Daily Agendas
Never Alone Summit 2020 On-Demand
Day 1
IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Deepak Chopra, MD
Founder, The Chopra Foundation Author, Total Meditation
Deepak Chopra, MD
Founder, The Chopra Foundation Author, Total Meditation
Chopra is a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego and serves as a senior scientist with Gallup Organization. He is the author of over 89 books translated into over forty-three languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. His 90th book and national bestseller, Metahuman: Unleashing Your Infinite Potential (Harmony Books), unlocks the secrets to moving beyond our present limitations to access a field of infinite possibilities.
Elissa Epel, PhD
Professor and Vice Chair - Department of Psychiatry, at University of California, San Francisco
Elissa Epel, PhD
Professor and Vice Chair - Department of Psychiatry, at University of California, San Francisco
Elissa Epel, Ph.D, is a Professor at UCSF. She studies how chronic stress can impact biological aging (such as the telomere/telomerase system), and how meditation interventions may buffer stress effects and promote psychological and physiological thriving. Epel is one of the first recipients of a JWB Brick Foundation grant, and is studying and comparing the effects of wim hof breathing, exercise, and meditation on mental health and cell aging. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. Epel co-wrote “The Telomere Effect” with Liz Blackburn, a New York Times best seller under Science.
C. Victor Brick, M.Ed
Co-Founder, John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation
C. Victor Brick, M.Ed
Co-Founder, John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation
A serial entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker, C. Victor Brick is the CEO of Planet Fitness Growth Partners (PFGP). With 85 health clubs in the United States and Australia, PFGP is the largest privately held Planet Fitness franchisee in the Planet Fitness system. He is also the co-founder, with his wife, Lynne, of Brick Bodies health clubs based in Baltimore, Maryland. Victor has presented workshops, lectures and keynote addresses in over 25 countries around the world. He serves on the Global Wellness Summit Advisory Board, the Mental Wellness Initiative of the Global Wellness Institute, and the Johns Hopkins Hospital Psychiatry and Behavorial Sciences Department Advisory Board. He was the inaugural Planet Fitness Franchisee of the Year and the 1990 IDEA (The Association of Fitness Professionals) Business Person of the Year. He and Lynne were the recipients of the 2020 Global Wellness Summit Debra Simon Award for leadership in furthering Mental Wellness.
Tim Storey
Motivational Speaker and Life Coach
Tim Storey
Motivational Speaker and Life Coach
Tim Storey is an acclaimed author, speaker, and life coach helping people create the future they desire. Tim has partnered with phenomenal organizations to spread love and hope. Spending time with the Fred Jordan Mission in Los Angeles’ Skid Row, Music Unites Day in Los Angeles’ Compton schools, and Kid‘s Haven orphanage in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Tara Stiles
Founder of Strala Yoga
Tara Stiles
Founder of Strala Yoga
Tara Stiles is the founder and owner of Strala Yoga, widely known for its unpretentious, inclusive, and straightforward approach to yoga and meditation. Named "Yoga Rebel" by the New York Times, and the “Coolest Yoga Instructor Ever” by Vanity Fair, Stiles has also been featured and profiled in Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, Esquire, and Shape. She works with The Alliance for A Healthier Generation, Bill Clinton's initiative to combat childhood obesity and promote activity in schools, and she is the author of Strala Yoga, Make Your Own Rules Diet, Yoga Cures, and Clean Mind Clean Body. Tara lives New York City with her husband and daughter.
Patrick Kennedy
Former U.S. Congressman Founder - The Kennedy Forum
Patrick Kennedy
Former U.S. Congressman Founder - The Kennedy Forum
During his time in Congress, Patrick J. Kennedy was the lead author of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (Federal Parity Law). He is founder of The Kennedy Forum; co-founder of One Mind; co-chair of the Action Alliance’s Mental Health & Suicide Prevention National Response to COVID-19; a former member of the President‘s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis; and author of “A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction.
Suparna Bhasin
Founder & CEO at She Creates Change
Shadrick Mazaza
Founder: The African Consciousness Institute
Shadrick Mazaza
Founder: The African Consciousness Institute
Prof Mazaza is a physician, philosopher and business school academic and lives in Cape Town, South Africa. He is Founder and Director of the African Consciousness Institute, a Centre for advanced human transformation for Africa’s development and integration. organization He has served on the boards of the South African Medical Association (SAMA), the South African Academy of Family Physicians and the Council for Health Service Accreditation of Southern Africa (COHSASA)
Sam Beard
Author, CONNECT – The Ultimate Human SuperPower
Sam Beard
Author, CONNECT – The Ultimate Human SuperPower
Everyone’s life has ups and downs. This includes forms of depression and stress and mental health. People fear the stigma of the word “Mental Health.” The nation needs to understand it’s all of us – unless you’re lying.
Why is CONNECT so important?
It lies behind every good and noble deed.
It is essential to our mental health – stress reduction, crisis management, depression and resilience.
It is core to our creativity and resourcefulness.
It is the first step onto the path of boundless discovery, ever-expanding consciousness and unimaginable fulfillment.
Mariel Hemingway
Academy Award-Nominated Actress, Model, and Writer
Mariel Hemingway
Academy Award-Nominated Actress, Model, and Writer
Mariel Hemingway is a health advocate who has spent a lifetime studying how mental and physical health are linked. Her work is focused on what to do to transform negative messages and influences into healing that becomes radiant energy, full of purpose and balance. She is an author, film/television producer and unstoppable voice in the ever-changing conversation around living a healthier, more meaningful life.
