Luann Drolc Fortune Saybrook University, USA

Luann Drolc Fortune PhD, LMT, is an educator, researcher, and advocate whose orientation and thinking has been fundamentally impacted by her work with Valerie Bentz and the Transformative Phenomenology communities of practice from Fielding University. She believes that context influences contributions and thus discloses that she is a cisgender, heterosexual white female whose cultural identity is influenced by her experience as a second-generation American of Eastern European descent and a first-generation female college graduate.  She is professionally embedded in complementary and integrative medicine through 25 years of practice experience as a massage therapist where she witnessed inequities in the delivery of integrative medicine.  She is committed to addressing diversity-equity-inclusion (DEI) inequities in her work and community, beginning by cultivating her own cultural competency. Luann serves as faculty and coordinates the specialization in Mindful Leadership in the College of Integrative Medicine and Health Sciences at Saybrook University, an institute deeply rooted in humanistic tradition. Her scholarship focuses on mindfulness, integrative healthcare, and holistic wellness practices, as well as somatic awareness and embodiment techniques for research and practice.  She is active in community service and currently serves as the associate editor of the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (IJTMB). She was personally impacted by the climate crisis when Hurricane Ian destroyed her home in SW Florida.