruments, with patients and caregivers at the Washington Cancer Institute, Howard University Cancer Center, and Washington Army-Navy Medical Center. She speaks French..

Mary Alice Jackson, is a craft designer, with certifications as a porcelain doll maker and floral designer, who specializes in general crafts design through creativity and crafts workshops. She earned a Masters of Education degree in Elementary Education from Antioch College and spent much of her professional life in government service (in the area of equal opportunity employment). Mary Alice is a member of a local consortium of African-American designers, and her handiwork has been on display at the Smithsonian's Center for African American History and Culture, the Arts and Industry Museum, and in other local cultural venues. Mary Alice taught crafts for several years at Providence Mental Health Institute and completed a four-year training program in spiritual science with an emphasis on holistic healing.

Linda B. Karlin (aka KARLINDA) earned her Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University. The degree is a double major in Honors English and International Relations, with a minor in Philosophy. Linda also completed coursework for a Master of Fine Arts at Temple University. As an associate producer on multimedia projects, she worked on exhibits for the Smithsonian Institution. PBS bought one of her video documentaries. She developed scripts for an interactive CD-ROM about prostate cancer. Linda is a three-type cancer survivor who coped with her illness by writing and performing poetry about her experiences. One of her poems is in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, since 1995. She works with patients to catalyze creativity through word games and writing exercises that produce poetry. In addition, she creates mixed media experiences that combine her own poetry, photography and live music (including improvisation on the zither harp, ocean drum and other instruments). Linda contributed to a “Living Well with Cancer” packet through the Washington Cancer Institute at The Washington Hospital Center. Ms. Karlin is certified in Reiki. She builds labyrinths and facilitates events for them on site: indoors and outdoors. She has been a member of the board of directors of the non-profit Living Labyrinths for Peace, since 2006. Linda conducts workshops in hospitals, at seminars and on retreats. She is fluent in French.

Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke earned her law degree from Howard University School of Law and Master of Laws degree from Georgetown University Law Center. She owns Kiamsha.com, LLC, a company that allows her to share her healing gifts as an artist, writer, registered yoga teacher, and certified reiki practitioner. As a self-taught artist, Ananda has exhibited her mixed media collages, acrylic paintings, and wire sculptures in the Washington Metropolitan area, North Carolina, and Kentucky.  She weaves poetry, stories, prayers, affirmations, and sacred wisdom teachings into her artwork.  She has also provided arts and writing workshops for children and adults with a particular focus on the integration of creativity and healing for women with health problems. In her commitment to programs like Smith Farm, Ananda honors the memory of her grandmother, who died of breast cancer. Her first novel, Love's Troubadours - Karma: Book One was published in August 2007 by iUniverse and is available on Amazon.com.  She is currently working on a poetry collection and second novel to be published in 2008.

Dave Moktoi is an award-winning actor, director, comedian, and Founder of "The Other Africa Festival" - dedicated to promoting cross-cultural understanding between Africa and the USA. He holds an MA in Modern Languages, Theater Arts, and Civilizations from Yaounde University and is currently a Lecturer at Montgomery College.  A native of Cameroon, Dave draws upon his unique experiences and skills to create cultural awareness and sensitivity through performances, films, workshops, and one-on-one encounters. As a consultant and creator of cross-cultural programming for the education community, he produced plays, comedies, and films aimed at HIV/AIDS prevention for WHO, UNAIDS, UNESCO, the British Council and other international organizations. Based upon his experience in Africa with persons living with HIV, Dave provides oncology patients and staff with an opportunity to experience warm humor and enlightenment not usually accessible in the hospital setting.

Ade Moreau is a native of Brooklyn, New York and graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. Ade is an essayist and former editor and owner of Peace of Paper Productions. Her first collection of essays, The Lotus Approach...piece of mind essays on living, loving and letting go, was published in 2002. She moved to DC in 1998 and began work with the American Cancer Society, where she worked as both employee and volunteer with patients and caregivers. Additionally, she has worked as a mentor with The Capitol Hill Group Ministry and the Speaker's Education Bureau, and as a volunteer with My Sister's Place support center for abused women and their children.

Roza Oblak earned a degree in special education from her native country of Slovenia and a Bachelor of Science degree in Art Therapy from the City University of New York. Her training also includes certification in Reiki (in the USUI System for Natural Healing) and as a flower essence practitioner. Roza serves as the program coordinator for the Josephine Butler Park Center (located in the most dense and culturally diverse community of Washington, DC). She also teaches arts classes for at-risk children and established a low-cost healing arts clinic offering wellness services to local residents.

Linda O'Neil earned a Bachelor of Art Education at American University and taught in the Montgomery County Public Schools for 25 years. She taught hearing-impaired, multiple handicapped and special education students. She has written extensive arts curriculums - including a multicultural curriculum. She was a mentor teacher and actin elementary art coordinator. As field supervisor for the University of Maryland, she supervised art student teachers in Montgomery and Prince Georges County schools. Linda paints murals and furniture and is currently exploring mono-printing. She believes that "the creative process is an empowering one, beneficial to most patients regardless of their background or experience.

Vera Oyé Yaa-Anna, affectionately known as Auntie Oye', is a versatile Culinary Grio who incorporates dance, theater and storytelling to engage audiences in the experience of African culture and diversity within our own community. She is the executive producer of a West African Dinner Theatre, "Palaver Hut," Inc. A native of Liberia, Vera is a cultural educator who transports her audience to Africa through interactive storytelling, dance and music activities. Auntie Oye' shares her skills with patients and caregivers "to uplift the soul and empower the individual to deal with the challenges of illness."

John Paradiso earned a BFA from the State University of New York at Purchase and an MFA from the State University of New York at Buffalo. John has exhibited mixed media collages, found object sculptures, and installations, at galleries nationally.  His work represents a layered and complex dialogue on aspects of risk, loss, growth, strength and the joy associated with gay male sexuality woven with his own personal experience. John has seven photographs in the Prints and Photographs Division, Permanent Collection of the Library of Congress. John served as a health educator for the AIDS Council of Northeastern New York and for the Whitman-Walker Clinic where he developed educational programs and provided counseling.

Laura Sperling, a flutist with certification in a music for healing and transitions program, joined the artist-in-residence team, September 25, 2007. Ms. Sperling  works at Washington Cancer Institute and at Holy Cross. She also works at the Lombardi Cancer Center (Georgetown University, Community Hospice of Maryland and Virginia, and Culpepper Gardens Assisted Living Center. In addition, she teaches flute and recorder lessons in her home studio.

Click here to download a current workshop and program calendar.
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Smith Farm Center Leadership, Faculty, and Staff

Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts relies upon the work of a network of faculty, staff, and volunteers from a wide variety of disciplines. We welcome inquiries, applications, involvement and/or support from anyone engaged or interested in this work.

Michael Lerner, PhD is Founder and President of Commonweal in Bolinas, CA. He is the author of Choices In Healing: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Approaches to Cancer. He was awarded the MacArthur Prize Fellowship in 1984 for his work in the health field and was a special consultant for the Congressional report on Unconventional Cancer Treatments. President, The Jenifer Altman Foundation; 1983 MacArthur Prize Fellow; Advisor, The Norton and Jean Smith Fund, Rockefeller Philanthropic Collaborative, NY; Trustee, Barbara Smith Fund

Mytis Bedolla is Gallery Director and President, Gallery Myrtis, LLC Contemporary Fi Art Gallery, Washington, DC; Owner, Creative Artisans Art Consultancy; Consultant, Metropolitan Consulting Corporation; and Consultant, Africare

Steven Bookoff is CFO and Board Member, Organic India; and CFO and Board Member, Om Organic, Boulder, CO

Charlotte Brody is Founder and Executive Director, Health Care Without Harm; Executive Director Commonweal; Board Member, Environmental Working Group; and Board Member, Grass Roots Policy Project

Web Coleman,
Web Coleman has been a staff member at CHP's Hallowood weeklong cancer retreats for 15 years now. He leads orientation and trail walks, plus Sugarloaf Mountain trips and climbs. He aided his wife Barbara Smith [Coleman] in researching and founding Smith Farm Center. Web's early experiences included camping, scouting, outdoor activities and sports. Careers included teaching, advertising, nationwide corporate consulting: employee communications, technical writing, supervisory training, management development. Web is a lifetime sailor. In retirement, he took up horses and 100 mile competitive trail riding. He knew Barbara for many years, and when both were widowed, married in 1994 at the original Smith Farm on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Diane Zipursky Quale is Director/President of the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN). She holds a Bachelor's Degree from Stanford University and a Juris Doctor from the National Law Center, George Washington University. She was in private law practice until 1996 when she became Washington Counsel for the National Broadcasting Company, Inc. (NBC), and was later promoted to Vice President, Washington Law and Policy for NBC. Diane left NBC in April 2002, and since that time has been an active participant in the cancer community, serving as the volunteer administrator of a retreat program for cancer patients and fundraiser for a small non-profit cancer organization in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Consumer Advocates in Research and Related Activities (CARRA) program.

Jeremy Waletzky, MD is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, George Washington University

 


Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts works with a rich network of medical professionals, artists, practitioners, and therapists. This list provides a brief introduction to many of them.

Shanti Norris – Co-Founder and Executive Director
Shanti@SmithFarm.com

Ms. Norris serves as Executive Director of Smith Farm Center. She initiated the Smith Farm Center hospital Artist-in-Residence program and Healing Arts Gallery.  She runs the weeklong retreats for people with cancer, and oversees new initiatives, including the Faith-based Community Navigation project at Smith Farm Center.  Former Vice President of Kent Homeopathic Associates, she has an extensive background in complementary medicine and mind-body approaches to healing. She has taught meditation, yoga philosophy and stress reduction for over 35 years and underwent a formal ten-year mentorship with a renowned yoga master. She is a three-term member of CARRA, the patient advocacy program at the National Cancer Institute and a graduate of Project LEAD from the National Breast Cancer Coalition.  She is a graduate of the Georgetown University Non-profit Leadership certificate course and the James P. Shannon Leadership Institute in Minneapolis/St Paul.  She is a former board member of the Society for the Arts in Healthcare and Chaired their Annual Conference in 2004.  She is a founding board member of The Art Connection in the Capital Region and a founding member of Arts in Healthcare Advocates (AHA.) She is a frequent speaker on the healing power of the arts.  Her formal art training began at New York University and The Cooper Union in New York City and includes running the fine art studio of artist Peter Max. She is a member of ArtTable, the mother of three adult children, and is a painter and sculptor.

Michelle Clermont – Director of Administration
Michelle@SmithFarm.com

Ms. Clermont manages the administration, operations, human resources, and finances of Smith Farm Center.  She has worked in the integrative health and nonprofit industry for over fourteen years.  She has broad experience in all aspects of operations, strategic planning, grant management, budget development and control, cash flow management, contract negotiations, event management, and successful teambuilding. Prior to Smith Farm Center, she helped to integrate and manage two DC metro area healthcare clinics and managed an international nonprofit, that worked to integrate healthcare by empowering and educating healthcare providers in mind-body medicine, integrative cancer care, and nutrition. She has studied dance for over 33 years, has extensive experience with pilates, yogic philosophy, energy medicine, and nutrition, and is passionate about creating healthy, wheat-dairy-soy free, vegan cooking that is easy to prepare and tastes great.  She also maintains a business and practice management consulting service and is a personal holistic health coach.