Jewel Love, LMFT
CEO of Champions Mental Health
Jewel Love, LMFT
CEO of Champions Mental Health
Jewel Love, LMFT is a licensed psychotherapist and the CEO or Champions Mental Health. Jewel helps Fortune 500 companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Capital One to crush mental health stigma while empowering their people with effective tools for optimal mental and emotional health.
Michael Sapiro
IONS, Esalen and TILT
Michael Sapiro
IONS, Esalen and TILT
Michael Sapiro, PsyD is a clinical psychologist, Dharma teacher, meditation researcher, and former Buddhist monk. He is on faculty at Esalen Institute and is a Fellow at the Institute of Noetic Sciences where he engages in research on meditation, transformation, and consciousness. He teaches nationally on the art and science of transformation, expanded human capabilities, self-care, and nondual meditation. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship in advanced psychology at the Boise VA Medical Center where he specialized in rural and integrated health, PTSD, and combat trauma. His work is dedicated to personal awakening for the sake of collective and planetary transformation. He can be found at michaelsapiro.com.
Rick Hanson, PhD
Psychologist, Author of Buddha's Brain and Neurodharma
Rick Hanson, PhD
Psychologist, Author of Buddha's Brain and Neurodharma
Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a psychologist, Senior Fellow of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and New York Times best-selling author. His six books have been published in 29 languages – with 900,000 copies in English alone. He’s lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide.
Rinpoche Tenzin Wangyal
Teacher of the Bon Tibetan Religious Tradition
Rinpoche Tenzin Wangyal
Teacher of the Bon Tibetan Religious Tradition
Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, founder and spiritual director of Ligmincha International, is one of only a few masters of the Bön Dzogchen tradition presently living in the West. An accomplished scholar in the Bön Buddhist textual traditions of philosophy, exegesis, and debate, Tenzin Rinpoche completed a rigorous11-year course of traditional studies at the Bönpo Monastic Center (Menri Monastery) in India, where he received his Geshe, degree.
Rachel Roy
UN Women Gl Champion for the Advancement of Women & Girls
Jennifer Lee Snowden
Singer/Songwriter
Jennifer Lee Snowden
Singer/Songwriter
Jennifer Lee Snowden is a singer, songwriter, piano player, essayist, and public speaker. A two-time cancer survivor, she is as resilient as she is forceful—determined as she is dynamic.
Alexander Holt
Founding Partner of Limitless Ventures
Alexander Holt
Founding Partner of Limitless Ventures
Mr. Alexander Holt is a fifth generation investor and Drexel University graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, and minors in both Materials Science Engineering & Entrepreneurship. In 2017, successful investments in the med-tech/pharma world led Holt to launch Limitless Ventures beginning with Recovery Fund One––whose mission is to provide long term recovery solutions for those impacted by mental health and addictions conditions. An epidemic of vast proportions, Limitless Ventures aims to improve healthcare outcomes in the middle market by combining venture and philanthropic capital to advance multi-disciplinary solutions.
Stephen Hays
Mental Health Focused Venture Capitalist
Stephen Hays
Mental Health Focused Venture Capitalist
Stephen Hays is the founder of What If Ventures, a VC fund investing primarily in early stage tech startups focused on solutions in mental health and addiction recovery. Stephen is also the creator of a podcast on mental health, wellness and recovery, called “Stigma.”
Aida Murad
Founder of AM Creatives
Aida Murad
Founder of AM Creatives
Aida Murad is a start-up advisor, entrepreneur coach, visual artist and community builder. Currently, she is working on building a systems approach to tackling the mental health crisis in the US and is in the process of designing a curriculum that bridges wellbeing and entrepreneurship, focused specifically on founder wellbeing. She is a motivational speaker, speaking about her disability & empowerment, a writer for Thrive Global, and serves as Co-Director for NEXUS MENA & Arab Diasporas and NEXUS’s mental health coalition bringing impact investors, philanthropists and social innovators together.
James Doty, MD
Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford University
James Doty, MD
Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford University
James R. Doty, M.D. is the founder and director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University of which His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the founding benefactor. He works with a variety of scientists from a number of disciplines examining the neural bases for compassion and altruism. Dr. Doty is an inventor, entrepreneur and philanthropist, having given support to a number of charitable organizations supporting peace initiatives and providing healthcare throughout the world
Yashi Brown
Poet, Author, Speaker, Award-winning Mental Health Advocate
Yashi Brown
Poet, Author, Speaker, Award-winning Mental Health Advocate
Yashi Brown is a writer, poet, public speaker, and a leading voice in the mental health space. Yashi is an award-winning mental health advocate and sought after speaker living successfully with bipolar type I. Since 2011, Yashi’s poetry, spoken word and story of recovery have been featured on Today Show, CNN, HuffPost Rise, SIRIUS XM, FOX News, CBS, ABC, KTLA, Ebony/Jet and TeenVogue media outlets and publications. She has published mental health pieces for Thrive Global, Huffington Post, NAMI National, NAMI Advocate, and our HHS Department with a focus on self-empowerment, eliminating self-imposed stigma, radical self-awareness and the many faces of recovery. Yashi wants the world to know that with loving support, proper treatment, and perseverance, mental health recovery is not only a reality but should be an expectation.
