ABOUT
Artist Statement
When words are too constricting or can’t convey the unsayable -- art moves onto the page and provides the narrative.
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As an artist, my experience of the world follows an internal path that translates movement, emotion, thought, sight, and sound into a visual response. This visual response shows my own unique way of seeing the world and living within it.
Resume and Experience
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Dr. Shelton obtained both her PhD (2022) and MBA (1997) from Drake University and is currently enrolled in the Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling program at West Liberty University.
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With over thirty-five years of experience in the field of healthcare, Dr. Shelton's leadership expertise spans psychiatry, substance abuse, organ transplant, obstetrics and maternal health, physical medicine, and specialty medicine, including spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation.
Dr. Shelton currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer for On With Life, a brain injury and neurological injury rehabilitation facility. Throughout her extensive career, Dr. Shelton has maintained a consistent commitment to the arts, particularly the healing aspect of art.
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Appointments and Community Engagement
Board Member, On With Life, LTD (long-term care services for medically complex)
Advisory Council Member - Iowa HOME planning committee, designed to address home-based community services access in the state.
Past Chair, Foundation for the Advancement of Brain Injury Rehabilitation (National Initiative)
Governor’s Appointment – Iowa Advisory Council on Brain Injury
Past Chair – COVID Task Force (Iowa Advisory Council on Brain Injury)
Past-Chair and Member – American Congress on Rehabilitation Medicine, Arts and Neurosciences Networking Group
Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives
Member, Mayo Clinic TBI Regional Advisory Council
Certified Practice Manager and Member, Medical Group Management Association
Member, Brain Injury Association Business Council
Member Representative, United Network for Organ Sharing, Region 8
Past Board Member, Central Iowa Transplant Association
Board Member/Executive Committee, Iowa Donor Network
Past Board Member, End Stage Renal Disease Network #12
Past Advisory Board Member, Healthy Start – Iowa
Past - Iowa Department of Public Health Appointment, Statewide Dual Diagnosis Committee
Past - IHH&S Provider Representative, Iowa Managed Substance Abuse Care Plan Roundtable
PastGrant Reviewer, Magellan Behavioral Health
Past Peer Reviewer, Iowa Department of Public Health
Past Member and officer, Chemical Dependency Treatment Programs of Iowa
Past Member, Iowa Behavioral Management System
Past Chair, Training Advisory Committee, Iowa Department of Public Health
Specialty Training, Art Therapy, Drake University
Past Team Member, Drake University MBA Research Project, Human Gene Therapy
Volunteer, American Red Cross Disaster Team Leader
Board Member, Express Care - Joint Venture
Past Chair and Board member, Iowa Specialty Physicians
Past Member, ACO Advisory Group - Unity Point
Volunteer, Animal Rescue League of Iowa
Volunteer Artist, On With Life Rehabilitation Center
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Publications
A Phenomenological Exploration of Identity Following Brain and Neurologic Injury: An Arts-Based Research Approach. Drake University ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2023. 29394761.
An Observational Cohort Study of the Role of Level of Effort in Post Acute Brain Injury Rehabilitation. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. DOI: 10.1016/j.apmr.2022.07.013
The Foundation to Advance Brain Rehabilitation: Organization, History, and Collaborative Database. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation 40(1):p 1-7, January/February 2025. | DOI: 10.1097/HTR.0000000000001000
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Speaking Engagements
Matching Participants to Programs: Participant Characteristics and Outcomes for Post-inpatient Brain Rehabilitation Programs Contributing to the Foundation to Advance Brain Rehabilitation (FABR) Database. American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Chicago. 2021
Engagement – Does it improve with interventions involving both music and visual arts? American Congress of Rehabilitation Annual Conference. Chicago. 2022
Visual Arts as a Tool for Exploring the Self Following Injury. American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Atlanta. 2023
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State of the Science: Visual Arts as Neurorehabilitation. American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Chicago. 2025