Cheryl Patrice Derricotte – Artist-in-Residence Program Administrator and Project Manager, Facilities

Cheryl Patrice Derricotte is Smith Farm’s Artist-in-Residence Program Administrator and Project Manager, Facilities. Prior to joining Smith Farm, Ms. Derricotte worked for the last 20 years in the fields of arts administration (8 years) and affordable housing/community development (12 years). She holds the Masters of Regional Planning, Cornell University and the B.A., Urban Affairs from Barnard College, Columbia University. A native Washingtonian, Cheryl Patrice Derricotte is also a visual artist who works primarily in glass. Her sculptures have been exhibited widely in the Washington, DC metropolitan region, most recently Zenith Gallery Presents “Washington Glass” (2007) and “Black Matter” (2008). Her work has also been a juried inclusion in shows throughout the U.S including "Terrestrial Forces" at the Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts (October 2004) and "Contemporary Glass" at the San Francisco Airport Museum (June 2005-January 2006). Ms. Derricotte was the recipient of a 2005 D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities/National Endowment for the Arts "Artist Fellowship" grant.

Michael J. Hawkins, MD, Medical Director of Smith Farm Center
Heal@SmithFarm.com

Michael is a medical oncologist, is and the Chief Medical Officer at American Bioscience, Inc., a small privately held pharmaceutical company in Santa Monica, CA, that is developing new formulations of anti-cancer drugs. Formally, Dr. Hawkins was an Associate Director of the Washington Cancer Institute at the Washington Hospital Center (1999-2002); the Director of the Clinical Research and Developmental Therapeutics Program at the Lombardi Cancer Center (1992-1999); and the Chief of the Investigational Drug Branch while at the National Cancer Institute (1984-1992). He was the chairman of the Cancer Advisory Panel to the NIH's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine from 2000-2002 and has served on advisory panels to the FDA. In his oncology practice he encouraged patients to pursue inner healing while being treated for their cancer.

Michael Lerner PhD President and CEO of Smith Farm Center
Heal@SmithFarm.com

Michael is Founder and President of Commonweal in Bolinas, CA. He is the author of Choices In Healing: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Approaches to Cancer. He was awarded the MacArthur Prize Fellowship in 1984 for his work in the health field and was a special consultant for the Congressional report on Unconventional Cancer Treatments.

Vera Oyé Yaa-Anna, Consultant for Faith Community Initiatives
Heal@SmithFarm.com

Vera coordinates Smith Farm Center community outreach initiatives through Washington DC faith based communities. Her work focuses on correcting disparities in cancer awareness and treatment among African American communities through The Lance Armstrong Faith Based Initiative and with African immigrant communities through the African Woman’s Cancer Awareness Association. 

Carole O'Toole – Integrative Cancer Care Educator and Community Program Manager
carole@SmithFarm.com

Carole staffs Smith Farm Center’s CHP retreats, coaches individuals on integrative cancer care decision-making and complementary resources, leads our “Living Well With Cancer” one day workshops, and facilitates our monthly “Healing Words of Wisdom” Book Club. Her work at Smith Farm Center also includes managing our patient navigation programs for African-Americans and Africans at Howard University Cancer Center and through churches in underserved areas. Carole frequently represents Smith Farm Center at national and local conferences and other public forums. She is the author of two books on integrative cancer care: “Cancer Community Healing Network”, and “Healing Outside the Margins”.  Carole has been a survivor of advanced cancer since 1994, rows on the Potomac with a survivor crew team, and is a wife and mother.

Darien Reece is Program Director & Creativity Workshop &
Sandtray Facilitator for Smith Farm Center
Darien@SmithFarm.com
heal@SmithFarm.com

Darien is a visionary artist, sculptor and mask-maker and trained sandtray facilitator. She nurtures a deep love of Tex/Mex folk art- retablos, depictions of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and all the little miracles of traditional Latino art. In her previous life she was an antiques dealer in CT and a restoration consultant specializing in 18th century domestic Connecticut and New York Dutch architecture. Recently, she was chosen by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities to paint 2 circular window panels for the Eastern Market Windows Project, Washington, DC.

Sandy Rossi – Capital Campaign Administrator and Gallery Director
Sandy@smithfarm.com

Sandy Rossi comes to Smith Farm Center with over ten years of experience in developing and managing fundraising events.  Prior to joining Smith Farm Center she was Director of Touchstone Gallery.  In her spare time, she leads trips with Washington Women Outdoors.  Sandy is also an artist and is grateful to be surrounded by an environment that nurtures the arts like that of Smith Farm Center.

Lucia Effros – Volunteer
Heal@SmithFarm.com

Ms. Effros is a 2001 alumna of the Cancer Help Program and is a regular volunteer at Smith Farm.  She helps in the staffing of the CHP and works on various projects at the office.  She is a retired educator, married to Steve Effros and mother of Jamie, her pride and joy - a young actor, who lives in San Diego.

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Karen Baer, MA, A.T.R.-BC, is an art therapist with a private practice in Silver Spring, MD. She specializes in sandtray, guided imagery and mandala assessment with children and adults.