Iva Fattorini, MD
CEO and Founder, Artocene
Iva Fattorini, MD
CEO and Founder, Artocene
Iva founded Artocene and Artocene Digital, consulting digital health companies with a mission to integrate the arts with medicine on a global level, and building a first of its kind telehealth platform using evidence based psychotherapeutic methods. Previously she worked as a senior executive at the Cleveland Clinic USA and UAE, where she founded Arts and Medicine Institute. She is a member of the first Arts and Medicine committee at the World Congress of Integrative Medicine and European Congress for Integrative Medicine, the ambassador for The Red Pencil Humanitarian Mission, and Ambassador of National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH).
Heather Chmura
Founding Team of the AI Foundation
Heather Chmura
Founding Team of the AI Foundation
Heather is on the founding team of the AI Foundation and leads the AI Foundation Nonprofit. Heather began her career at the age of 14 when she became the youngest franchise owner of the Las Vegas bakery chain, Wetzel’s Pretzels. Early in her career she focused on social entrepreneurship through her work with Microfinance in Haiti and ESL in Asia. Heather’s focus is disrupting old tech, empowering women in technology and AI, and inspiring young entrepreneurs.
Amy Blankson
CEO, Fearless Positivity and Co-founder, Digital Wellness Collective
Amy Blankson
CEO, Fearless Positivity and Co-founder, Digital Wellness Collective
Amy Blankson, bestselling author of The Future of Happiness, is the only person to receive a Point of Light from two sitting US Presidents. After graduating from Harvard College and Yale School of Management, she has focused her work on understanding how to cultivate happiness in a digital era. She is the CEO of Fearless Positivity, a co-founder of the Digital Wellness Collective, and a member of the UN Global Happiness Council. Most recently, Amy has shared her thought leadership in as a speaker at TEDx, as a regular contributor for Forbes on Women, Technology, and Leadership, and as a featured professor in Oprah’s Happiness course.
Eric Windeler
Founder & Executive Director, Jack.org
Eric Windeler
Founder & Executive Director, Jack.org
Eric started Jack.org with his wife Sandra Hanington and their closest friends in May 2010 after losing their son Jack to suicide. Today, with a staff of 46, Jack.org is Canada's only charity training and empowering over 3,000 young leaders to revolutionize mental health in every province and territory.
Reverend Floyd Thompkins
CEO of the Justice and Peace Foundation
Reverend Floyd Thompkins
CEO of the Justice and Peace Foundation
Floyd Thompkins is the Chief Executive Officer of the Justice and Peace Foundation. He is also an ordained minister and pastor who has served as former Assistant and Associate Dean of Religious life at Princeton and Stanford Universities.
Helané Wahbeh, ND, MCR
Director of Research, Institute of Noetic Sciences
Helané Wahbeh, ND, MCR
Director of Research, Institute of Noetic Sciences
Dr. Wahbeh is clinically trained as a naturopathic physician and research trained with a Master of Clinical Research and two post-doctoral research fellowships. She has published on and spoken internationally about her studies on complementary and alternative medicine, mind-body medicine, stress, and posttraumatic stress disorder and their relationships to physiology, health and healing. Her current research interests include healing stress and trauma, examining mechanisms of mind-body medicine, and rigorously studying extended human capacities.
Lynne Brick
Co-Founder, John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation
Lynne Brick
Co-Founder, John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation
Lynne Brick is the co-founder, with her husband, Victor, of Planet Fitness Growth Partners, the largest privately held Planet Fitness Franchisee in the Planet Fitness system. She is also the co-founder, with Victor, of Brick Bodies, a chain of health clubs in the Greater Baltimore area. She has produced and starred in a dozen exercise videos and written several group exercise/aerobics instructor training manuals. She is the 2004 Ernst and Young Maryland Entrepreneur of the Year, 1992 European International Presenter of the Year, and 1990 IDEA (The Association for Fitness Professionals) international Instructor of the Year. In 2008, Lynne was the first woman inducted into the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce Business Hall of Fame. She is also in the Maryland Top 100 Women Circle of Excellence. A former shock trauma nurse at the University of Maryland RA Cowley Shock Trauma Center, the first shock trauma center in the world, she is a member of the Johns Hopkins Hospital Psychiatry and Behavorial Sciences Advisory Board, and was the recepient, with Victor, of the 2020 Global Wellness Summit Debra Simon Award for leadership in furthering Mental Wellness.
Kathryn Goetzke
Chief Mood Officer, The Mood Factory & Founder, iFred
Kathryn Goetzke
Chief Mood Officer, The Mood Factory & Founder, iFred
Kathryn Goetzke, MBA, is a social entrepreneur and Chief Mood Officer at The Mood Factory teaching happiness and sensory engagement, Founder of iFred, creator of Hopeful Minds, is a lived experience advocate for mental health and author of The Biggest Little Book About Hope.
Chris Grosso
Author, Public Speaker, and Youth Mental Health Writer
Chris Grosso
Author, Public Speaker, and Youth Mental Health Writer
Chris Grosso is an author and public speaker. He has written three books including, Indie Spiritualist, Everything Mind, and Dead Set On Living. He writes for Revolver Magazine, Fangoria, and is a youth mental health group facilitator with Newport Academy. Chris is also a member of the advisory board for Drugs over Dinner, hosts The Indie Spiritualist Podcast on Ram Dass’s esteemed Be Here Now Network and is a member of The Evolutionary Leaders.
