Executive Committee of Board of Directors
President
Suzanne B. Hanser, EdD, MT-BC
Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA, USA
Suzanne B. Hanser, Ed.D., MT-BC is Chair Emerita & Professor of Music Therapy at Berklee College of Music and Past President of the World Federation of Music Therapy and National Association for Music Therapy. Her Individual National Research Service Award from NIA launched a research agenda to develop clinical trials on music-based interventions in a variety of medical and health settings. She is author of The New Music Therapist's Handbook, and co-author of Manage Your Stress and Pain, book and CD, with Dr. Susan Mandel, and Integrative Health through Music Therapy: Accompanying the Journey from Illness to Wellness. In 2006 Dr. Hanser was named by the Boston Globe as one of eleven Bostonians Changing the World. She is the recipient of a Sage Publications Prize, Model of Healing Award from the Children’s Music Fund, and American Music Therapy Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Vice President
Joseph J. Schlesinger, MD, FCCM
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, USA
Dr. Schlesinger is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Division of Critical Care Medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and Adjunct Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. After earning his Bachelor of Arts in Music with a concentration in Jazz Piano Performance from Loyola University in New Orleans, Dr. Schlesinger earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He completed residency training in Anesthesiology followed by a fellowship in Critical Care Medicine at Vanderbilt University. While in training, Dr. Schlesinger became a B.H. Robbins scholar. Dr. Schlesinger’s research interests include multisensory integration, human factors, aural perception, temporal precision, alarm development, patient monitoring, and medical education. This work led to the prestigious 2014 Education Specialty Award from the Society of Critical Care Medicine. Besides his publication history in high-impact scientific journals, Dr. Schlesinger is a patented inventor and has been featured on the podcast “99 percent invisible,” CNN Health, and the New York Times.
Secretary & Co-Chair, Ethics Committee
Andrew Rossetti PhD, LCAT, MT-BC
The Louis Armstrong Center for Music & Medicine, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, New York City, USA
Andrew Rossetti PhD, MT-BC, LCAT, is a music psychotherapist, and supervisor of the Mount Sinai Healthcare System Louis Armstrong Center for Music & Medicine’s multi-site Music Therapy Program in Radiation Oncology. His clinical practice in medical music psychotherapy extends to all areas of oncology in the hospital environ, as well as to the neonatal ICU where he specializes in Environmental Music Therapy in fragile areas, and the treatment of trauma and post traumatic stress. Dr. Rossetti is an international lecturer and has been a frequent invited and keynote speaker at conferences and universities in the US, Asia, Europe, South America, and Canada. He is an active clinical researcher whose work has been published in numerous high impact medical journals and highlighted in the New York Times. His work has also been featured on CBS, NBC, National Public Radio, and the New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute’s Helix Center Series. Dr. Rossetti is an Editorial Board Reviewer for the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology and Physics, and a faculty member of Montclair State University, and the University of Barcelona.
Treasurer
Fred J Schwartz MD
Piedmont Hospital, Atlanta, GA, USA
Dr. Fred Schwartz is an anesthesiologist in Atlanta, GA, who has used music in the operating room and throughout the hospital for forty years. He is on the editorial board of Music and Medicine and has been treasurer and a founding member of IAMM since the beginning. His interests include NICU music therapy and the maternal-fetal connection, as well as using music for the recovery of open heart surgery patients, music for birth, and music in the operating room. He is also vice president of the International Society for Music in Medicine (ISMM), and as a music producer introduced the Transitions Womb Sound Music series.
Chair, Committee on Global Reporting
Jing-Wen Zhang, PhD Candidate, M.S., MT-BC
Temple University, PA, U.S.
Jing-Wen Zhang received B.A. in major of music therapy at Central Conservatory of Music (Beijing, China), and M.S. at State University of New York at New Paltz (NY, U.S.). She has worked with clients in general medical, neurological rehabilitation, and psychotherapy settings in both U.S. and China. She is pursuing PhD at Temple University in Philadelphia, U.S. Jing-Wen currently serves as the clinician and clinical supervisor at Philadelphia Aphasia Center at Temple. Her dissertation is on using innovative music-based intervention with people with aphasia. Jing-Wen has published articles and research on international journals.
Chair, Committee on Development/Finance
Dr. Mohan Sundararaj MBBS, MPH
Mohan Sundararaj started studying the piano at the age of three in his hometown of Chennai, India and pursued a 4-year degree program at Berklee College of Music, Boston graduating summa cum laude in music therapy to become one of India’s first US board certified music therapists. At Berklee, Mohan was a regular solo and ensemble performer and a recipient of numerous awards including the Gary Burton Music Therapy Award and the First Prize at the Emmanuel Zambelli Piano Competition. As a board-certified music therapist, Mohan has worked with children with medical and developmental needs, individuals with dementia, adults with mental or chronic illness and terminally ill individuals in hospice care both in India and the United States. Mohan is also a medical doctor and a global health expert with over 15 years’ experience in direct clinical services and HIV-related technical support in over 20 countries. Currently, Mohan is the Director of Public Health Programs at MPact, a non-profit organization based in California advancing the health and human rights of LGBT communities worldwide.
Chair, Committee on Conference
Vera Brandes, MSc
Vera Brandes, former record producer and founder of multiple record labels, was one of the co-founders of the Science Network Man and Music at the University Mozarteum, Salzburg and former lecturer on culture & media at the University for Applied Sciences in Salzburg, Austria. Vera is CSO of SANOSON in Vienna, Austria and developed I-MAT© (Individualized Music-focussed Audio Therapies) for the treatment of psychosomatic disorders (US patent).
Chair, Committee on Communications/Outreach
Samuel Gracida, MA, MT
Samuel Gracida is originally from Mexico but has lived in China, the USA, and Germany. He has played guitar for over 12 years and completed a Bachelor’s of Music from Capital University in Ohio, USA. He has experience playing a wide range of genres, from rock and metal to jazz, classical, funk, and Brazilian music, among others. He also completed a Master’s degree in music therapy at SRH University in Heidelberg, Germany. Samuel leads a business with international clients in music therapy to develop their communications and digital presence. His interests include work with children, refugee and vulnerable populations, trauma, and more.
Co-Chair, Ethics Committee
May Artis, MT-BC
Maya Artis is a board-certified music therapist who specializes in working with children, ages of 5 to 18, both group and individually. Maya completed her clinical internship at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City and received her M.A. in music with a concentration in music therapy from Montclair State University. Currently, Maya is the Director of Communications at Olive Branch Educators (OBE), a diversity consulting firm. OBE works with different organizations to help them attain their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals. She co-chairs IAMM’s Ethics Committee.
Members Board of Directors
