ROOM’s 10th Anniversary Gala: What Drives Us

We are thrilled to invite you to our 10th anniversary gala on Thursday, July 23, at 8 p.m. ET. The theme will be: What Drives Us.

In the days after the 2016 U.S. election, a small group of us created ROOM: A Sketchbook for Analytic Action around a driving need to feel centered. That feeling for connection drove us to build a space where individual expression could do more than just circulate, but actually resonate on a universal level. Over the past ten years, we have seen how poems and essays written on the frontlines of Minneapolis to Kabul have impacted readers from Johannesburg to Seoul.

Together in July, we will explore what drives us now, how we got to this moment, and what carries us forward into the next decade.

We are honored to announce that this year’s Coline Covington Award will be presented to Mark Solms, a pioneer in neuropsychoanalysis whose new book, The Only Cure: Freud and the Neuroscience of Mental Healing (Pegasus, 2026) makes a transformative case for what drives us and what healing ourselves actually requires.

As it’s the 10th anniversary, we have several events planned, including An Intimate Exchange with Mark Solms, an exclusive in-person event at IPTAR in New York City on July 22.

By joining us, you are doing more than attending an event. You are standing with ROOM, with our mission, and sustaining us for the future.

More details to follow.

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2026 Honoree: Mark Solms

Professor Mark Solms is a member of the British Psychoanalytical Society and the American and South African Psychoanalytic Associations (APsA, SAPA). He is Director of Neuropsychology at the Neuroscience Institute of the University of Cape Town and honorary lecturer in Neurosurgery at St Bartholomew’s and Royal London Hospital Medical School. He is an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists. He is director of the Science Department of APsA and director of Training for SAPA. He has received numerous honours and awards, including the Sigourney Prize and the Outstanding Scientific Contribution Award of the International Psychoanalytical Association. He has published 350 scientific papers, and nine books, the latest being The Only Cure: Freud and the Neuroscience of Mental Healing (2026). He is the authorized editor and translator of the Revised Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud (24 volumes) and the forthcoming Complete Neuroscientific Works of Sigmund Freud (4 volumes).

Presenters

Margaret Fulton, Ph.D, ABPP (can add FABP and FIPA if you want), LP is a member of the Psychoanalytic Center of California (PCC) and the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis (CCP). She was previously a member of the Minnesota Psychoanalytic Society and Institute (MPSI) where she was on the faculty for ten years and was Past-President of the Society.  Margaret also served on the Minnesota Board of Psychology for five years and she currently has a private practice in psychoanalysis in Minneapolis, MN.

Elizabeth Kandall, Ph.D, is a Psychologist/Psychoanalyst and student of Zen Buddhism. She received her MFA from Queens University of Charlotte where Ada Limon was her teacher and thesis advisor. She serves on the Board of Directors at Poets House and as a Poetry Editor at ROOM: A Sketchbook for Psychoanalytic Action. Her first book of poetry titled, Advanced Subtraction is forthcoming later this year with Kelsay Books.

Tasala completed six semesters of her psychology degree before the Taliban banned women from attending universities. Refusing to give up, she applied for and received a scholarship to the Asian University for Women in Bangladesh, where she is now in her third year, majoring in public health. In addition to her studies, she volunteers as an English teacher for Afghan girls through an online platform and actively supports Afghan students coping with trauma and displacement. Tasala is passionate about education, mental health, and women’s empowerment. She also enjoys creative writing and finds joy and comfort in playing the piano.

Eugene Mahon is a physician, a psychoanalyst, a graduate in child analysis and adult analysis at the Columbia psychoanalytic Center for Training and Research where he is a training and supervising analyst. He is also a member of the Center for Advanced Psychoanalytic Studies, Princeton New Jersey since 1978. He has written extensively not only on clinical psychoanalysis ( a book on Dreams, SUCH STUFF AS DREAMS, published in Italian as LA SOSTANZA DEI SOGNI)  but also on the application of analysis to literature, having published essays on Sophocles, Dante, Shakespeare, Coleridge, Wilde, James Joyce. He publishes a monthly Substack blog on poetry, dreaming and psychoanalysis for the Psychoanalytic Quarterly. He has published a psychoanalytic fairy tale called RENSAL THE REDBIT published in Italian as RENSAL IL LEPROSO; a volume of Poetry called BONESHOP OF THE HEART. One of his poems Steeds of Darkness was set to music by the American composer Miriam Gideon.