Corrin Bennett, MS, IYT holds an MS in dance/movement psychotherapy along with teacher certifications in 3 levels of yoga.  Since 1971, she has presented wholistic health seminars in the US and Europe utilizing the arts to promote body/mind/spirit connection.  Corrin was an invited speaker at the American Medical Association’s Women’s Physician’s Conference in 2005 and 2006.  She has worked in the health care field for 37 years and  maintains a private practice in Yoga/Movement Therapy and Life consulting,  specializing in work with people living with life-threatening and/or chronic illness.

Vicki Berman is a Certified Movement Analyst, dance instructor, workshop leader for cancer patients and staff, and creator/teacher of Helping to Heal through Movement. Vicki is a breast cancer survivor and a Smith Farm Center artist-in-residence.

Barbara Black CMT, is a massage therapist and wellness educator who has served on the staff of Smith Farm retreats for 9 years.  She is certified by the Center for Mind-Body Medicine to facilitate mind-body skills groups and is a newly licensed White Belt/Nia instructor.

Irene Borger is a journalist, fiction writer, and educator whose work has appeared in Vogue, Mirabella, Architectural Digest, The Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Since 1990, as artist-in-residence and founder of the AIDS Project of Los Angeles, Irene has created a forum of non-professional writers living with AIDS.

Jnani Chapman, RN is the massage coordinator and senior staff member for both the Smith Farm and the Commonweal Cancer Help Programs. She is a clinical specialist in complementary medicine for the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, specializing in acupressure, yoga and massage. Jnani is the former executive director of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. She conducts massage and yoga certifications and workshops throughout the country.

Web Coleman has been a staff member at CHP's Hallowood weeklong cancer retreats for 15 years now. He leads orientation and trail walks, plus Sugarloaf Mountain trips and climbs. He aided his wife Barbara Smith [Coleman] in researching and founding Smith Farm Center. Web's early experiences included camping, scouting, outdoor activities and sports. Careers included teaching, advertising, nationwide corporate consulting: employee communications, technical writing, supervisory training, management development. Web is a lifetime sailor. In retirement, he took up horses and 100 mile competitive trail riding. He knew Barbara for many years, and when both were widowed, married in 1994 at the original Smith Farm on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Richard Grossman for twenty years the Director of The Health in Medicine Project at Montefiore Medical Center serves on the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The former Director of the Cancer Support Program at Wainwright House in Rye, NY, he has worked with many people with cancer, both individually and in group settings, providing guidance in relaxation and stress management, meditation, mental imagery and life planning. The author of five books, including The Other Medicines and The Natural Family Doctor, he is a consultant to the faculty of the Department of Family Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. He has a private practice in health counseling and psychotherapy in Salisbury, Connecticut.

Lillian Fitzgerald serves as Healing Arts Gallery Curator. Lillian is also curator at the National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Health and Human Services and is an exhibit specialist for the US Botanic Garden Galleries. She is a current board member for the Society for the Arts in Healthcare and is Director of Fitzgerald Fine Arts.

Michael J. Hawkins, MD – Medical Director

Dr Hawkins is a medical oncologist and is the Chief Medical Officer at Abraxis, Inc., a small privately held pharmaceutical company in Santa Monica, CA, that is developing new formulations of anti-cancer drugs.  Formerly, he was an Associate Director of the Washington Cancer Institute at the Washington Hospital Center (1999-2002); the Director of the Clinical Research and Developmental Therapeutics Program at the Lombardi Cancer Center (1992-1999); and the Chief of the Investigational Drug Branch while at the National Cancer Institute (1984-1992).  He was the chairman of the Cancer Advisory Panel to the NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine from 2000-2002 and has served on advisory panels to the FDA.  In his oncology practice he encouraged patients to pursue inner healing while being treated for their cancer being treated for their cancer.

Dr. Daemon Donyelle Jones is the founder of Healthydaes Naturopathic Medical Center in Silver Spring, MD.  As a naturopathic physician, Dr. Jones is turning her life’s passion – the pursuit of optimal health – into her life’s mission for others.  Dr. Jones incorporates nutrition into every treatment plan for her patients.  She uses cooking classes and demonstrations as hands on ways to help people enjoy learning about health.  She provides her patients with excellent care and unwavering compassion.  She is an adjunct faculty member of Smith Farm Center for the Healing Arts nutrition programs and a faculty member of Food As Medicine Training 2007. 

Lenore Lefer, MS, MFCC, MFT is a licensed psychotherapist, teacher and consultant who has used Psychosynthesis, a spiritual psychology, as the central framework for her work for more than 25 years. She has worked with women's groups in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Lithuania and Russia. Her work with Hospice and people with heart disease and cancer includes imagery, meditation, group process and dream symbols as means of renewing the spirit.

Charles Leighton, LCSW, CGP is director of group support services for the Center for Cardiac Health at Beth Israel Medical Center and was director of group support for The Dean Ornish Program For Reversing Heart Disease at Beth Israel from 1995-1998. In 1990 he co-founded the Heart Group that was featured on WPIX News for its leading work with people with heart disease. He was a consultant for Gilda's Club from 1996-2002 where he ran several weekly support groups for people with cancer, and to organizations developing wellness programming such as Beth Israel Medical Center and Health, Inc. He has published articles and abstracts in The Journal of American Nursing and The Journal of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation and has lectured for such organizations as The New York Times, New York Hospital and The Preventive Medicine Research Institute. Charles is a certified yoga and meditation instructor from the Integral Yoga Institute and has a private psychotherapy practice in New York City and Wayne, New Jersey.

Michael Lerner Co-Founder and President of the Board of Directors 
Mr. Lerner is President and Founder of Commonweal, a health and environmental research institute and co-founder of the Commonweal Cancer Help Program, a weeklong residential program for cancer patients featured in Bill Moyer’s award-winning PBS series “Healing and the Mind.” He is the author of Choices in Healing: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Approaches to Cancer.  He is a co-founder of HealthCare Without Harm — the campaign for environmentally responsible healthcare. He is actively engaged in the development of the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE.)  He is a MacArthur Prize Fellow, recognized for his contributions to public health and was a special consultant for the Congressional report on Unconventional Cancer Treatments.