Charles Raison, MD
Mary Sue and Mike Shannon Chair for Healthy Minds, Children & Families
Charles Raison, MD
Mary Sue and Mike Shannon Chair for Healthy Minds, Children & Families
Charles Raison, MD, is a Professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison and has served as mental health expert for CNN.com for many years. Dr. Raison is internationally recognized for his studies examining novel mechanisms involved in the development and treatment of major depression and other stress-related emotional and physical conditions. More recently, Dr. Raison has taken a leadership role in the development of psychedelic medicines as potential treatments for major depression. Dr. Raison received the Raymond Pearl Memorial Award from the Human Biology Association.
Day 2
IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Don Miguel Ruiz, MD
New York Times Best Selling Author of The Four Agreements
Don Miguel Ruiz, MD
New York Times Best Selling Author of The Four Agreements
Don Miguel Ruiz is the international bestselling author of a series of books including The Four Agreements -over 10 years on The New York Times bestseller list- and the 36th bestselling book of the decade. He has dedicated his life to sharing the wisdom of the ancient Toltec through his books, lectures, and journeys to sacred sites around the world. Other books include The Mastery of Love, The Voice of Knowledge, Prayers, Beyond Fear and The Fifth Agreement, a collaboration with his son Don Jose Ruiz.
Amikaeyla Gaston
Founder & Executive Director of the ICAHSI
Amikaeyla Gaston
Founder & Executive Director of the ICAHSI
Amikaeyla Gaston co-creates with government, health, non-profit, and social justice organizations helping refugees, at-risk populations, women of color, and the terminally ill, to promote healing and wellness through authentic expression. She is a nuanced thought-leader, author, and public speaker, and is the proud recipient of the U.N. Global Woman Award, the Voss Foundation Emerging Women Leaders Award, and Outstanding Service in Social Justice and Advocacy, and the International Hero for Peace and Forgiveness award.
Tara Brach, PhD
Psychologist, Meditation Teacher and Author
Tara Brach, PhD
Psychologist, Meditation Teacher and Author
Tara Brach is an internationally known meditation teacher, psychologist and author of bestselling Radical Acceptance and Radical Compassion. Her popular weekly podcast is downloaded over 2.8 million times a month. Along with Jack Kornfield, Tara leads the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP) serving participants in over 50 countries.
Nic Brown
CEO, batyr
Nic Brown
CEO, batyr
Nicolas Brown is CEO at batyr. After Graduating from Southern Cross University in 2011, Nic has spent most of his career in Not for Profit organisations as well as in State and Local Government. In 2015 he began work at batyr as the School Program Manager in the early stages of batyr's growth. In 2017 he moved into the role of General Manager before taking on the role of CEO in 2019 where he continues to support batyr's growth and reach toward smashing the stigma around mental health and empowering young people to create a mentally healthy Australia. Nic has sat on advisory committees for the Global Coalition for Youth Mental Health and on the Integrated Content Technical Advisory Group for the Beyond Blue National Education Initiative and currently sits on Suicide Prevention Australia's Policy Committee.
Sebastian Robertson
Founder and Chairman, batyr & Co-Founder & CEO, BIRDI
Sebastian Robertson
Founder and Chairman, batyr & Co-Founder & CEO, BIRDI
Sebastian Robertson is a recognised entrepreneur and executive, with a strong social focus. Sebastian is the co-founder and CEO of BIRDI, a technology platform that enables businesses to integrate drones into their operations by providing an 'end to end' drone management platform. Prior to BIRDI, Sebastian founded the social enterprise batyr and was its founding CEO for 5 years, establishing batyr as a national leader in innovative programs focusing on the engagement and education of young people in mental health. Sebastian remains actively involved in the organisation as its Chairman.
Dan Siegel, MD
Executive Director, Mindsight Institute. Clinical Professor, UCLA.
Dan Siegel, MD
Executive Director, Mindsight Institute. Clinical Professor, UCLA.
Dr. Siegel is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and the founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. He is also the Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute which focuses on the development of mindsight, teaches insight, empathy, and integration in individuals, families and communities. His five New York Times bestsellers are: Aware: The Science and Practice of Presence, Mind: A Journey to the Heart of Being Human, Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain, and two books with Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D: The Whole-Brain Child, and No-Drama Discipline.
Wim Hof
Creator of Wim Hof Method
Wim Hof
Creator of Wim Hof Method
Wim Hof got his nickname “The Iceman” by breaking a number of records related to cold exposure. His feats include climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in shorts, running a half marathon above the Arctic Circle on his bare feet, and standing in a container while covered with ice cubes for more than 112 minutes. Having embraced the majestic force of nature, Wim resolved to share his discovery with the rest of the world. He is convinced that everyone can tap into this potential without having to invest the same decades worth of study, travel and daring. And so he developed the Wim Hof Method: a natural path to an optimal state of body and mind. Learn more at: http://www.wimhofmethod.com/
Mariana Salinas
Meditation Teacher, Founder of Sadhana Works
Mariana Salinas
Meditation Teacher, Founder of Sadhana Works
My own personal journey, my passion to understand human condition and my love for life has make me dedicate my personal life and career to promote conscious, healthy and holistic lifestyle. I’m a writer, a humanitarian, a mother of three, a teacher, wife and founder & CEO of “Sadhana Works” a Conscious Lifestyle Company.
Antonella Santuccione
Co-Founder & CEO of the Women's Brain Project
Antonella Santuccione
Co-Founder & CEO of the Women's Brain Project
Dr. Antonella Santuccione Chadha is co-founder and CEO of the non-profit organization “Women’s Brain Project” which addresses the influence of sex and gender on mental and brain disorders. She has worked with Swissmedic, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, several European universities, the EU Commission Directorate for Health and Food Safety, the WHO, the CEOi and several Alzheimer’s’ disease Organizations. In 2019 she was elected Woman of the Year in Switzerland by the Magazine "Women in Bussiness". She advocates and acts for the creation of an Institute for sex and gender precision medicine in Switzerland.
