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Thursday March 20, 2025 9:00am - 9:15am EDT
Healing the individual; healing the collective -- tomorrow’s Charlottesville starts with each of our journeys.

As our opening track, this conference takes us on an intellectual and an experiential journey through healing. We all experience suffering in our lives – physical ailments, mental stress, emotional pain, societal pressures – and it’s up to us to decide how we handle it. The process of understanding, accepting, forgiving, and ultimately healing ourselves is a lifelong journey. How can you experience wholeness and happiness on an ongoing basis?

We explore a variety of proven ways we can heal ourselves and increase our awareness and happiness -- from meditation and mindfulness to plant medicines (inc. psychedelics) and guided practices such as counseling, yoga, energy healing, hypnosis, and more. Along the way, we will explore ideas about what is meant by “consciousness,” whether any part of your consciousness might survive death, how to bring more awareness to all parts of your life, and how you can meaningfully increase joy and fulfillment in your day-to-day activities and truly flourish.

Note: This conference is a ticketed event. To create your event schedule here on Sched you must first purchase your tickets on Eventbrite. Click here to purchase your tickets. All Conference badges also have a Pay-What-You-Can Scholarship Option. This option is available for attendees in need of financial assistance to attend the conference.

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A special thank you to our sponsors: The 12th Annual Tom Tom Festival is presented with the University of Virginia, Virginia Tourism, RL Beyer Custom Homes, and Ludwig Kuttner.  

Speakers
avatar for Dr. David Acunzo

Dr. David Acunzo

Assistant Professor, Division of Perceptual Studies, UVA School of Medicine
David Acunzo PhD, is Assistant Professor in the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. After a degree in telecommunications engineering from IMT Atlantique (France), David obtained his PhD in neuroinformatics from the University of Edinburgh... Read More →
avatar for Eben Alexander

Eben Alexander

Principal, All Is Well Unlimited LLC
Academic neurosurgeon Dr. Eben Alexander III, whose career includes decades as a physician and associate professor at Harvard Medical School and revered teaching hospitals, was once staunchly committed to the materialist world view -- the belief that the physical world is all that... Read More →
avatar for Bernie Beitman

Bernie Beitman

Moderator, The Coincidence Project
Bernard Beitman, MD is the author or editor of seven psychiatry books, recipient of two national psychiatry awards for his psychotherapy training program, and former chair of psychiatry at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is the Founding Director and President of The Coincidence... Read More →
avatar for Patrick Belisle

Patrick Belisle

Advisory Board Member for UVA’s Division of Perceptual Studies | Fundraising Consultant | Wedding Celebrant
Patrick Belisle is a practical mystic; a nonprofit executive, teacher, and world traveler. He studied business and theology with Benedictine monks at his Minnesota college, meditated with Buddhist monks in Thailand, and had a mystical experience at the Osho Commune in India on a one-year... Read More →
avatar for Paul Beyer

Paul Beyer

Executive Director, Tom Tom
My professional interests and passions are around community building; with a specific focus on my hometown of Charlottesville, VA. I love the instigators, entrepreneurs, artists, activists, and healers who are filled with civic purpose and desire to create communities of friendship... Read More →
avatar for Doreen Bonnet

Doreen Bonnet

Executive Director, Birth Sisters
Doreen Bonnet is Executive Director, Co-Founder, and doula with Birth Sisters of Charlottesville doula collective, an organization dedicated to dismantling root causes of systemic maternal health disparities for Black, Indigenous and People of Color.   She has been providing perinatal... Read More →
avatar for Holly Chen

Holly Chen

Owner, Mindful Taiji
Holly began studying internal Chinese martial arts including Tai Ji (Chi), Qigong, Xing Yi, and Ba Gua about 15 years ago. She is deeply impressed by the sophistication, usefulness, and beauty of internal Chinese martial arts. She finds practicing Tai JI and Qigong very helpful for... Read More →
avatar for Christianna Deichmann

Christianna Deichmann

Director of Education, Holistic Wellness Therapist, Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health
Christianna Deichmann is a somatic psychotherapist focusing on pre and perinatal psychology, conscious parenting through emotional awareness, and the spiritual science of nurture. She practices massage, Biodynamic CranioSacral Therapy, trauma-informed care, and the Inner Child Journey... Read More →
avatar for Patrick Finan

Patrick Finan

Professor of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia
Patrick H. Finan, Ph.D. is the Harold Carron Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. The Finan Lab focuses broadly on explicating psychological and neurobiological mechanisms of chronic pain. Within that broad domain, Dr. Finan’s team specifically... Read More →
avatar for Dr. Melissa  Frost

Dr. Melissa Frost

Assistant Professor, UVA
Melissa Frost’s ongoing research focuses on the history of traditional hallucinogenic plant consumption in Mexico during the colonial period. She traces reoccurring themes across pre-Columbian codices, colonial texts, and present-day ethnographic studies to reconstruct consumption... Read More →
avatar for Nicole Hawker

Nicole Hawker

Founder, Soul & Soul Fitness
Nicole Hawker is a highly accomplished fitness professional, recognized for her experience in counseling, social work, and the fitness industry. A native of Charlottesville, Virginia, Nicole is the Founder of Heart and Soul Fitness, a non-profit studio that she established in 2022... Read More →
avatar for Hiromi Johnson

