Sheila Fontanive

Sheila Fontanive, ATR-BC, LCAT, is an artist, licensed creative arts therapist, and Director of The Creative Center at University Settlement, where she develops arts in health initiatives across hospitals, cultural institutions, and community-based organizations throughout New York City. Her work is rooted in the conviction that creative engagement is not supplemental, but essential to health, healing, and human connection. For more than 15 years, Sheila has shaped programs that merge relational practice, clinical insight, and creative expression to support patients, caregivers, families, and healthcare professionals. Sheila holds a BA in Art History from Barnard College and an MPS in Art Therapy from the School of Visual Arts. She has built a career as a creative arts therapist, program director, supervisor, consultant, and educator, and currently serves as an art therapy consultant for the Fashion Institute of Technology. She also maintains a personal art practice in figurative painting and collage.