NEUROARTS CONFERENCE

Sassia Hochberg — Drama Therapist

Sassia W. Hochberg is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Drama Therapist, and Healing Arts Practitioner.  Her goals include supporting people and their vision for a more balanced life to live and love freely; guiding them to discover hidden talents; building self-confidence; and helping students explore a journey of transformation in a safe space. A former middle school and high school theatre teacher in Florida and New Jersey, Sassia holds a Master’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Education with specialization in Drama Therapy and a Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from Nova Southeastern University.

Gaynelle Gosselin — Somatic Education Specialist

Gaynelle Gosselin is a movement education specialist with a keen interest in how mind and body interact in communication. She founded See Change Dance in 2012 to explore the creative process through movement arts. She was awarded a 2024 Palm Beach County Changemaker grant for her efforts to bring creative movement to the behavioral health recovery community. Ms. Gosselin holds an MFA in Theatre, and currently teaches at Florida Atlantic University. She has also served as a teaching artist at the Center for Creative Education and in Palm Beach County Schools. She is the Alexander Technique instructor for Ballet Palm Beach’s pre-professional training program. Gaynelle is a certified teaching member of Alexander Technique International (ATI). Since 2006, she has been using Alexander Technique and other mind/body education methods to help performing artists, educators, and other professionals learn to maximize presence, minimize performance anxiety, and enhance creativity and presentation skills. In addition to her work with See Change Dance, Ms. Gosselin performs with the Demetrius Klein Dance Company, Palm Beach County’s oldest modern dance company.

Jasmine Edwards — Music Therapist

Jasmine Edwards, MA, LCAT, MT-BC (she/her) is a doctoral fellow within Steinhardt Music Education with a focus in music therapy at New York University. Jasmine holds a BM and MA in music therapy from Florida State University and NYU, respectively. Her clinical experience includes private practice, outpatient, school-based, community, and medical pediatric settings, and she is trained in NICU-MT, First Sounds: RBL, and Austin Vocal Psychotherapy. Jasmine has a vested interest in elevating dialogues about cultural humility within music therapy education and clinical practice within both her teaching and academic writing. She has served as an adjunct faculty member in the music therapy departments at Howard University, New York University, Montclair State University, Nazareth College, Duquesne University, and Molly University.

Abasi Hanif — Percussionist

Abasi “Manblack” Hanif is a teaching artist, spoken word poet, West African drummer, event host and community organizer. He is the son of news writer, editor and teacher C. B. Hanif and fiber artist and teacher Kianga Jinaki. Mr. Hanif has owned and managed Livin’ The Rhythm for fifteen years, hosting community drum circles, performances and workshops throughout South Florida. He is a music accompanist for Palm Beach Atlantic University and the African Drum Director for Sounds of Success Community Band and Drumz Over Gunz Youth Program. He is one of the four founding members of Men of Blackness (Conscious HipHop) and a Black Cultural Event Planner with RBG of South Florida. The writer and actor has performed in Broadway Productions, including Sundiata, Pleasant City: Thee ChoreoPoem, Waking Kya and Chocolate Nutcracker, and has been nominated for numerous awards, including the 2014 Clyde Fyfe and the 2015 African American Achievers Award.

Jodi Sypher — Visual Artist / Mindfulness through Art

Jodi Sypher, M.S. Ed. has over 17 years experience in the Art and Museum fields. Ms. Sypher is the Exhibitions Curator at the Art and Culture Center/ Hollywood. Her previous experience includes the Director of Adult Learning & Engagement at the Norton Museum of Art, and the Curator of Education at the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami. She is the founder of the Mindful Moments Program at the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, and the co-founder of The Art of Mindfulness program at the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami. Mrs. Sypher holds a Master of Science in Education from Bank Street College of Education, New York, and has been certified to lead Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Classes with Brown University.