Dr. Merideth Hite Estevez
performer, Author, speaker, facilitator, retreat leader, Coach
Looking for a speaker for your event?
A sample of the many corporations, spiritual communities, and arts institutions Merideth has collaborated with:
From Zoom calls with 600+ people to small gatherings of key players, I invite people to use their inborn creativity to make their lives better.
I design interactive workshops and retreats for:
arts organizations
higher ed institutions
corporations
spiritual communities
Looking for a speaker for your next event? Email: hello@artistsforjoy.org
Click here for Merideth’s Press kit
“That was the most engaging zoom call I have ever been on!”
Sample Workshop Menu
Arts Institutions and Creative Communities
A Creative Guide to BURNOUT
This workshop helps educators, students, and/or leaders use creativity to complete the stress cycle and recover from burnout.
TOUGH SKIN, TENDER HEART
This popular workshop helps participants manage setbacks and successes with sustainability and resilience. We learn to shift our lens, name what matters, and consider who we are becoming along the way.
Tuning Your Inner Dialogue
This workshop helps participants build awareness and understanding of positive and negative thought patterns. We explore self-compassion and learn to cultivate more supportive and productive self-talk.
C.R.A.F.T GOals
S.M.A.R.T. Goals are great… but they don’t always make us feel our most creative. C.R.A.F.T. goals, a new paradigm from The Artist’s Joy, help us use creativity as a motivating force for good in our lives.
FINDING JOY IN CREATIVE WORK
In this workshop, we craft sustainable and grounded creative careers by naming our values, taking care of ourselves, and learning to shift our lens using the power of art.
The Artist’s Oath
The Artist’s Oath is a powerful tool for getting clear about what matters most, changing thought patterns, and shifting your lens to live a more joyful and productive creative life.
“Merideth is a breath of fresh air. She is inquisitive and zealous for learning. Her passion for helping others in unmatched.”
“Hands down the best way to get unblocked and achieve clarity for struggling creatives.”
BIO
Dr. Merideth Hite Estevez is a creative catalyst, helping self-identified artists and the creatively curious discover and recover the joy of making. As an oboist, Merideth has performed with top orchestras in the US and abroad and has served on the faculties of numerous universities and schools of music, including the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and the University of Delaware. She holds degrees from Yale School of Music and The Juilliard School.
Her writing illuminates the spiritual journey of the artist through the lens of creative nonfiction, exploring the intersection of art, faith, and the human experience. Her award-winning podcast, Artists for Joy, is currently in the top 1.5% of podcasts worldwide, and her first book, The Artist’s Joy: A Guide to Getting Unstuck, Embracing Imperfection, and Loving Your Creative Life, debuted at No. 1 in the Creativity category on Audible. She shares poems and essays weekly on her popular Substack, “Arts Open Door,” and her second book, “Art Is How God Loves Us,” debuts in July 2026.
As a speaker, Merideth has been featured at Google, Hunter College’s Collaborative for Social Emotional Learning and Leading (C-SELL), Wild Goose Festival, Longy School of Music, ShePodcasts LIVE, Music Institute of Chicago, and more. As a coach, she has helped thousands of artists overcome creative block through her popular online creative recovery clusters and serves as a coach for all types of artists and arts leaders, from major museum directors to deans of art schools to writers for TV and film to Emmy-winning actors to hip hop artists.
Since moving to Metro Detroit, Michigan, she has performed as a featured artist with Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, and numerous national and international performing ensembles. She returns to NYC regularly to perform the Chamber Orchestra of NY, as their second oboist/English hornist. She enjoys sharing her gifts as artist-in-residence at Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), where her husband, Rev. Dr. Edwin Estevez, is Senior Pastor.
When she’s not playing oboe or writing, Merideth enjoys baking sourdough while listening to audiobooks. She hails from Abbeville, SC, but now lives in Bloomfield Hills, MI with her husband and two children.
Sample Workshop Menu (continued)
Spiritual Communities
Let ART BE LIGHT
Explore the transformative power of creativity as a spiritual gateway and discover how art, in its various forms, can illuminate our spiritual lives, fostering a deeper sense of presence and connection to the sacred.
Audio Divina (Divine Listening)
Dive into the transformative practice of Audio Divina, an ancient contemplative approach reimagined for modern life. Learn to listen to music – both sacred and secular – with intention, openness, and a deep sense of presence.
THE ENNEAGRAM: Know Yourself, Love Your Neighbor
The Enneagram is an ancient spiritual tool for self-discovery. Learn your number and better understand how it shapes your interactions with others for deeper connection and joy.
