Mindfulness Session
ASTC Virtual 2021 Annual Conference
October 5–7, 2021
“Mindfulness in Museums: Sharing Coping Skills During Stress & Change”
Tuesday, October 5, 2021
3:00–3:30 p.m. EDT
During this extended period of extreme stress and constant change the community has been facing for the past 18 months, we will motivate and model an example of how to help staff weather these challenging times. This special session will be presented by the Cincinnati Museum Center and the University of Cincinnati, which partnered to offer staff a respite and build resistance during COVID with a series of sessions to share meditation, breathing techniques, and the science behind mindfulness.
Elizabeth Pierce is President and CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has been a key member of CMC senior leadership team, driving financial success through robust museum admission revenue, OMNIMAX films and blockbuster special exhibitions. Pierce has developed deep collaborations with many community partners. She guided the successful Union Terminal sales tax campaign in 2014. Elizabeth oversaw the restoration of Union Terminal, continues to drive the future development of CMC exhibits and programs, and works in partnership with the president and board of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Early in her career, Elizabeth gained experience in the photo archives department of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C.; public program development at The Corcoran Gallery of Art; special events and fundraising at The National Endowment for the Arts and the Chicago Children’s Museum. She stepped outside the museum industry for a period of time gaining strategic communications skills, community engagement and media relations expertise. She holds a Masters of Museum Studies/Administration and American Studies from The George Washington University.
Sian Cotton, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, founding director of the University of Cincinnati (UC) Center for Integrative Health and Wellness and UC Health Integrative Medicine and was recently named the Turner Farm Foundation Endowed Chair. A Professor in the Departments of Family and Community Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Cotton has an active research lab with ongoing clinical studies focusing primarily on mindfulness-based interventions and integrative medicine practice-based research. In 2007, Dr. Cotton was awarded a K23 career development award by the National Institutes of Health to examine the role of spiritual coping and health-related quality of life in adolescents with a chronic illness. A former Board member for the Academic Consortium of Integrative Medicine and Health, she is often invited to speak with community organizations and businesses, healthcare audiences, and academics about mind-body medicine for stress reduction, and preventive and wellness-based approaches to healthcare.