Ross Szabo
Author of “Behind Happy Faces” and Mental Health Speaker
Ross Szabo
Author of “Behind Happy Faces” and Mental Health Speaker
Ross Szabo is an award-winning pioneer of the youth mental health movement. He is currently the Wellness Director at Geffen Academy at UCLA and CEO of Human Power Project. He's using both of these opportunities to change the way communities learn about mental health.
Michael Sapiro
IONS, Esalen and TILT
Michael Sapiro
IONS, Esalen and TILT
Michael Sapiro, PsyD is a clinical psychologist, Dharma teacher, meditation researcher, and former Buddhist monk. He is on faculty at Esalen Institute and is a Fellow at the Institute of Noetic Sciences where he engages in research on meditation, transformation, and consciousness. He teaches nationally on the art and science of transformation, expanded human capabilities, self-care, and nondual meditation. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship in advanced psychology at the Boise VA Medical Center where he specialized in rural and integrated health, PTSD, and combat trauma. His work is dedicated to personal awakening for the sake of collective and planetary transformation. He can be found at michaelsapiro.com.
Peter Coyote
Actor and Writer
Peter Coyote
Actor and Writer
Peter Coyote has performed as an actor in over 160 films. His work includes some of the world’s most distinguished filmmakers, including: Barry Levinson, Roman Polanski, Pedro Almodovar, Steven Spielberg, Martin Ritt, Steven Soderberg, Sidney Pollack and Jean Paul Rappeneau. He is a double Emmy-Award winning narrator of over 150 documentary films, including Ken Burns, National Parks, Prohibition, The West, the Dust Bowl, The Roosevelts for which he received his second Emmy in 2015. Recently, Peter has also completed Vietnam, The History of Country Music and a six-hour series on Ernest Hemingway for Mr. Burns.
Aida Murad
Founder of AM Creatives
Aida Murad
Founder of AM Creatives
Aida Murad is a start-up advisor, entrepreneur coach, visual artist and community builder. Currently, she is working on building a systems approach to tackling the mental health crisis in the US and is in the process of designing a curriculum that bridges wellbeing and entrepreneurship, focused specifically on founder wellbeing. She is a motivational speaker, speaking about her disability & empowerment, a writer for Thrive Global, and serves as Co-Director for NEXUS MENA & Arab Diasporas and NEXUS’s mental health coalition bringing impact investors, philanthropists and social innovators together.
Shamini Jain, PhD
Founder and CEO, Consciousness and Healing Initiative
Shamini Jain, PhD
Founder and CEO, Consciousness and Healing Initiative
Dr. Shamini Jain is the Founder and and CEO of the Consciousness and Healing Initiative (CHI), a collaborative accelerator of scientists, healers, artists, educators and social entrepreneurs to help lead humanity to heal ourselves. She is also an Assistant Professor at UC San Diego and is known for her research and teaching in meditation and biofield healing practices. Her book, Healing Ourselves, with Sounds True Publications, is available on pre-order and will be released September 2021.Learn more at www.shaminijain.com and http://www.chi.is.
Rev. Monica A. Coleman, Ph.D.
Author, Bipolar Faith: a Black Woman's Journey with Depression and Faith
Rev. Monica A. Coleman, Ph.D.
Author, Bipolar Faith: a Black Woman's Journey with Depression and Faith
Monica A. Coleman is the author Bipolar Faith: a Black Woman’s Journey with Depression and Faith and six other books that address the role of faith in social and philosophical issues. An ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, she brings her experiences in evangelical Christianity, black church traditions, global ecumenical work, and indigenous spirituality to her discussions of faith and justice. She is Professor of Africana Studies and Coordinator of the African American Public Humanities Initiative at University of Delaware.
Sadhvi Bhagwati Saraswati
President Divine Shakti Foundation, Secretary General Global, Interfaith Wash Alliance
Sadhvi Bhagwati Saraswati
President Divine Shakti Foundation, Secretary General Global, Interfaith Wash Alliance
Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, PhD is a renowned spiritual leader in India. She is President of Divine Shakti
Foundation, a charitable organization bringing education and empowerment to women and children.
She is Secretary-General of Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, launched by UNICEF, the first alliance of
religious leaders for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. Sadhviji is also Director of the world-famous
International Yoga Festival.
Originally from Los Angeles, and a graduate of Stanford University, Sadhviji has lived at Parmarth
Niketan, Rishikesh in the Himalayas for 24 years, where she gives spiritual discourses, satsang and
meditation, and leads myriad humanitarian programs.
www.sadhviji.org
Lynne Brick
Co-Founder, John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation
Lynne Brick
Co-Founder, John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation
Lynne Brick is the co-founder, with her husband, Victor, of Planet Fitness Growth Partners, the largest privately held Planet Fitness Franchisee in the Planet Fitness system. She is also the co-founder, with Victor, of Brick Bodies, a chain of health clubs in the Greater Baltimore area. She has produced and starred in a dozen exercise videos and written several group exercise/aerobics instructor training manuals. She is the 2004 Ernst and Young Maryland Entrepreneur of the Year, 1992 European International Presenter of the Year, and 1990 IDEA (The Association for Fitness Professionals) international Instructor of the Year. In 2008, Lynne was the first woman inducted into the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce Business Hall of Fame. She is also in the Maryland Top 100 Women Circle of Excellence. A former shock trauma nurse at the University of Maryland RA Cowley Shock Trauma Center, the first shock trauma center in the world, she is a member of the Johns Hopkins Hospital Psychiatry and Behavorial Sciences Advisory Board, and was the recepient, with Victor, of the 2020 Global Wellness Summit Debra Simon Award for leadership in furthering Mental Wellness.
