Imagining a Healthier Planet: The Power of Creative Expression and Collective Healing

The panel discussion will explore a broader intersection of planetary health, environmental consciousness, and the arts. The sessions will focus on the importance of centering consciousness, the arts, and healthcare through a planetary health lens.

Agenda:
2:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. 
Introductory remarks by Dean Azita Emami and Vice Provost Sunil Amrith

2:15 p.m. to 3:00 p.m 
"Holding Space and Giving Grace: Creative Expression as a Way to Support the Nursing Workforce"
Deena Kelly Costa, PhD, RN, FAAN
Helen Porter Jayne & Martha Prosser Jayne Associate Professor of Nursing
In this talk, Dr. Costa will explore the emotional, mental, and professional challenges nurses face, and how creative expression, including storytelling, can be a powerful tool to elevate nurses' voices, foster emotional resilience, and strengthen community. This talk will incorporate real nurse stories or creative works and leave the audience with a deeper appreciation for the power of storytelling and creative expression to heal, connect, and transform both individuals and systems.

3:00 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. 
"Seeding a New Story: Inspiring Planetary Consciousness for Personal and Collective Transformation"
Susan Prescott, MD, PhD
Professor, University of Western Australia
Director, Nova Network
Through a narrative set to her own artwork, Dr. Susan Prescott presents planetary health as the interdependent totality of our shared environment—ecological, social, cultural, and spiritual—showing how today’s challenges are inseparable and interconnected. As a physician–scientist, artist, and director of the Center for Planetary Consciousness and Global Flourishing, she weaves science, spirituality, systems thinking, creativity, and community practice to advance integrated, cross-sector, whole-of-society approaches that center well-being. She explores why genuine solutions must address root causes by transforming the attitudes and worldviews that created these crises—calling for spiritual and cultural renewal, grounded in inner development and emotional intelligence, to realign our values, relationships, and actions with the flourishing of all life.

3:45 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 
Break

4:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. 
"Decoding and Modulating Collective Action: Music Mindfulness and Psychedelics"
AZA Allsop, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Yale School of Medicine
Dr. AZA will describe his lab’s research using neuroscience and computational approaches to understand the mechanisms of social behavior and how music mindfulness and psychedelics can shift social dynamics. This understanding is then leveraged to create tools that can treat mental health symptoms and help humans solve polarization crises and coordination challenges like climate action.

4:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
Concluding Commentary and Medical Humanities Perspective
Moira Fradinger, PhD
Professor of Comparative Literature, Yale University

5:00 p.m. to 5:10 p.m. 
Reflections and Contemplative Session
Christine Rodriguez, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, MDiv, MA, FNYAM, FAAN
Assistant Professor and Associate Dean of Nursing Impact at Yale School of Nursing

5:10 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. 
Moderated Q&A
Christine Rodriguez, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, MDiv, MA, FNYAM, FAAN
Assistant Professor and Associate Dean of Nursing Impact at Yale School of Nursing

5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. 
Reception

Reception with light refreshments featuring art by Prof. Susan Prescott and music by Prof. AZA Allsop.