Lucia Mercer has been practicing massage therapy/bodywork for 16 years. While she has advanced training in several modalities, she holds the deepest respect for the wisdom and healing capacity found when one listens deeply to one's self and one's body; when one is deeply heard and respectfully touched.  She finds peace and joy in Nature, animals, her work, friends and kayaking.  Her horse, Pocket, loves bodywork - her cat, Ecco, does not.

Shanti Norris – Co-Founder and Executive Director
Shanti@SmithFarm.com

Ms. Norris serves as Executive Director of Smith Farm Center. She initiated the Smith Farm Center hospital Artist-in-Residence program and Healing Arts Gallery.  She runs the weeklong retreats for people with cancer, and oversees new initiatives, including the Faith-based Community Navigation project at Smith Farm Center.  Former Vice President of Kent Homeopathic Associates, she has an extensive background in complementary medicine and mind-body approaches to healing. She has taught meditation, yoga philosophy and stress reduction for over 35 years and underwent a formal ten-year mentorship with a renowned yoga master. She is a three-term member of CARRA, the patient advocacy program at the National Cancer Institute and a graduate of Project LEAD from the National Breast Cancer Coalition.  She is a graduate of the Georgetown University Non-profit Leadership certificate course and the James P. Shannon Leadership Institute in Minneapolis/St Paul.  She is a former board member of the Society for the Arts in Healthcare and Chaired their Annual Conference in 2004.  She is a founding board member of The Art Connection in the Capital Region and a founding member of Arts in Healthcare Advocates (AHA.) She is a frequent speaker on the healing power of the arts.  Her formal art training began at New York University and The Cooper Union in New York City and includes running the fine art studio of artist Peter Max. She is a member of ArtTable, the mother of three adult children, and is a painter and sculptor.

Carole O'Toole is an Integrative Care Educator &
Community Program Development resource for Smith Farm Center.
carole@SmithFarm.com or heal@SmithFarm.com

Carole staffs Smith farm’s CHP retreats and provides coaching to retreatants on integrative cancer care decision-making and complementary choices and resources. She also leads our “Living Well With Cancer” one day workshops and facilitates specialized educational programs and our monthly book club, “Healing Words of Wisdom” . Carole is the author of “Cancer Community Healing Network”, a local guide to complementary care resources in Washington, DC, and “Healing Outside the Margins”, a guide to creating personal integrative cancer care plans. She has been a survivor of cancer since 1994. 

John Patterson, MD, is a family physician in private practice in rural Kentucky, past president of the Kentucky Academy of Family Physicians, and board-certified in both family practice and holistic medicine. He is Assistant Professor, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, where he teaches complementary and alternative medicine under the auspices of a grant from the National Institutes of Health. He became certified by the Center for Mind-Body Medicine and Integral Yoga Institutes as part of his desire to learn to help individuals safely and naturally promote health, manage stress, and prevent and treat illness.

Laura Pole, RN, MSN, is head chef, nursing consultant, educator and musician at Smith Farm Center retreats. She is also the researcher and listserv manager of the Media Watch Cancer News listserv. Laura holds a masters degree in nursing, chef certification and professional music training. She integrates her careers as a natural foods gourmet chef, professional musician, oncology clinical nurse specialist, and palliative care educator to be of service to Smith Farm.

Darien Reece is Program Director & Creativity Workshop &
Sandtray Facilitator for Smith Farm Center
Darien@SmithFarm.com
heal@SmithFarm.com

Darien is a visionary artist, sculptor and mask-maker and trained sandtray facilitator. She nurtures a deep love of Tex/Mex folk art- retablos, depictions of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and all the little miracles of traditional Latino art. In her previous life she was an antiques dealer in CT and a restoration consultant specializing in 18th century domestic Connecticut and New York Dutch architecture. Recently, she was chosen by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities to paint 2 circular window panels for the Eastern Market Windows Project, Washington, DC.

Rachel Remen, MD, is co-founder and Medical Director of the Commonweal Cancer Help Program and is Assistant Clinical Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. Dr. Remen is the founder and Director of the Institute for the Study of Health and Illness, a training program for health professionals who wish to serve people with life-threatening illness. She is a pioneer in the transpersonal counseling of people with chronic and terminal illness, and their families, and has a forty-year personal history of chronic illness. Her work represents a unique blend of the perspectives of physician and patient. She is the author of Kitchen Table Wisdom and My Grandfather's Blessings.

Mimo Gordon Riley was trained at the Stillpoint Center in Hatfield, MA and is nationally certified in therapeutic massage and neuromuscular therapy, as well as being a visual artist who works in pastel and oil. She practices in Providence, RI, and paints in her studio nearby. Balancing her work life between massage and art helps Mimo to be more effective in each. Her continuing belief in the healing power of touch is intrinsic to her practice.

Georgia Robertson, PhD is a licensed professional counselor in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia.  She has a private practice in the District which focuses on grief and loss and works as an oncology counselor with Life with Cancer in Fairfax, Virginia. With a Ph.D. in creative writing, and as a certified poetry therapist, she believes writing can help nearly anyone find strength for life's difficult places.

Julia Rowland, PhD has worked with both pediatric and adult cancer survivors and engaged in numerous funded studies on quality of life and health outcomes in these populations. She has also written extensively about women's reactions to breast cancer, as well as on the role of coping, social support and developmental stage in a patient's adaptation to cancer, and served as co-editor of the groundbreaking text, Handbook of Psychooncology. Dr. Rowland is Director of the Office of Cancer Survivorship at the National Cancer Institute and has been active as a clinician, researcher and teacher in the area of psychosocial aspects of cancer for more than two decades.  Since joining the NCI, Dr. Rowland has championed the identification of Cancer Survivorship as an area of Public Health Emphasis both within and outside the institute.  Dr. Rowland, who received her PhD in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University, trained and worked at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and held leadership positions in psycho-oncology at Georgetown University and the Lombardi Cancer Center in Washington, DC, prior to assuming her current position.

Savneet Talwar, MA, ATR-BC, serves as an artist, educator, and consultant. She studied at the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute, and has trained in EMDR. Savneet taught art therapy at Southern Illinois University, and at George Washington University- where she also served as Assistant Director of the Art Therapy Program.

Myrtle Washington – Breast Cancer Patient Navigator Consultant

Ms. Washington was instrumental in pioneering the position of Breast Care Navigator at Howard University Cancer Center. She is currently working with Smith Farm Center staff to develop a community navigation program for South East Washington where the mortality rate from a cancer diagnosis is quite high. Myrtle is from East Harlem, New York and came to Washington to attend Howard University. Myrtle also graduated from Union Theological Seminary and Antioch School of Law. She spent 13 years at a Washington law firm where the focus was international. In addition to the legal field, Myrtle has worked at several area non-profits including Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia. She is a 29-year breast cancer survivor and has one adult son.

Kim Weeks is certified Integral Yoga instructor and student of yoga for 14 years, Kim Weeks left Wall Street in 2002 to start the Washington, DC-based yoga studio Boundless Yoga. Her classes draw from the Krishnamacharya tradition of yoga, which focuses on one student at a time. Kim values the body as a constantly changing object in time and space, encouraging yoga students to experience delight and forgiveness as they observe themselves, with simultaneous discrimination and non-judgment, according to the breath's direction. She believes that yoga is rooted in love.

Rebecca Wilkinson, MA, ATR-BC

Rebecca is an art therapist native to DC returning after many years away in the Southwest. Rebecca is a Registered and Board Certified Art Therapist who received her training from the George Washington University. She currently works at Washington Adventist Hospital and serves as Adjunct Faculty at the George Washington University. Rebecca maintains both a personal and a professional commitment to the transformative potential of the creative process and of mind/body healing in managing physical, mental, and spiritual distress. 

Vera Oyé Yaa-Anna, Consultant for Faith Community Initiatives
Heal@SmithFarm.com

Vera coordinates Smith Farm Center community outreach initiatives through Washington DC faith based communities. Her work focuses on correcting disparities in cancer awareness and treatment among African American communities through The Lance Armstrong Faith Based Initiative and with African immigrant communities through the African Woman’s Cancer Awareness Association. 

Financial Considerations

Together with our alumni, staff, donors, and volunteers - we work to make Smith Farm Center retreats, programs, and workshops accessible to all- regardless of financial need. We offer generous financial support in the form of scholarships for programs, as often as possible. Programs in the artist-in-residence programs at hospitals and infusions centers are provided at no charge to patients, caregivers, and their families. We also offer a range of services available to the community without charge.

 

Smith Farm Center programs are supported in part by grant funding from:

Barbara Smith Fund
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
Johnson and Johnson
Lance Armstong Foundation
Matthew and Barbara Black Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts
Quality Health Foundation
Society for the Arts in Healthcare
Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation
The Boston Foundation
WL Lyons Brown, Jr. Charitable Foundation, Inc.

Along with the generous gifts of many of our alumni and friends we rely upon these grants to continue providing our services to all in need.

Smith Farm Center takes seriously our financial responsibilities. We have been chosen as one of the best small non-profits in the DC area in the new Catalogue for Philanthropy, created by the Harman Family Foundation. Smith Farm Center received the 2004 Innovations Award by the Washington Cancer Institute at Washington Hospital Center. We are also a two-time recipient of the Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation Virginia Kelly Award for Excellence in Cancer Survivorship - in 1997 and 1998. Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts is a Washington DC-based, non-denominational, 501(c)3 nonprofit. We welcome people of all races, and religious traditions.

Gifts

To donate click on an icon below.

 

Gifts come in all shapes and sizes. For some, it is a financial contribution. For others is a contribution of time and talent. We rely upon these generous gifts in order to make our services available to all who would benefit from them.

Your giving can make it possible for someone with cancer to attend a weeklong retreat or participate in a healing workshop. You can make it possible for patients to be visited by artists as they receive chemotherapy or at their bedside in the hospital. You can make it possible for a weary medical professional to participate in a renewing workshop.

Please consider making a contribution to Smith Farm Center. Contributions are tax deductible. If you wish, you can designate your gifts for our scholarship fund, for the hospital artist-in-residence program, for general support, or a special program.

Smith Farm is now accepting donations online!

If you find this an easier way to support Smith Farm Center, please click either donation icon to the left or one of the links below.

www.smithfarm.com
www.networkforgood.org
www.catalogueforphilanthropy.org
www.goodsearch.com

Smith Farm Center can now accept Visa and MasterCard. Please call for information about making a donation of stocks, real estate, bequest or other tax advantage gifts. Thank you for your generosity.

Volunteer
A committed core of volunteers furthers much of our work. Without their commitment and service Smith Farm Center would miss significant opportunities for impacting our community. If you would be interested in being considered for a volunteer position, we look forward to hearing from you.

A glittering evening of food, music and art was emceed by FOX 5 News Anchor Michael Gargiulo as more than 400 GALA attendees, volunteers and sponsors raised more than $40,000 for programs and services for adults living with cancer. Proceeds from the evening support Washington Cancer Institute’s vibrant artist-in-residence program. The innovative program brings visual, literary and musical artists into the lives of patients, family members and medical staff throughout the WCI infusion center, in-patient floors, waiting rooms and support facilities.

GALA proceeds also support Smith Farm Center daylong and weeklong cancer retreats along with educational programs and workshops on health, nutrition, arts, creativity and relaxation.

Click here to download a current workshop and program calendar.
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Contributors to Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts
July 1, 2006 – Present
We are grateful to all who have contributed their financial gifts, time, energy and talents.

Individuals

Corporations and Foundations | Board of Directors

We recognize the following alumni and friends who have generously committed to our mission through their time, talents, and in-kind gifts.

Click here to download a current workshop and program calendar.
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What is Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts?
Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts is a nonprofit health, arts, and education organization that serves individuals, families, and communities affected by cancer and other serious illness. Since 1996 we have worked to transform the experience of living with cancer and other serious illness- for adults, their caregivers, and the medical professionals who support them.

Where are you located?
Our City Center is located at 1632 U Street, NW near downtown Washington, DC in an area known as Adams Morgan and the U Street Corridor. We also partner with a conference center in rural Maryland to provide our Cancer Help Program Retreats.

What types of programs and events do you offer?
Smith Farm Center offers retreats-modeled after the internationally recognized Commonweal Cancer Help Program developed by Dr. Michael Lerner; programs for health, creativity, and nutrition; workshops for medical professionals; gallery exhibitions; and artist-in-residence programs at area hospitals.

Who leads your programs and retreats?
Our programs and retreats are led by a network of local and national physicians and medical professionals, artists and writers, psychotherapists and educators, nutritionists and chefs, yoga and massage facilitators, along with our staff and volunteers.

Who may attend your programs?
Smith Farm Center programs and retreats are designed for adults living with cancer and other serious illness, their caregivers, and the medical professionals who support them. We welcome people of all races and religious traditions and work to insure that all may attend, regardless of financial means.

How do I apply or register?
When you have reviewed the information, we encourage you to call our office at 202-483-8600. One of our staff will talk with you about your interest and the application process.

What does it cost?
Most or our programs have liberal scholarships provided due to the generosity and vision of our donors, friends, and alumni. In most cases, the fees do not cover the full cost of the retreat or program. These are supported by generous gifts and grants from donors, alumni, and friends of Smith Farm Center. Most fees are noted in the program guide, or call our office for specific details.

Why are you called Smith Farm?
Our founder, Barbara Smith Coleman envisioned a healing place much like the New Jersey farm where she was raised. Barbara envisioned such a place on the Eastern shore of Maryland. Her vision also included serving adults living with cancer and other serious illness in the urban center of Washington, DC. When you visit our City Center you will see a portion of the "farm" on the colorful mural as you enter the building.

What is the Cancer Help Program?
The Smith Farm Center Cancer Help Program (CHP) is a weeklong retreat for people with cancer. Our goal is to help participants live better and, where possible, longer lives. The Cancer Help Program addresses the unmet needs of people with cancer. These include finding balanced information on choices in healing, mainstream and complementary therapies; exploring emotional and spiritual dimensions of cancer; discovering that illness can sometimes lead to a richer and fuller life; and experiencing genuine community with others facing a cancer diagnosis.

What does the Cancer Help Program offer?
The Cancer Help Program offers an integrated program of healing that includes daily group support sessions led by a psychotherapist, massage, yoga, meditation, deep relaxation, imagery work, symbolic learning, poetry, exploration of sacred space, and a gourmet vegetarian diet. Evening sessions explore choices in healing, mainstream therapies, integrative therapies, pain and suffering, and death and dying.

Who can benefit?
The Cancer Help Program is beneficial for people at any stage in the cancer journey, along with their significant others. The CHP works best for people who understand what the retreats are and believe they would benefit from participating. They also work best for people who are comfortable in small group settings and are curious about the healing process. The Cancer Help Program is an educational program, not a treatment program. Participants must be under the care of a physician, able to care for themselves, able to participate in the daily program, and sufficiently medically stable to spend a week in a rural retreat setting.

What do former participants say about the Cancer Help Program?
Most CHP participants find the Cancer Help Program has a powerful and lasting positive effect on their lives. We have learned that the Cancer Help Program has profound effects on anxiety, fear, loneliness, helplessness and other psychological conditions that often accompany cancer. Many participants come to the Cancer Help Program with questions about next steps in treatment or in living with a serious cancer diagnosis. Participant evaluations often say that the Cancer Help Program far exceeded their expectations.

Who is on the staff at the Cancer Help Program?
The Cancer Help Program has a highly experienced and distinguished, professional staff. Please visit our Faculty and Staff page to review some of the staff members.

How often do Cancer Help Program retreats take place?
Smith Farm Center generally offers the Cancer Help Program five times a year. Sometimes there is a waiting list so it helps to apply early to ensure that you can participate.

What does the Cancer Help Program cost?
The Cancer Help Program fee is $1800 per person for the week, an all-inclusive fee. The fee covers housing, meals, program and materials. We are able to offer the Cancer Help Program at this fee only because contributions from Cancer Help Program alumni cover half the cost of the program, and enable us to offer scholarship assistance to some participants who would not otherwise be able to join us. The Cancer Help Program is in this real sense a gift offered by CHP Alumni to participants who come after them.

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Resources

Smith Farm Center Media Watch Resource Library

We invite patients and interested professionals in the Washington area to visit our Media Watch Resource Library located in our City Center. You will find a wealth of up-to-date information related to cancer, networks, resource materials, books, literature, and research. Additionally, you can subscribe to the Media Watch Resource listserve by emailing Laura Pole at Lpchef@earthlink.net

Following is a list of other sources for information on cancer, mainstream and complementary/integrative therapies and support services along with their internet address and a brief description:

 


Commonweal
http://www.commonweal.org/

West Coast model for our Cancer Help Program; on-line text of Michael Lerner's "Choices in Healing: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Approaches to Cancer".

Greater Washington Coalition for Cancer Survivors
4848 Albemarle Street, NW
Washington, DC 20016-4347
(202) 364-6422
http://www.gwccs.org/

The Greater Washington Coalition for Cancer Survivorship puts out a DC area Support Group Guide listing over 150 general and specific cancer support groups, some 30 for breast cancer alone, meeting regularly in Washington, Maryland and Virginia; their telephone number is 202-364-6422.

The DC Cancer Plan
http://www.cancerplan.org

The plan provides the Comprehensive Cancer Control designed to meet the challenges facing the Washington, DC region. The plan can be viewed from a drop down menu on the home page.

American Cancer Society
http://www.cancer.org

Information and materials on cancer (especially breast and prostate), services, and the A.C.S., including a toll-free telephone number: 1-800-ACS-2345.

CancerNet
http://www.cancer.gov/cancerinfo/

The National Cancer Institute makes available a broad range of useful data through such topic headings as Cancer Information Service, Treatment Information, Clinical Trials, and CANCERLIT article references.

OncoLink
http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/v48/n19/OncoLink.html

A vast multimedia resource for health professionals and patients developed at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School; has a long category menu, search feature and "AboutOncoLink"-- a 13 minute audio guided tour.

Ask NOAH
http://www.noah-health.org/english/illness/cancer/cancer.html

Information about cancer types, treatments, trials, etc. provided by New York Online Access to Health (NOAH) from many consumer health resources.

Cansearch
http://www.canceradvocacy.org/

National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship advice for researching diagnoses, link into other resources, pain management, local support groups, et al. (The Greater Washington Coalition for Cancer Survivorship puts out a DC area Support Group Guide listing over 150 general and specific cancer support groups, some 30 for breast cancer alone, meeting regularly in Washington, Maryland and Virginia; their telephone number is 202-364-6422.)

NABCO
http://www.nabco.org

The National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations that provide medical care to breast cancer patients, offers fact sheets on risk, detection, treatments, follow-up, etc., plus an event calendar, book list, survey section and Email Q & A service.

Annie Appleseed Project 7319 Serrano Terrace | Delray Beach, FL 33446-2215
http://annieappleseedproject.org/index.html

The Annie Appleseed Project, a 501 (c)3 non profit corporation, provides information, education, advocacy and awareness for people with cancer, family and friends interested in, complementary, alternative medicine (CAM), natural therapies from the patient perspective. Latest studies continue to show that a majority of cancer patients use some form of CAM.

 

Association of Cancer Online Resources
http://www.acor.org

ACOR hosts a number of cancer-related resources written by patients or their caregivers. These are informative sites, written by patients about their experiences following cancer diagnoses.

National Cancer Institute
www.cancer.gov
1-800-4-CANCER
http://www.cancer.gov/newsletter/

This site should be the first stop for any patient looking for up-to-date information on a cancer diagnosis and mainstream treatment opions. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the government's cancer research program. NCI is the largest of the 17 biomedical research institutes and centers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NCI Web site provides easy access to the most current information on cancer. Many of NCI's patient education resources are located on the Web site, including full-text publications and fact sheets for cancer patients and their families. An easy-to-use site map will direct you to the various kinds of information available on this site, including descriptions of standard treatment protocols for both patients and physicians (Physician Data Query, or PDQ), "Cancer Facts" about Types of Cancer, and various publications about coping with treatment. Patients can also find a list of NCI-designated cancer centers and current clinical trials.

OncoLink: The University of Pennsylvania Cancer Resource
http://oncolink.upenn.edu:80/

This site is one of the most comprehensive of all sites dedicated to cancer on the Internet. Oncolink provides information from the National Cancer Institute and from other sources as well. This site also has a helpful section on psychosocial support and methods of coping with cancer. It contains information on both conventional and complementary therapies and links to many other useful sites, as well.

American Society of Clinical Oncology
http://www.asco.org/

This site is a primary interest to physicians. There are many links, however, to organizations of interest to patients, particularly in the area of social support for cancer. Some patients may find the abstracts for the ASCO publication Journal of Clinical Oncology useful. ASCO OnLine is provided as a service to members of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. The information and opinions of ASCO OnLine do not represent medical advice, and physicians must exercise their own professional judgment in treating patients. In particular, ASCO OnLine may contain information that is inconsistent with the Food and Drug Administration's approved labeling for therapeutic products. Therefore, the approved labeling should always be consulted before of product is used.

Rational Therapeutics
http://www.rational-t.com

As their name suggests, Rational Therapeutics was founded to fulfill a mission to advance the field of cancer treatment by studying the most rational and reliable indicators of positive response to therapy: each patient's own cancer cells. Their objective is to provide information that will enable cancer patients to make the best decisions about their own cancer care. Rational Therapeutics does not provide medical advice, but will provide in-depth analysis and evaluation of your cancer tissues. This will provide additional information to enable you and your doctor to make the best decisions concerning treatment for your particular cancer.

American Cancer Society (ACS)
1599 Clifton Northeast
Atlanta GA 30329-4251
1-800-ACS-2345
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