Zak Williams
Mental Health Advocate, Co-Founder & CEO of Pym
Zak Williams
Mental Health Advocate, Co-Founder & CEO of Pym
Zak Williams is passionate about investing in and supporting the development and deployment of transformative products to address the needs of actual humans. He is the co-Founder and CEO of stress and anxiety relief company PYM and an investor in companies Yumi, Bloom Farms, OpenNest, Défoncé, Beboe, OpenTrack, ULO, The Ticket Fairy, Florence Health, Polycade, Human Ventures, House of Waris, and Relief Technologies and cares deeply about how the development of robust integrated strategies, great storytelling, and strong cultures influence people and the products that make their lives better to be the best versions of themselves.
Hayden Hurst
NFL football tight end for the Atlanta Falcons
Brandon Staglin
President, One Mind
Brandon Staglin
President, One Mind
As President of One Mind, Brandon Staglin channels his deep experience in communications, advocacy, and personal schizophrenia recovery to drive brain health research programs to heal lives. Brandon also serves on advisory councils for the National Institute of Mental Health, the California Mental Health Services Authority’s Help@Hand Program, Mindstrong Health, and Stanford University’s Prodrome and Early Psychosis Program Network, and is a member of The Stability Network. Recently, Brandon has successfully advocated for the growth of research-driven, networked, continuously improving prevention and early care services for youth facing serious psychiatric illness through One Mind’s ASPIRe Initiative. His work was instrumental in the passage of California laws AB 1315 and SB 1004, providing funding and accountability for such services statewide.
David Horgan, MD
Clinical Psychiatry Associate Professor
David Horgan, MD
Clinical Psychiatry Associate Professor
You would never advise a friend to die...tell yourself what you would tell a friend” epitomises the aware but persuasive approach of the Australian Suicide Prevention Foundation. In the Covid19 crisis, we are exploring techniques designed to minimise interpersonal friction which may prevent depression and suicidal ideas. We aim to assist the community in avoiding depression, and encouraging early treatment. We are developing an initiative of teaching the community how they can support a distressed and possibly suicidal person in an ongoing way www.InToughTimesText.com. We involved young people to help produce www.YouthSuicide.com. We built www.SuicidePrevention.com.au.
Cathy Sloan
Family Doctor, Board Member Australian Suicide Prevention Foundation
Cathy Sloan
Family Doctor, Board Member Australian Suicide Prevention Foundation
“You would never advise a friend to die...tell yourself what you would tell a friend” epitomises the aware but persuasive approach of the Australian Suicide Prevention Foundation. In the Covid19 crisis, we are exploring techniques designed to minimise interpersonal friction which may prevent depression and suicidal ideas. We aim to assist the community in avoiding depression, and encouraging early treatment. We are developing an initiative of teaching the community how they can support a distressed and possibly suicidal person in an ongoing way www.InToughTimesText.com. We involved young people to help produce www.YouthSuicide.com. We built www.SuicidePrevention.com.au.
Kristin Michaels
Kristin Michaels, FAICD, Chair of the Australian Suicide Prevention Foundation
Kristin Michaels
Kristin Michaels, FAICD, Chair of the Australian Suicide Prevention Foundation
“You would never advise a friend to die...tell yourself what you would tell a friend” epitomises the aware but persuasive approach of the Australian Suicide Prevention Foundation. In the Covid19 crisis, we are exploring techniques designed to minimise interpersonal friction which may prevent depression and suicidal ideas. We aim to assist the community in avoiding depression, and encouraging early treatment. We are developing an initiative of teaching the community how they can support a distressed and possibly suicidal person in an ongoing way www.InToughTimesText.com. We involved young people to help produce www.YouthSuicide.com. We built www.SuicidePrevention.com.au.
Deborah Rozman, PhD
President & CEO HeartMath Inc.
Deborah Rozman, PhD
President & CEO HeartMath Inc.
Deborah Rozman, Ph.D., is a behavioral psychologist and the President and co-CEO of HeartMath® Inc. HeartMath develops and provides health technologies, products and services that transform stress and anxiety and improve health and performance.
Donna D’Cruz
Creator of DIP INTO BLISS, Spiritual Being Advocate
Donna D’Cruz
Creator of DIP INTO BLISS, Spiritual Being Advocate
Born in India and raised in Australia, Donna produced music with the native peoples of Australia and learned about their "dreamtime." She went on to found Rasa Music, a woman-owned record company that released world music and produced the music of Deepak Chopra and other recordings for meditation. She travels the world as a Celebrity DJ and leads people to ecstatic, profound experiences as they celebrate the biggest moments in their lives. Donna has been teaching and guiding meditations with music for years. She combined her love of music with her passion for awakening consciousness. Named the “Rockstar Teacher of Meditation” by Well+Good, Donna presents her signature “Dip into Bliss” experience globally and as part of PTTOW, Worldz Summit and weekly for 9 years at Phoenix House, America’s oldest Drug and Alcohol Recovery Institution and is now the lead Meditation facilitator at Education Alliance. Donna has recently launched "Sleep Beditations: A Modern Sleep Solution" to serve the 33% (at least) of Americans who, according to CDC have a sleep disfunction. Her latest release, “Anxiety (Letting Go) Meditation is a potent salve for our global pandemic.