Samreen Makhfi was born in 2004 in Pakistan and grew up with a deep love for learning and service. She completed middle school at Qurtuba School in Pakistan and continued her high school studies at Afghan-Turk Schools in Kabul. When the Taliban took over during her 11th grade, she persevered and finished her senior year through a U.S.-based accredited online high school. Today, she teaches World History and World Religions while pursuing double bachelor’s degrees in Health Science and Law & Political Science.

Samreen is also a writer. Her first memoir is in the process of publication, and she has composed more than forty poems that reflect the experiences and resilience of Afghan girls. She serves as co-editor of an online monthly publication that amplifies the voices of young Afghan women, sharing their stories of courage and hope.

Dr. Francesca Schwartz is a psychoanalyst and a member of the Institute for Psychoanaltyic Training and Research (IPTAR) where she is on faculty and supervises in the Child Analytic Program, the Externship Program, and serves as co-chair on ‘Beyond the Basic Curriculum’. She is on faculty at the William Alanson White Institute where she teaches treatment of adolescence and the formulation of adolescent development in adult psychoanalysis. She is a multimedia artist with a studio based in New York. The resonance between art and psychoanalysis is the focus of her writings and practice as a multimedia artist. She serves as ROOM’s Art Editor and is a member of ROOM’s Editorial Board and Board of Directors, where her mission is to bring the convergence of art and psychoanalysis to the public forum of politics and culture.

Participating Hosts

Hattie Myers, PhD, is a Training and Supervising psychoanalyst at IPTAR. She is the editor in chief at ROOM: A Sketchbook for Analytic Action.

Isaac Slone is a psychoanalytic candidate at the Contemporary Freudian Society in New York City. He serves on ROOM’s board of directors and is the co-host of the “Voices from ROOM” podcast.




Aneta Stojnić, Ph.D, FIPA is a member of Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, in New York, a director of IPTAR’s Child and Adolescent Program, faculty member and supervisor. She is a senior editor at the magazine ROOM: A Sketchbook for Analytic Action and co-host of the “Voices from ROOM” podcast. Alongside psychoanalysis, Aneta’s areas of research include artistic and theoretical practices at the intersections of art, culture and politics. She has published three books and three co-edited volumes, as well as dozens of peer-reviewed articles. She regularly presents her work at conferences and public forums worldwide. She maintains a private practice in NYC, working with children, adolescents and adults.

About the Award

The Coline Covington Award honors individuals who have had profound social impact by making visible what has remained in the shadows. Their courage inspires us to see ourselves and experience others in new ways that transcend obstacles and ignite change.  Their work embodies the essence of ROOM’s recognition of the power of relationships to heal and transform our worlds following in the footsteps of Coline Covington. Dr. Covington’s trans-disciplinary work as a psychoanalyst, prolific author, and political activist captures her extraordinary devotion to the possibility of occupying our humanity more fully. The inaugural award was presented to 2024 honoree Dr. Bandy X. Lee for her bravery in confronting authoritarianism and social violence, and in 2025, Lord John Alderdice received the award for his courage in facing divisions, connecting communities, and forging peace through analytic thought.

 

Who was Coline Covington 

Dr. Coline Covington was a highly accomplished psychoanalyst, former chair of the British Psychoanalytic Council and author of numerous books and articles on political/social psychology. From 2011 to 2013 she was a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., and a visiting research fellow in international politics and development at the Open University. In conjunction with the London Metropolitan Police, Dr. Covington set up the first victim-offender mediation project in the country. Dr. Covington was a fellow of the International Dialogue Initiative, a think tank founded for politicians and psychoanalysts to work together to understand the effect of past trauma and large group anxieties on intransigent political conflict.  Her last book, “Whose to Blame: Collective Guilt on Trial” was published shortly before her death. Dr Covington joined ROOM during its first year, contributed several essays, and was a passionate proponent of ROOM’s mission until her untimely death.  

 

Special thanks to our award sponsors:

* If you purchased gala tickets but can’t attend on July 23, don’t worry—you’ll have access to the event recording for two weeks afterward.

*All proceeds support ROOM‘s ongoing work as a free, accessible global forum for analytic action. All donations are tax deductible.