Dena Jennings, D.O. is a luthier, musician, writer, Virginia Master Naturalist, and Internal Medicine physician with certification in Ayurvedic practice. In addition to over 30 years of medical practice, she completed a 4-year apprenticeship in Ontario, Canada, to build gourd instruments of cultures around the world.
She and her husband live in Nasons on an organic herb farm and meditation center they lovingly call the Farmashramonastery. There, she practices medicine and counseling, hosts retreats, hikes, and weekly meditation, harvests herbs for her apothecary, and raises chickens. She also performs nationally demonstrating her gourd instruments as they are used in her Appalachian and Bengali heritage.
In 2018, she founded The Affrolachian On-Time Music Gathering, an annual music festival. In 2019, she was appointed by the governor to the Virginia Commission for the Arts, later serving as chair. In response to global humanitarian crises, in 2023, she established “Sing Peace,” a local gathering every Wednesday in Commemoration Park. She also established the Ukulele Society of Nasons.
Dr. Jennings conducts conflict transformation workshops, including one for artistic ambassadors through the US State Department. She has developed accredited curricula for racial justice meditation, compassionate listening, and cultural sensitivity in artistic performance.
She is founder and Executive Director of Imani Works Corporation, a human rights advocacy group with consultative status for the UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs. She previously served on several local boards and worked with the Boys and Girls Club, while maintaining a solo medical practice in downtown Orange.