Ed Kuczaj is former head of the department of Arts in Health and Education at CIT Crawford College. Prior to this position he worked in the NHS in the UK, as a clinician and manager in the area of learning disabilities. He has published a number of articles and contributed to books in this area. Ed was Vice Chair of BAAT in the UK prior to moving to Ireland. Since retiring he has been involved in the Cork/ BVI Art Therapy Initiative, which worked in the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, shortly after the occurrence of hurricane Irma in 2017, working in schools and with community groups there. He was also Chair of the Irish Association of Creative Arts Therapists in 2018 – 2020, and is still involved in the associations work. Ed currently works privately as a clinical supervisor and has been involved in online CPD training in the area of Art Psychotherapy. He engages in his own creativity through photography/ painting and sculpture, exhibiting occasionally in Cork and Co Waterford where he is based.

Dr Hester O Connor is a Clinical Psychologist in the HSE. Hester has worked as a psychologist for over thirty years. She worked in Scotland and England for many years before returning to Ireland to work in the HSE. Hester is a member of the Board of Directors for Heartfulness Ireland. Hester is keen on holistic approaches to wellbeing and mental health and she has a great interest in the place of the heart in all aspects of life. Hester has a well established Heartfulness meditation practice and her current research pursuit is in investigating the evolution of consciousness that comes about as a result of meditation. Hester believes in the vision of Heidi & Stephen at Soearth organic farm, because the planet needs to be loved not saved.