Bronwen Mayer Henry
Named Keynote Speaker
Bronwen Mayer Henry is an educator, nonprofit leader, author, and contemplative painter whose work lives at the intersection of creativity, compassion, and spiritual formation. She helps individuals and communities cultivate the skills, courage, and self-awareness needed to build more compassionate selves and communities, and a more understanding world.
For more than two decades, Bronwen has worked in curriculum development, leadership training, and facilitation within the faith and nonprofit sectors. Trained in elementary and special education at Bryn Athyn College, she began her career designing experiential, small-group learning models that translate values into lived practice.
During eight years in congregational leadership at Bryn Athyn Church, she co-created and led the five-year Finding Hope initiative in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, mobilizing community leaders to respond to complex challenges, including suicide, addiction, domestic violence, sexual abuse, and mental illness. She now serves as Director of the Leadership Institute at Interfaith Philadelphia, equipping leaders across sectors with the skills and relationships needed to navigate difference and foster civil dialogue.
Bronwen completed the Executive Program in Social Impact Strategy at the University of Pennsylvania in 2021 and a two-year meditation teacher training with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach in 2025. She is currently training as a facilitator with the Compassionate Listening Project.
Daily creative practice grounds her approach to life and work. After a cancer diagnosis in 2013, she turned to painting as a way to move through fear–an experience that she describes in her book Radioactive Painting (2020). She continues to lead retreats and workshops exploring contemplative creativity as a pathway to resilience, insight, and compassion.
Bronwen lives in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Jeremy, their two teenagers, and their King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, Yoda.
2026 Keynote Address
Bronwen’s keynote, Creating Harmony: Art as Spiritual Practice, explores how creativity can be an accessible, everyday path to healing, finding inner steadiness, and meaningful engagement with the world. This keynote invites participants to see creative expression as a spiritual practice—a form of expressive meditation that builds inner harmony and strengthens our capacity to face personal and collective challenges. Rather than competing with social action, creativity can ground and sustain it, helping us be present without going numb. Attendees will leave with a renewed sense that creativity is a birthright and a simple, nearby practice for cultivating peace, resilience, and connection.
The keynote will be on June 26, 7:30PM–9:00PM ET, in the St. Lawrence meeting room, and will also be available online. In addition to the keynote, Bronwen will also be offering a Mini Course that puts this all into practice. Details will be available when registration opens on April 15.
Read the full issue of the March 2026 Messenger
