Christopher Bailey is the Arts & Health Lead at WHO Headquarters. Educated at Columbia and Oxford Universities and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, after a career as a professional actor and playwright, Christopher joined the Rockefeller Foundation as its Research Manager. From there he was recruited by WHO, where he led its health informatics work, and later its online communications team, before starting the Arts & Health programme. Bailey has performed original pieces such as Stage 4: Cancer and the Imagination, and The Vanishing Point: A journey into Blindness and Perception. The message of his work is to amplify the WHO definition of health, which states that health is not merely the absence of disease and infirmity but the attainment of the highest level of physical, mental, and social wellbeing.

Clemency Burton-Hill, MBE (writer, broadcaster and musician) was born and raised in London, now resident of the US, Clemency Burton-Hill is an award-winning broadcaster, podcaster, author, journalist, musician, producer and host of prestigious arts programmes on both sides of the Atlantic. For well over a decade, Clemency was the face of many of the BBC’s flagship arts TV programmes, including Young Musician, The Proms and The Culture Show; while on BBC radio she was the voice of the Breakfast Show on Radio 3, BBC New Generation Artists and Front Row. She has hosted/written dozens of arts documentaries covering a range of subjects, including in music, theatre, dance, visual arts and literature — as well in non-arts subjects, including technology, developing world politics, healthcare, and artificial intelligence.

John-Morgan Bush, the Dean of Juilliard Extension, is shaping one of the nation’s most ambitious continuing education programs in the performing arts. His work centers on the intersection of lifelong learning, creative aging, and community engagement, advancing the role of the arts in health and well-being. He has led pioneering initiatives with senior living communities, including a pilot program with Sunrise Senior Living that brings Juilliard artists into residences to foster creativity, connection, and joy among older adults. John-Morgan’s advocacy for creative aging reflects a broader vision: to harness the transformative power of the performing arts to support cognitive vitality, emotional resilience, and social connection in our society. He has extended this work nationally through partnerships with health systems, public agencies, and cultural organizations, advancing the idea that the performing arts are essential to human flourishing across the lifespan.

Ursula MacFarlane (Director) is an award-winning documentary and drama director and executive producer. Her body of high profile documentaries and drama-documentaries showcases her ability to capture truthful and beautifully observed characters, combined with compelling storytelling and visual flair. Whether working with retrospective stories: the tragedy of the late 1990s model Anna Nicole Smith, the riveting story of a baby kidnapped from a Chicago hospital in the 1960s, or the moving stories of survivors of Harvey Weinstein, or vérité work with psychiatric patients in Notes From The Inside With James Rhodes, Broadway stars in West Side Stories and established actors like Warwick Davis setting up his new theatre company, she is known for her humane touch, sensitivity, humour and psychological insight. Her feature documentary Breaking Up with the Joneses, for Channel 4, was included in the Grierson Trust’s 50 must-see documentaries of the last 50 years. Ursula has been nominated for a BAFTA four times and has a clutch of wins and nominations for the Emmy, Grierson, Broadcast and Royal Television Society Awards. She supports emerging filmmakers through mentoring programmes with the UK’s National Film & Television School, and Directors UK.

Dr. Anna Palumbo is the Research Manager at the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy and Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Psychology at New York University. Her research examines how music supports neurorehabilitation and child development and has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the American Music Therapy Association, and the NeuroArts BluePrint Initiative. Dr. Palumbo completed her PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences at New York University. Prior to her doctorate, Annareceived an MA in Music Therapy at New York University and conducted clinical work in the areas of neurorehabilitation, acute psychiatric care, and child development. She previously sang professionally with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus.

Larissa W. Trinder (Assistant Vice President of NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine) is responsible for stewarding NYC Health + Hospitals’ collection of more than 7,000 works of art, the largest such collection in New York City, as well as creating and implementing programs for patients, staff and the community that utilize the arts as a tool in healing. A seasoned professional with more than 20 years in the healthcare field, Larissa has a Master’s degree in Public Policy from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. Before joining H+H, Larissa worked for more than ten years at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia, in philanthropy and creating programs to integrate the arts into the hospital system. She is a staunch advocate for the importance of the arts and humanities within a healthcare system to advance patient health outcomes, enhance staff engagement, morale and retention and to empower communities.