Hiromi Johnson

Tai Chi Master, Charlottesville Tai Chi Center
Master Hiromi Hangai Johnson is the Founder and Director of Charlottesville T'ai Chi Center, an award-winning nonprofit whose mission includes spreading the health benefits of Taiji (T'ai Chi) and related internal martial arts in the wider community.  She is an International Cheng... Read More →
avatar for Yolonda Coles Jones

Yolonda Coles Jones

Founder and Facilitator, The RESTORE Project
Yolonda Coles Jones, named by her clients as “The Calm and Thrive Coach” is native to Charlottesville, VA. She is an international conscious relationship expert and empowered living coach. She helps home, community and business leaders learn to reconnect with and powerfully support... Read More →
avatar for Jason King

Jason King

Programs Manager, The Monroe Institute
Jason's roots in the entertainment industry run quite deep. For over two decades, he has had an amazing time traveling the country and the globe delivering unforgettable concerts and events for some of the most recognizable artists in the world. As he got older, he longed for a more... Read More →
avatar for Alicia Lenahan

Alicia Lenahan

Executive Director, Common Ground Healing Arts
Alicia Lenahan is the Executive Director of Common Ground Healing Arts, a local nonprofit dedicated to providing access to affordable complementary medicine. The organization offers community acupuncture, massage, and postpartum doula care. Classes and workshops are also scheduled... Read More →
avatar for Karen Newell

Karen Newell

Co-Founder, Sacred Acoustics
Karen Newell is an author and specialist in personal development with a diverse body of work that rests upon the foundation of heart-centered consciousness and spiritually transformative experiences. Her personal growth programs, workshops, guided meditations and teachings enable... Read More →
avatar for Alexandra Pallas

Alexandra Pallas

Co-Founder and SVP of Programs, Beckley Retreats
Alexandra is a conscious business entrepreneur, holistic wellbeing enthusiast, and transformational experience design pro. She is a Co-Founder and SVP of Programs at Beckley Retreats, where she leads the design and implementation of science-backed psychedelic and holistic wellbeing... Read More →
avatar for Kim Penberthy

Kim Penberthy

Professor of Psychiatry & Neurobehavioral Sciences, UVA School of Medicine
Jennifer “Kim” Penberthy, Ph.D., ABPP is the Chester F. Carlson Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, where she conducts research, teaches, and provides clinical care. She is a Board Certified licensed clinical psychologist... Read More →
avatar for Monica Rao

Monica Rao

Transformative (Intuitive) Energy healer & Transformational Spiritual mentor
Monica Rao has been a passionate meditator for more than thirty years, originally trained in Mumbai, India. Throughout her career in academia and in the IT private sector, Rao has been involved in the arts. Her healing work and meditation practice has deeply informed her art, for... Read More →
avatar for Becka Richman

Becka Richman

Nurse Supervisor, Child Health Partnership
Becka Richman is a Public Health Nurse with a passion for maternal child health equity. Becka recently returned to the Charlottesville community after completing a master's in nursing & public health in Baltimore, MD. Previously, Becka worked as a home visiting nurse in Charlottesville... Read More →
avatar for Laura Salvatierra

Laura Salvatierra

Team Coordinator, Perinatal OB Case Manager, Sentara Health Care
avatar for Michael Sheehy

Michael Sheehy

Director of Research, UVA's Contemplative Sciences Center
Michael R. Sheehy, PhD is a meditation researcher and scholar of Tibetan Buddhism. He is a Research Assistant Professor and Director of Research at the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia. At UVA, he directs the CIRCL: Contemplative Innovation + Research Collaborative... Read More →
avatar for Megan Sprague

Megan Sprague

Sound Artist, Self
Megan Sprague is a sound maker, dancer, dreamer and sacred time keeper. Deeply drawn to music and movement, sacred sounding and grounding; she holds sanctuary space for communal connection in nature. With love and gratefulness, she shares prayerful, heart centered practices for personal... Read More →
avatar for Juliet Trail

Juliet Trail

Founding Director, Courageous Compassion Connection
Juliet Trail, PhD, is the Executive Director of The Coincidence Project, a global nonprofit dedicated to meaningful coincidence, synchronicity and serendipity. Her area of specialty is the connection between compassion, nature, and coincidences. She is also Founding Director of Courageous... Read More →
avatar for Rissa Stiefel Tutia

Rissa Stiefel Tutia

Program Manager, Tom Tom Foundation
Rissa Stiefel Tutia (she/her) is the chef and owner of Blossoming Earth: Eco-Culinary Arts, the Tom Tom Conference Program Manager,  and a substitute teacher at Venable Elementary School. She holds a Master’s degree in Somatic Counseling Psychology, with a concentration in Dance/Movement... Read More →
avatar for Dr. Marina Weiler

Dr. Marina Weiler

Assistant Professor, Division of Perceptual Studies, UVA School of Medicine
Marina Weiler, PhD, is a neuroscientist specializing in the field of medical sciences. She holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Neurology at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil.During her doctoral studies, Marina focused on utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging... Read More →
avatar for Alex Zorychta

Alex Zorychta

Managing Partner, Not Yet Ventures
Alex Zorychta is Managing Partner of Not Yet Ventures, a VC firm that unearths high potential entrepreneurs in universities and gets them funded by top tier early investors like YC/Techstars. He's coached 15 startups from pre-idea to YC/Techstars funding, and founded his own startup... Read More →
Thursday March 20, 2025 9:00am - 9:15am EDT
The Haven

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