Jane Arsham

Tai Chi
Arts & Movement Weekend Co-director

The practice of Tai Chi has been proven to reduce stress, increase flexibility and improve balance. Jane has been studying/practicing Tai Chi for for 15 years and is certified to teach both the Yang style long and short form. She also was a principal instructor for the Harvard study on the impact of Tai Chi on people with congestive heart failure.

This workshop will be a sample of the flowing, gentle Tai Chi movements adapted for people living with Parkinson's that Jane teaches in the Boston area. Everyone can participate.

Ken Bernstein

Photography

Ken has extensive experience as a photo educator for adults and high school. In addition to his work with traditional photography, Ken mentors adults in digital photography. His emphasis is on building awareness of the extraordinary world in everyday places.

Jed Hickson

Photography

Jed describes himself as poet, photographer, patient, teacher, explorer, and student. He started in photography and poetry more than 46 years ago and continues with both today, more actively than ever. Recent exhibits combine poetry and photography. Come and share your images and your thoughts, he loves that too.

Renee Le Verrier, RYT

Yoga
Arts & Movement Weekend Co-director

Renee is a certified yoga instructor who focuses on creating adaptations and modifications for individuals who find it challenging to move with ease. She is the author of Yoga for Movement Disorders: Rebuilding Strength, Flexibility and Balance for Parkinson's Disease and Dystonia (2008) as well as the Companion DVD to Yoga for Movement Disorders (2010). Renee teaches and presents about yoga throughout New England, including at the MGH Parkinson's Center Yoga and Lecture Program, at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital and weekly studio classes in Newburyport, MA. To visit Renee's website, go to www.limyoga.com

Suzanne McLeod, MA, EXTH, LMHC

Art

Suzanne is an artist and Expressive Therapist living in Arlington. Suzanne uses mixed-media materials when creating two and three-dimensional art, and enjoys working expressively and intuitively with dreams, landscape, and still life. She is a graduate of the Expressive Therapies Masters Program at Lesley University, where she has also taught; she works as Clinical Supervisor at Arbour Counseling Services Partial Hospitalization program in Woburn, and in private practice.

Pamela Quinn

Dance

Pam was a professional dancer with ODC/San Francisco before she was diagnosed fourteen years ago with Parkinson's. Pam worked on her own body to circumvent abnormal movement patterns as much as possible. Her experiments with herself led her to teach others in her class, Movement Lab, sponsored by the Brooklyn Parkinson Group at the Mark Morris Center, and Dance and Movement Awareness for People with Parkinson's at the Adele Smither¢s Parkinson Center at the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. Pam also works privately with patients in New York City where she lives with her husband and two sons. She has presented her ideas about managing Parkinson's at New York Hospital, Bellevue, Beth Israel, Kings County and NYU's Sunday Series at the JCC. She is a graduate of both the Allied Team Training Program and the Clinical Research Learning Institute. Recently she returned from the second World Parkinson Congress in Scotland where she conducted a movement class and led a panel on taking charge of PD. Her video, "Welcome to our World" was featured at the opening night ceremony as a co-winner of the video competition. To see the video and to learn more about her, you can visit her website at pamelaquinn.net.

Cathi Thomas, MS, RN, CNRN

Arts & Movement Weekend Co-director

Cathi is the Nurse Coordinator of the American Parkinson Disease Association Information and Referral Center at Boston University Medical Center. During the past twenty-five years Cathi has provided care to individuals with Parkinson's disease and their families. As a Clinical Nurse Specialist in neurorehabilitation, she has developed programs to assess the impact of Parkinson's disease on a patient and family and to assist them in coping with this condition.