Scholarship and Biography
Ms. Cleary (she/her) works at the intersection of creativity, theater, education, and mental health practice. She teaches courses in stage management, creative pedagogy, wellness and sustainable practice, oral/group communication, and applied theater. Jen has mentored, stage-managed, and directed productions with students in our department seasons and has worked professionally as a stage manager. Jen is also a licensed clinical social worker and supports students working on theatrical productions as the department's first theater wellness faculty liaison. Her research & practice interests include the intersection of clinical social work ethics with sustainable work for emerging theater artists; collective wellness; self-compassion and educator wellness; performance anxiety; technology in education; action research; clinical modalities in mindfulness; creative clinical interventions. As a clinical social worker, Jen works with adults across the lifespan and is grounded in strengths-based and person-centered frameworks with a core foundation in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, a values-centered and mindfulness-based approach.