Keynote #4:
Reducing the Toxicity of Hate: Advocacy, Activism and Self-Care in a Global Pandemic

Dr. Kelvin Ramirez

Dr. Ramirez, a board-certified registered Art Therapist, has years of experience incorporating art therapy within educational systems to enhance student’s personal and academic growth. A Board Member of FNEI, a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Boston, MA, Dr. Ramirez has taken his expertise and shared them internationally, collaborating with educators, community leaders, mental health professionals and art therapist in Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, India, South Korea and Mexico. Dr. Ramirez is the Executive Producer of Art Therapy: The Movie (2016), an independent film that explores the healing power of artistic expression through art therapy and Love in the Making (2017), a thought-provoking independent film, that examines why we fall in love, what keeps us together, and what pulls us apart? Recently, Dr. Ramirez is collaborating with community leaders in Juarez, Mexico developing initiatives, “No Longer Bystanders” which focuses on supporting the complex mental health needs of asylum seekers. Currently, Dr. Ramirez is an Associate Professor in the Division of Expressive Arts Therapies with dual appointments in the Graduate School of Education at Lesley University, Cambridge, MA. Additionally, Dr. Ramirez served as a visiting professor for the Integrated Arts Therapy Doctoral Program at Ewha University.