On Sunday, “The Art of Discovering, Healing, and Being Yourself”
Dr. Nivedita Lakhera is a physician with 14 years of clinical and academic experience, a Pulitzer-nominated poet, and the recipient of The Max Cranbrook Global Peacemaker Award. Her first book, Pillow of Dreams, is an award-winning poetry and art book, and remains the best reviewed amongst almost 100,000 poetry books on Amazon. Lakhera’s second and third books, “I am not a Princess, I am a Complete Fairytale” and “The Life Currency,” are included in the Peace and Justice syllabi of Wayne State and Michigan State University. “The Life Currency” has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
At the age of 27, Dr. Lakhera suffered a massive stroke followed by a traumatic divorce. Despite the setbacks, she did not let herself be defined by these events. She picked herself up and turned to studying lifestyle medicine, neuroscience, nutrition, literature and art to heal herself and others. She learned that tragedies such as hers can strike anyone at any stage in life and learned how we can thrive through such tragedies.
Lakhera has been interviewed on NPR, NBC and USA Today. An op-ed she wrote for USA Today on mental health is one of its top seven editorials of all time and she has been cited by the publication as one of the leaders of change. She is also a strong advocate for the white coats for Black Lives Matter movement and has spoken out on the issue of health care disparities amongst minorities.
She is currently practicing as a primary care physician at Indian Health Clinic in San Jose, that caters underserved communities, and is a part-time hospitalist at Kaiser, San Jose.
Ghanaian-American singer/songwriter and filmmaker Greg Osei uses music, ritual, dance, and other art forms to create space for healing and connection between individuals, collectives, and larger historical narratives. As an R&B/Soul artist, Greg gives his music an Afrocosmopolitan flair, often drawing inspiration from West African, Latin, and Afro-Caribbean music.
Greg double majored in Music and Theater Studies at Yale University and sang with and directed Shades, a Yale a cappella group that sings music of the African diaspora.
He spent almost four years living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he acted professionally in theater and commercials around Latin America, sang with numerous ensembles, and wrote, produced, and directed Spanish-language experimental short film Encuentro.
Now based in Harlem, he directs and performs in solo concerts and interactive, interdisciplinary works. His music video “Searching for Wonder” highlights the connections that black people can find to their ancestral pasts and their transformative futures and has screened at various film festivals globally including the New Orleans Film Festival, the Indie Memphis Film Festival, the San Francisco Dance Film Festival, and the Mexico City Videodance Festival. He has also performed in works by other artists in venues like MoMA, MoMA PS1, the Park Avenue Armory, and the Cape Dance Festival.
He is driven by the belief that when we access who we are in all of its complexity, we have the power to transform the world into one we would rather live in.
CME Details:
Accreditation Statement
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Amedco LLC and Northern California Regional Organization of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Amedco LLC is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Physicians (ACCME) Credit Designation
Amedco LLC designates this live activity for a maximum of 8.25 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
