Expanding Pathways: Crafting Arts in Health Careers

Feb 10, 2026 3:00-4:30pm Eastern/noon-1:30pm Pacific

Moderator:

Jennifer Cole, Dean, Pacific Northwest College of Art at Willamette University

Panelists:

• • • Sarah Hoover, Associate Dean for Innovation in the Arts and Health, Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins University
    • Adrienne Hundley, Head of Community Strategy, Art Pharmacy
    • Aaron Anderson, Virginia Commonwealth University

Presented in partnership with the Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD) and International Council for Arts Deans (ICFAD)

This webinar will look at the broadening range of arts in health careers, ranging from creative therapies to positions within the rapidly growing area of social prescribing/arts on prescription. The panel, moderated by Jen Cole, Dean of the Pacific Northwest College of Art at Willamette University, will explore the range of arts in health roles available to graduates; current efforts by NOAH (National Organization for Arts in Health) to further professionalize and expand the field; the most important skills and competencies for students to develop that are interested in arts in health careers, and more. 

View the Recording

Speakers

Aaron Anderson is a Professor and Graduate Program Director of Theatre at Virginia Commonwealth University; he also serves as Affiliate Faculty at the VCU School of Medicine, in its Internal Medicine Department, and at the VCU School of Business. Anderson is the founding director of both the Standardized Patient Program at the VCU School of Medicine and the Children’s Hospital of Richmond Theater and Performance Program, where he produces and directs weekly performances for long-term care pediatric patients (sometimes featuring the patients themselves as performers). He is one of the only non-physicians to have earned VCU’s School of Medicine Award for Educational Innovation. Additionally, he serves as the Liaison for Arts and Humanities in Healthcare in VCU’s Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation.

Outside of VCU, Anderson has helped found interdisciplinary arts in health programs at eight other universities across the country including at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan (Flint), and Merrimack College, and consults widely with national and international nonprofit organizations such as Oxfam and Save the Children. He is the author of 5 books and 15 articles, and the current recipient of an NEH grant to re-develop a medical humanities minor at VCU. A US Army Veteran injured in the line of duty, he has used his lived experience to lead improvisation workshops for veterans experiencing homelessness to develop self-advocacy skills and create a sense of community.

Jennifer Cole is the Jordan Schnitzer Dean of Pacific Northwest College of Art at Willamette University in Portland, Oregon. Prior to her appointment as Dean, she was the Chief of Staff at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University the largest comprehensive art and design college in the U.S. While there, she led the MA in Creative Enterprise & Cultural Leadership and founded The National Collaborative for Creative Work—a research center focused on artist/culture work and social change in America. Cole served nearly a decade as Nashville, Tennessee’s chief cultural officer working with elected officials, artists, and cultural organizations to explore how arts and cultural participation are community prosperity. While there she led national models in equitable creative placemaking, public funding and policy for the arts. She is a thought leader in cultural policy and planning, artist economies and urban arts ecosystems and has held board and advisory positions with the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project, Americans for the Arts, IL Arts Alliance, Creative West, ArtPlace America, Creative Capital, Grantmakers in the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Cole is the co-founder of the Cultural Policy Action Lab, a national community of practice program for public sector workers who seek to advance racial equity through arts, culture and public policy. She holds a B.A. with honors, in English from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA

Sarah Hoover serves as Associate Dean for Innovation in the Arts and Health at the Peabody Institute, where she is responsible for advancing initiatives that link the performing arts and health within Peabody, Johns Hopkins Medicine, and entities within the university and Baltimore community. Since arriving at Peabody, Hoover has advocated for the health of Peabody’s musicians and dancers by developing curriculum and co-curricular programs to prevent injury and optimize performance, facilitated the creation of the Peabody Clinic for Performing Artists, and supported the start-up of a research unit in performing arts health. With partners across Johns Hopkins University and Health System, her team is building out a transdisciplinary center of performing arts and health to advance health in and through the performing arts, encompassing research, clinical care, education, arts services, and advocacy.

Hoover’s research in the field of arts in health has led to the development of bedside and lobby music programs throughout the Johns Hopkins Health System as well as creative aging residencies and sensory-friendly concerts. She has helped to develop Peabody Prescribe, a community arts entity within the Preparatory offering arts experiences developed in collaboration with researchers and clinicians from Johns Hopkins Medicine that support health and well-being. Along with her book, Music as Care: Artistry in the Hospital Environment, these clinical and community programs have built novel educational and experiential career pathways for musicians in arts in health contexts. As part of her commitment to artist workforce development, Hoover serves as board member and chair of the Artist Workforce Development Committee of the National Organization for Arts in Health and was lead author on the recent position paper, Advancing Practice in Arts in Health: Artist Workforce Development and Certification.

In her previous position as Associate Dean for Innovation, Interdisciplinary Partnerships and Community Initiatives, Hoover facilitated a re-invigoration of Peabody’s historic engagement with organizations throughout Baltimore to bring music to new audiences and help students hone citizen artistry and career skills. She shepherded the development of Peabody’s Breakthrough Curriculum and oversaw the founding of Peabody LAUNCHPad, the Office of Community Partnerships, and the Conservatory’s Community-Based Learning program, to build an integrated vision for career skill development, entrepreneurship, and citizen artistry.

Prior to her appointment at Peabody, Hoover was a performer, teacher of singing, music journalist, and festival director. From 2012 to 2015, she founded and directed the Oyster Bay Music Festival in Oyster Bay, NY, a grassroots experiment in community music that deconstructed the concert stage and broke down the boundaries between audience and performers. As a vocal pedagogue, she developed workshops on vocal health and technique for the Voice Foundation, National Association of Teachers of Singing, Royal School of Church Music, and Washington National Opera, among others. Hoover is a graduate of Yale University and earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance from Peabody. She received additional training in voice science and holds certificates in Arts in Medicine from the Center for Arts in Medicine at the University of Florida, Essentials of Performing Arts Medicine from the Performing Arts Medicine Association, and Pilates Matwork from PhysicalMind Institute; and licensure in Body Mapping from Andover Educators.

Adrienne Hundley (she/her) is the Head of Community Strategy and a founding team member at Art Pharmacy, where she works to develop robust, scalable social prescribing ecosystems. Adrienne specializes in integrating arts & culture into healthcare, community development, and education settings. Through her cross-sector work, Adrienne has developed and facilitated arts-based workshops and healing-centered trainings for cultural organizations, health and human services agencies, and schools in the U.S. and abroad. Adrienne holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts, Political Science, and Spanish with a minor in Social Justice from the University of Portland and an M.A. in Theatre and Global Development from the University of Leeds. An avid traveler, backpacker, and yoga practitioner, Adrienne is passionate about building vibrant, inclusive communities.