Saundra Shanti

Visual Artist | Facilitator

As a board certified, multi-faith Chaplain, Saundra merges art and spirituality in an imaginative process that transforms art supplies and life experience into something therapeutic and meaningful. She has engaged hospital staff, patients, corporate team members, and survivors of domestic violence in art-making to move toward holistic well-being. As a skilled, empathic listener, Shanti has created space for thousands of people to share in a way that personal narrative is compassionately received. Many have reported feeling relief and transformation as a result of such intentional conversations. She has led hundreds of groups guiding people to make meaning through making art. Shanti’s Healing Hands exhibit is an example of how she uses the arts to humanize a workplace environment. Employees of St. Mark’s Hospital expressed feeling connected to each other and to the work they do through her transformational process. Hospital patients and visitors gained an appreciation for their caregivers.

When Shanti placed art studios in 25 break rooms, staff reported feeling valued and renewed through creative practice. Together, they made more than 350 pieces of art that were publicly displayed.

Saundra Shanti has presented multiple times at the Association of Professional Chaplains’ National Conference on how the arts can keep spiritual care relevant, progressive and meaningful in the 21st century.

Sophia Diehl

Dance Artist | Facilitator

Sophia is a professional dancer and gifted choreographer who has won the attention of arts organizations and received arts grants to implement her creative process. She has facilitated creative movement workshops for youth, college students, faith communities and work teams. As an administrator and Company Artist, Sophia has worked extensively in the field of Arts in Health with Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater.

Early in her career, she understood how artistic practice bolsters healthy communities which led her to study with InterPlay’s Arts & Social Change and Gibney Dance Center’s Institute for Community Action. With trauma-informed awareness, Sophia facilitates experiences in which people connect with their bodies as sites of personal expression and meaning-making.