| Roger Holzberg | |
| Occupation: | Health innovator, creative director, teacher, writer, inventor |
Roger Holzberg (born 1954) is an American health innovator, creative director, teacher, writer, and inventor. He is the co-founder and creative director for Reimagine Well,[1] as well as the founder of the organization My Bridge 4 Life.[2] He also previously served as the Creative Director (consulting) for the National Cancer Institute. Through My Bridge 4 Life, Holzberg provides a wellness network for people facing health crises. Holzberg was for twelve years a Vice President / Creative Director at The Walt Disney Company,[3] both at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online and at Walt Disney Imagineering,[4] [5] [6] until he left to found My Bridge 4 Life in 2008.[7] He teaches the Healthcare by Design class at the California Institute of the Arts.[8] His personal use of triathlon as a part of his own wellness plan, and as an inspiration for survivorship, was featured by ABC news in Los Angeles in a promotion for the Malibu Triathlon.[9] In 2015 he became a USAT age category elite athlete qualifying for the USAT national triathlon championships.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Holzberg attended the University of Colorado in 1974 with a full Title III Talent/Creativity scholarship, majoring in scenic design for theatre and minoring in psychology. He received a BFA from the California Institute of the Arts in 1978.
Holzberg is the co-founder and creative director for Reimagine Well.[10] Building on the Disney theme parks' "architecture of reassurance", Reimagine Well seeks to evolve patient treatment and healing by utilizing emerging technologies to create programs and services that better health and wellness outcomes worldwide. Holzberg, himself a cancer survivor who was featured in a Livestrong Foundation survivorship video in 2009,[11] designed the "Infusionarium" for the Children's Hospital of Orange County, a media setup which helps children with cancer cope with treatment by asking them questions designed to determine what setting would be most comforting to them,[12] and then using virtual reality technology and live events to immerse them in such an environment during treatment.[6] Recently, Reimagine Well built and launched an entire Infusionarium hospital floor specifically designed for adolescent and young adult patients.[13] More Infusionariums are being built for Baptist Hospital South Florida, Miami Cancer Institute, and St. Joseph's Children's Hospital of Tampa, where the Reimagine Well content platform will also be in more than 250 pediatric rooms.[14] ABC News highlighted the patient and physician experiences in an Infusionarium and referred to these experiences as a “game changer” in pediatric treatment.
Highlights for various Reimagine Well initiatives include:
Holzberg has presented innovations at the Society of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology (SAYAO) conference, Health 2.0,[16] Pediatrics 2040,[17] and Brink 2.0.[18] His panel at Health Interactive, "Athletes 4 Wellbeing: Real Athletes. Real Patients. Real Results", was a panel of athlete patients who are using diet and “active lifestyle” to manage chronic conditions which include cancer, MS, diabetes, heart disease, spinal cord injuries and more. The panel included: Jocelyn Harrison, USAT age category elite triathlete and consultant for the American Diabetes Association & Choose Health LA, Derek Chalmers, cyclist and 10 year MS patient, and Jesse Billauer,[19] Founder of Life Rolls On.
Reimagine Well presentations by Holzberg include:
Interviews with Holzberg include:
Holzberg founded My Bridge 4 Life (MB4L) to provide a wellness network for people facing health crises.[7] MB4L partners with leading healthcare organizations and foundations to enhance patient community awareness, engagement and interaction. My Bridge 4 Life wellness networks enable patients to connect for customized professional healthcare content and expert educational support.[7] MB4L also supports the patient community with professionally curated evidence based Tips 4 Life, one-on-one coaching and Video Survival Guides and Ebooks featuring leading specialists. The My Bridge 4 Life support platform has been featured in a series of on camera interviews on Rebels Patch.
As the first Creative Director (consulting) for the National Cancer Institute, Holzberg led a team to "evolve" the digital portfolio of the institute's messaging and education platform. Projects involved redesigning and relaunching Cancer.gov, launching the institute's Facebook page, developing NCI’s YouTube channel and directing media experiences that include projects like Prognosis Video Series.[21] The “Smoke Free Women”, “Voices”, “Deep Water”, “Clinical Trials” and “Neuroblastoma” videos were all developed and produced by Holzberg’s team. His presentations on behalf of the National Cancer Institute included this presentation at Digital Communication X.
Holzberg was previously a Vice President / Creative Director for the Walt Disney Company.
At Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online he was the creative director for projects that included the massively multiplayer online game, Virtual Magic Kingdom (VMK). VMK's far reaching impact is documented in Virtual Magic Kingdom's Second Life and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters Online, which paired online players in a virtual world with real players in the theme parks.
At Walt Disney Imagineering he served as the Senior Show Producer,[22] and Imagineering creative director for projects including the 100 Years of Magic and Millennium Celebrations at Walt Disney World, and co-invented Disney's Magic Moment Pins, location sensitive display device, system, and method of providing animation sequences.
Holzberg’s Magic Moments Pins and Magic Moments Game[23] [24] [25] helped launch the Disney pin trading phenomena at Walt Disney World. He presented innovations during his tenure at Disney at events that included The Real Experts Panel: Kids] at Game Developers Conference.[26] [27] Holzberg sought to create immersive experiences in the tradition of Walt Disney's idea of "dimensional storytelling".
Holzberg’s Imagineering history is featured in interviews on:
Holzberg is the first Disney Imagineer to create an attraction with a free swimming animatronic figure. DRU, a “Dolphin Robotic Unit” is featured at Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. Holzberg's dolphin attraction was designed to enable guests to experience and interact with marine mammals without catching and keeping them in captivity.
Post Disney, in partnership with Edge Innovations, recent use of real-time animatronics has resulted in:
Teaching
California Institute of the Arts
Publishing
Books (author)
Healthcare & Survivorship Learn Guides (co-author)
Contributor (featured in publication)
Film
Software & Video Games
Theater
Holzberg holds patents for four inventions:
Holzberg is an international spokesperson for the following health and technology companies: