Revealing: Art, Disability, Stigma and Compassion

Join us for a panel discussion about enhancing interactions with the healthcare system and society through art.  View the exhibit, “one, one thousand… Photographs by Debe Arlook” on display in the Fulginiti Pavilion lobby.

PANEL DISCUSSION:

Debe Arlook
Photographer, Artist & Lori’s Sister
Debe Arlook is a visual artist based in Santa Monica, California. She received a B.A. in film and media and a minor in psychology from American University in Washington D.C. Her work is exhibited nationally and internationally including the Lishui Art Museum, Museum of Art and History Lancaster, Griffin Museum of Photography, Center for Fine Art Photography, and the San Diego Art Institute.  Learn more about Arlook’s work and view the “one, one thousand…” exhibit.

Tracy Dixon-Salazar, PhD
Neuroscientist, Geneticist, Patient Advocate & Executive Director, LGS Foundation
Tracy Dixon-Salazar’s desire to get her Ph.D. was inspired by her daughter, Savannah, who developed intractable seizures at the age of 2, which evolved into Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) by the age of 5. She did her Ph.D. and postdoctoral work at UC, San Diego and it was during her research tenure, and after 16 years of watching daily, unrelenting seizures in her child, that she uncovered the driver of her daughter’s illness and identified a novel precision therapy that improved her child’s life.

Gayla Elliott, MA, ATR, CBIS
Creative Arts Therapy Program Manager, Marcus Institute for Brain Health
Gayla Elliott has almost 40 years of providing art therapy services in many clinical settings. In 2017 she began providing art therapy to active-duty military through the federally-funded program, Creative Forces, and in 2018 to veterans with mild brain injuries at the Marcus Institute for Brain Health. Gayla is also the parent of an adult daughter who is on the autism spectrum due to Di George syndrome.

Lori Sandler
Life Coach, Motivational Speaker, Writer & David’s Mother and Primary Caregiver
Lori Sandler is a writer, life coach and devoted caregiver of her adult son, David. David has autism and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a rare type of epilepsy that is difficult to control and causes severe neurological impairment. In the early 2000’s, the intensity of David’s condition and the challenges of his care spurred Lori onto a path of personal growth and spiritual inquiry. In her words, “The lessons of surrender, trust, compassion, self-knowledge and levity have been the greatest gifts I have received from walking this path with him.”

Julie Thompson-Dobkin, DO
Neurologist, President & Co-founder of the Hidden Truths Project
Dr. Julie Thompson-Dobkin is a Board-certified neurologist, currently residing in San Francisco, California. She previously served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Pittsburgh and was clinical faculty at Washington University in St. Louis. She founded Hidden Truths Project in 2012, which is dedicated to engaging and empowering individuals impacted by visible and invisible disabilities through the arts.  Dr. Thompson-Dobkin has an adult son who has lived with epilepsy for 18 years, the inspiration for much of her work.

HYBRID:
In-person at the Fulginiti Pavilion for Bioethics and Humanities
13080 E. 19th Ave.  Aurora, CO  80045
Click for directions & parking information.

or via ZOOM:
https://ucdenver.zoom.us/j/97023996853