Ivy League Scholar and New York Times Best Selling Author Lisa Miller to Serve as Featured Speaker At the Institute for Spirituality and Health’s 70th Anniversary Celebration on May 1, 2025

NEWS RELEASE

HOUSTON, Texas (April 17, 2025) –  Lisa Miller, Ph.D., will serve as the featured speaker at the Institute for Spirituality and Health’s 70th Anniversary Platinum Jubilee Celebration on Thursday, May 1, in Houston. Miller is the New York Times bestselling author of The Spiritual Child and a professor in the Clinical Psychology Program at Teachers College, Columbia University. 

The event will be held on May 1 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Helix Park. Helix Park is the Texas Medical Center’s innovation hub. Houston media personality Lisa Malosky will serve as emcee. More than 300 supporters, Institute board members, healthcare professionals, faith leaders, and community leaders are expected to attend. 

The Institute was founded in 1955 as the Institute for Religion and was the first chaplaincy at the Texas Medical Center. The Institute’s 70th Anniversary Celebration will feature inspiring remarks and performances that honor the Institute’s commitment to serve those in spiritual need, individuals at the end of life, and communities affected by health disparities. Attendees will enjoy an inspiring evening of heartfelt tributes showcasing the Institute’s rare and durable presence which has fostered holistic well-being and spiritual care throughout the decades.

“We are honored to have secured Dr. Miller as our featured speaker. Her work mirrors the Institute’s founding belief: that health and healing are incomplete without the integration of the human spirit,” commented Stuart Nelson, president and chief executive officer of the Institute. “Dr. Miller has spent decades proving that spiritual life is a pillar of human flourishing, which is a concept that the Institute has championed for over 70 years. Our decade-long relationship is grounded in shared values and vision.”

The relationship between Miller and the Institute began in 2013, when she was invited to speak at the Psychotherapy and Faith Conference. Her presentation received rave reviews for its accessible yet technically rich integration of science and spirituality. Since then, she has participated in multiple Institute events and has welcomed Institute leadership to guest lecture at Columbia University. In 2021, she joined the Institute’s adjunct faculty and remains one of the most beloved members of its extended community.

Miller is the founder and director of the Spirituality Mind Body Institute, which is the first Ivy League graduate program and research institute in spirituality and psychology. Her innovative research has been published in more than 100 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals, including Cerebral Cortex, The American Journal of Psychiatry, and the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

“Dr. Miller is a charismatic messenger of hope and healing and a perfect headliner for our 70th anniversary celebration. She brings the science to what the Institute has always known intuitively and spiritually—that a person’s inner life is integral to his or her healing and well-being,” said Leah Adams Pruitt, vice president of engagement at the Institute. “Her credentials are impressive, and her body of work is extensive.”

In addition to all of her other accomplishments, Miller is the editor of the Oxford University Press Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality, founding co-editor-in-chief of the APA journal Spirituality in Clinical Practice, an elected Fellow of The American Psychological Association (APA), and the two-time president of the APA Society for Psychology and Spirituality. Miller serves as a speaker and consultant for the U.S. military, businesses, faith-based organizations, schools and universities, and other organizations.

Miller earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Yale University. She earned her Ph.D. under Dr. Martin Seligman, founder of the positive psychology movement, at the University of Pennsylvania. As a teenager, she was among the youngest women to complete the Boston Marathon, exemplifying her lifelong commitment to mental, physical, and spiritual resilience.

Single tickets, table sales, and underwriting opportunities for the Institute’s Platinum Jubilee Celebration are available. To learn more about the event or to register, please visit https://www.spiritualityandhealth.org/events/celebration. 

About the Institute for Spirituality and Health at the Texas Medical Center
The Institute is an independent, interfaith organization established in 1955. A founding member of the world-renowned Texas Medical Center, the Institute has made a meaningful difference by cultivating heart and humanity in healthcare. The Institute will celebrate a major milestone in May 2025 as it prepares for its 70th anniversary. Over the past seven decades, the Institute has emerged as a pioneering institution at the intersection of faith, medicine, and mental health. Driven by the belief that healthcare must nurture the body, mind, and spirit, the Institute has engaged in decades of mission-focused community education. 

The Institute for Spirituality and Health's mission is to enhance well-being by exploring the relationship between spirituality and health. The Institute advances this mission through education, research, and direct service programs, guided by its four centers of excellence: the Rabbi Samuel E. Karff Center for Healthcare Professionals, the Center for Body, Spirit, and Mind, the Center for End-of-Life and Aging, and the Center for Faith and Public Health. 

For more information about the Institute, visit https://www.spiritualityandhealth.org/.

Media Contacts:

Laura Pennino, Senior PR Consultant for The Institute for Spirituality and Health
281-286-9398 office | 713-419-1776 mobile | lp@penninoandpartners.com 

MaKlay Simon, PR Consultant for The Institute for Spirituality and Health
281-286-9398 office | 325-262-1862 mobile | maklay@penninoandpartners.com