Johnny Sansone
Musician and Songwriter
Johnny Sansone
Musician and Songwriter
Johnny Sansone is recognized by The Blues Foundation in numerous categories for his outstanding talent. "He has crept upon us slowly but surely, and now Johnny Sansone has become one of the best bluesmen/roots musicians on the scene" David Kunian, OFFBEAT MAGAZINE.
J. Wurster
Artist and Entrepreneur
J. Wurster
Artist and Entrepreneur
J. Wurster is an artist and entrepreneur who has launched three companies over the past 20 years and is the creator and host of the Scarcity Complex Podcast.
Kunal Sood
Founder and CXO of X Fellows, NOVUS, and #WeThePlanet
Kunal Sood
Founder and CXO of X Fellows, NOVUS, and #WeThePlanet
Kunal Sood is an internationally renowned Social Impact Strategist and Entrepreneur. He is the Founder of X Fellows, X Summit and NOVUS. Sood is on mission to transform the world. From serving as Global Health Scientist in the slums of Mumbai with Harvard to building global movements at the United Nations General Assembly like #WeThePlanet in New York with iconic leaders like Marc Benioff and H.E. Prime Minister Narendra Modi – this extraordinary citizen is on a mission to make the impossible possible by uniting global leaders to solve our global grand challenges and create a better future and world for all.
Susan Reynolds
Co-founder and Board Chair, LookUp.live Director of Youth Advocacy, Digital Wellness Collective
Susan Reynolds
Co-founder and Board Chair, LookUp.live Director of Youth Advocacy, Digital Wellness Collective
When Susan Reynolds witnessed the promise and peril of the Internet, she became deeply concerned about technology’s role in students’ lives. Nearly 100% of all solutions to mitigate digital overload and 24/7 connectivity were designed by adults. No one was asking Gen Z for their solutions. In response, Susan launched LookUp.live, a nonprofit incubator that exists to improve mental health and wellbeing by empowering youth to reverse the negative effects of digital overload. LookUp discovers, invests in, and accelerates youth-led solutions into its virtual incubator.
Jamie Levy
Director of Engagement, Digital Wellness Collective
Jamie Levy
Director of Engagement, Digital Wellness Collective
Jamie specializes in creating a culture of belonging at locations including AloYoga SoHo, Equinox and The ZO Clubhouse. While working in social media marketing, Jamie was exposed to the benefits and unintended consequences of digital platforms. Curious to find a solution, she submitted her idea to the Horn School of Entrepreneurship at UD. She was then invited to participate in the Venture On Start-Up Incubator Program and was awarded an initial investment to create the mindful technology movement, Meep. Jamie is also a Digital Production Designer and well-being ambassador at Deloitte.
Jesse VanNewkirk
Co-Founder, Quell Innovator, LookUp.live
Jesse VanNewkirk
Co-Founder, Quell Innovator, LookUp.live
Jesse VanNewkirk is the co-founder of Quell, a digital solution that creates friction and gives user agency to reverse unintentional social media use. As member of the class of /23 at Dartmouth College, his course of study revolves around human-centered-design. He sings acapella with the Dodecaphonics, plays on the frisbee team, and works within the Dartmouth Design Collective.
Juliet Gildehaus
Co-Creator, The LookUp Challenge, Innovator, LookUp.live.
Juliet Gildehaus
Co-Creator, The LookUp Challenge, Innovator, LookUp.live.
Juliet Gildehaus is a senior at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. She is an innovator for LookUp.live and a co-creator of the LookUp Challenge and an advocate for tech-life balance as a social change agent within the digital wellness community. She is also the founder of MindWell at Andover, a club dedicated to promoting tech-life balance, mindful use of technology and fostering in-person relationships. Juliet lives in Concord, MA and will be attending Dartmouth College Fall, 2020.
Nina Hersher
CEO of Digital Wellness Collective
Nina Hersher
CEO of Digital Wellness Collective
Nina Hersher is CEO of the Digital Wellness Collective and an international expert in Tech-Life balance and Mental Health, holding a specialized MSW in Norms of Connectivity and Reconceptualizing Human Development in the 21st Century. Hersher is a core teacher on the first Digital Wellness Certificate Course and is Founder of Evolving in the Digital Age™ Consulting. She is also an Oasis in the Overwhelm Facilitator, Teen Outreach Program Facilitator, and Meditation Teacher. Hersher’s groundbreaking work was recently featured at Spotify and in publications including The Stanford Social Innovation Review, Al Jazeera, and Voice of America.
Nishi Munshi
Human-rights Activist, Actress, Performer
Nishi Munshi
Human-rights Activist, Actress, Performer
Nishi Munshi has been an Actress, Singer, Musician and Choreographer/Dancer in the entertainment industry for 15 years. She practiced Mixed Martial Arts and Tae Kwon Do which helped her land her first gig on an Indian feature film "My Name is Khan". Over the years, her credits in acting and music include working with: NBC, CBS, USA Network, FOX, Warner Bros., and Lifetime. As an advocate for human rights, she served as a board member for Valley Family Center (victims of domestic violence) for one year and her volunteer work has ranged from hours spent at the Braille Institute and tutoring/mentoring at-risk youth all over Los Angeles.
