Meghan Jennings

I have been in love with music for as long as I can remember. I started piano lessons when I was 5, and percussion when I was in high school. For the longest time, I was terrified to sing in front of anyone, but my job as a music teacher cured me of that fear rather quickly. I lost my mom to dementia and ovarian cancer in 2022, which changed my perspective about a LOT. I wrote a book called “The Year I Lost My Mom” that describes all of the events that influenced my change in perspective. I have become very interested in the way people respond to grief and trauma, especially after reading Bessel Van Der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score. It was through an online workshop with him that I first heard about Renee Fleming’s book Music & Mind. Music Therapy wasn’t really around much when I was in college (and it still isn’t available anywhere within a reasonable commuting distance), but I am very interested in the impact that music and art have on mental health. Additionally, I am very interested in the impact animals have on mental health, and would love to one day try to combine music, art, and animals in a way that would positively impact my community.