Intima | ADVISORY BOARD

JENNIFER ADAEZE OKWEREKWU (nee ANYAEGBUNAM) is one of the Founding Editors of the Intima. Jennifer attended Harvard College where she studied Visual & Environmental Studies and Health Policy. She received a M.S. in Narrative Medicine at Columbiabefore starting medical school at the University of Virginia. She is currently a first year resident at the Harvard Medical School Cambridge Health Alliance Psychiatry training program. As a  physician-writer and producer, she will use her training in narrative and media to not only explore the synergy between the two fields, but also further the humanistic goals of  medicine.

ANDREW FLYNN is a creative director in New York City. He is the Art Director of Women's Wear Daily, a trade publication reporting on the fashion industry. With a BA in English from U. Mass Boston, his love of language has always guided his design sensibility. "You can't give something meaning, let alone make it look pretty, if you don't understand its content first," he says. Flynn designed the new Intima logo using Chronicle, a classic serif which the pros at typography.com have dubbed "hardworking" and "a blended  Scotch." The typeface, which originated at the end of the eighteenth century, is associated with Scottish type founders Alexander Wilson and William Miller. The opening of the Binny & Ronaldson foundry in Philadelphia, begun by Scottish émigrés  in 1796, helped establish the style in the United States, where it has remained a fundamental part of the modern typographic vocabulary.

SNEHA MANTRI is a graduate of the Narrative Medicine Master's program (2011) and a neurology resident at the University of Virginia. Her interests within Narrative Medicine include the imaginative education of the physician and the incorporation of narrative techniques into medical frameworks. She also writes short stories and is currently working on a series of tales set in Depression-era Appalachia. She was Managing Editor of the Intima from Spring 2012 through Spring 2013.

JESUS A. RIVERA is a learning and development professional with over 20 years of training and project management experience. Rivera designs and implements learning programs used by investigative clinical staff worldwide. His goal is to apply the principles and goals of Narrative Medicine to clinical trials, enriching the relationship between clinicians and patients.  He enjoys expressing his creative side through the arts such as writing, painting, drawing, sculpture and photography.

CINDY SMALLETZ, M.S., M.A., who is Program Director, Narrative Medicine, at the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University,  was one of the first graduates of the Columbia program. She holds a graduate degree in Instructional Design & Technology from Seton Hall and worked for the Center for New Media Teaching and Learning at the Columbia University Medical Center, focusing on merging technology and education for students and  faculty. By bringing together Narrative Medicine with education and technology, she plans to change healthcare through better training, communication, and empathy. Smalletz was the Fellowship Adviser for Managing Editor Donna Bulseco on the re-design of Intima.

THE FACULTY of the Narrative Medicine program at Columbia University have been instrumental in supporting Intima, from its inception through today. We would like to thank Dr. Rita Charon, Professor of Clinical Medicine and Director of the Program in Narrative Medicine at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons; Craig Irvine, Academic Director; and faculty members  Sayantani DasGupta, Nellie Hermann, Marsha Hurst, and Maura Spiegel for their inspiration, support and guidance. The Narrative Medicine Master's Program seeks to strengthen the overarching goals of medicine, public health, and social justice, as well as the intimate, interpersonal experiences of the clinical encounter. The program fulfills these objectives by educating a leadership corps of health professionals and scholars from the humanities and social sciences who will imbue patient care and professional education with the skills and values of narrative understanding. Learn more about what is happening—workshops, Narrative Rounds, and other news from the  Program in Narrative Medicine, or read about the graduate degree program being offered at Columbia University through the Masters Program in Narrative Medicine.