[Keynote] Dr. Gene Ann Behrens, MT-BC

Dr. Gene Ann Behrens, MT-BC, is Professor Emerita after 23 years of directing the music
therapy program at Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania. During her professorship, she
also served on several committees and executive boards for regional, national, and
international music therapy organizations. She continues her over 50-year career as a board-certified music therapist; now also contracts as a lecturer, presenter, and consultant; and continues to write.

Gene Ann is an international presenter who has given over 150 presentations or workshops in 27 countries. Some of her previous invitations to speak include Penn State Hershey Medical Center, USA; a NATO Security workshop in Turkey; Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute Campus in India; and the music therapy school at ArtEZ University of the Arts in the Netherlands. Over 100 of those presentations reflect her 18-year interest in neuroscience.

As a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, she describes her clinical approach as neuro-informed, the integration of neuroscience with her eclectic psychosocial approach. Her trauma fieldwork experience involves a sabbatical in Bethlehem, Palestine; two trips to Hargeisa, Somaliland; time in the economically challenged areas of Nairobi, Kenya; and online work with social workers in Gaza.

Gene Ann is also an avid photographer who has had three exhibitions and designed three books of her photography. Her most recent trip was to Bhutan in October 2026.

At the World Music Therapy Congress in Bologna, Italy, in July 2026, Gene Ann was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for her years of service and significant contributions to the field of music therapy. Gene Ann believes in the importance of reaching out to support and interact with others each day, leading with compassion and tolerance to reconnect individuals and our communities.