David Brinkman
CEO & President, Desert AIDS Project
David Brinkman
CEO & President, Desert AIDS Project
David Brinkman, Chief Executive Officer & President, joined Desert AIDS Project in 2006. Under his leadership, Desert AIDS Project established a dental clinic, a permanent supportive housing complex, a community center, a department of Community Health, a sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic, and a vocational program as well as achieved Federally Qualified Health Center status.Mr. Brinkman has served the not-for-profit community for over 23 years. He also is a prominent voice for community-based organizations, the local HIV/AIDS community, and a leading advocate at State and Federal levels.
August Brice
Tech Wellness & Safertech
August Brice
Tech Wellness & Safertech
August Brice is Founder of Tech Wellness and a respected expert in Mindful Living in Our Digital Age. A broadcast journalist, Brice was awarded an Emmy, Golden Mike and Gabriel. At Tech Wellness, she has
created over 60 videos and authored hundreds of articles on technology’s effects on mind, body, spirit and safety. She’s been featured in Mashable, Voyager, Spirituality, Health and Conscious Connections Magazine and
Thrive Global. Brice appears on numerous mental wellbeing podcasts, including Mentally Yours, Europe's leading Mental health podcast, and one of Britain’s top programs, Zestology. Brice also serves an Advisor to The Digital Wellness Collective.
Janet Stone
Founder of Janet Stone Yoga
Janet Stone
Founder of Janet Stone Yoga
Janet Stone’s studentship began at 17 under the meditation teachings of Prem Rawat. His reverence for simplicity and finding joy in the rise and fall of life live on in her practice and teaching today. She shares from the alchemy of her own sadhana through bhakti yoga and the eight-limbed path.
Day 3
IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Arianna Huffington
Co-Founder, The Huffington Post. Founder & CEO, Thrive Global.
Arianna Huffington
Co-Founder, The Huffington Post. Founder & CEO, Thrive Global.
Arianna Huffington is a prolific author and international media mogul who started the award-winning news platform The Huffington Post.
J. Ivy
Peabody-Winning Performance Poet
J. Ivy
Peabody-Winning Performance Poet
J. Ivy is an Award Winning Performance Poet, Recording Artist, Song Writer, Author and Actor. Over the years his work has earned him a Peabody, Clio, Telly, and NAACP Image Award and he is widely known for being the “Poet” featured on Kanye West’s Grammy Winning Album, “The College Dropout,” on the classic song “Never Let Me Down,” along with Hip-Hop icon Jay-Z.
Peter Varnum
World Economic Forum - Global Mental Health Lead
Peter Varnum
World Economic Forum - Global Mental Health Lead
Peter Varnum built the World Economic Forum's portfolio on global mental health, developing and executing global-scale projects and fostering a multistakeholder community of actors, from 2017-2020. The portfolio focused on youth mental health, workplace mental health and the ethics of technology in mental health. He has ongoing lived experience and serves on the Board of the Stability Network, which shares stories of people thriving with mental health conditions.
Terry Moore
CEO and Founder of HomeoLux
Terry Moore
CEO and Founder of HomeoLux
Known as a Business Philosopher, Terry has been a life-long leader in science, and research. He came out of retirement to launch HomeoLux, a health and technology company that designs wellness products based on cutting-edge science. The company is Terry’s answer to his wife’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis and is dedicated to families who are battling cognitive decline. Terry is also the founder of the Radius Foundation, a forum for exploring and gaining insight from different worldviews. He serves as a board member at The Columbia Center for Radiology Research and has popular TED Talks that examine how to master even the most simplistic life skills.
Naveen Jain
Founder & CEO of Viome, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist
Harsh Trivedi
President and CEO, Sheppard Pratt
Harsh Trivedi
President and CEO, Sheppard Pratt
Harsh K. Trivedi, MD, MBA, is the president and CEO of Sheppard Pratt, the nation’s largest private, nonprofit provider of mental health, substance use, special education, developmental disability, and social services. He is a nationally-renowned expert in healthcare, hospital systems, care delivery, population health, and behavioral health.
David Meltzer
Co-Founder of Sports 1 Marketing, Author, Speaker and Entrepreneur
David Meltzer
Co-Founder of Sports 1 Marketing, Author, Speaker and Entrepreneur
David Meltzer is the Co-Founder of Sports 1 Marketing, and formerly served as CEO of the renowned Leigh Steinberg Sports & Entertainment agency, which was the inspiration for the movie Jerry Maguire. David is a three-time international best-selling author, the head judge of Entrepreneur‘s #1 digital business show, Elevator Pitch, and host of the top entrepreneur podcast, The Playbook. His newest book, Game-Time Decision Making, is a #1 new release, David has been recognized by Variety Magazine as their Sports Humanitarian of the Year and awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Ray Anthony Lewis Jr.
1st Ballot Hall of Famer 2x Super Bowl Champion with the Baltimore Ravens
Ray Anthony Lewis Jr.
1st Ballot Hall of Famer 2x Super Bowl Champion with the Baltimore Ravens
Ray Lewis is a former NFL linebacker and played for the Baltimore Raves for 17 years. He is currently an advocate for mental health awareness.
Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswati
President, Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh
Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswati
President, Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh
Touched by God at the age of eight, H.H. Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji left His home to live a life devoted to God and humanity, spending His youth in silence, meditation and austerities in the Himalayas. Today he is one of India’s most revered spiritual leaders. Pujya Swamiji is the President of Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, one of India’s largest and most renowned spiritual institutions. He is the Founder/Chair of the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, as well as founder of numerous charitable organisations.
Shauna Shapiro, PhD
Author and Professor, Santa Clara University, California
Shauna Shapiro, PhD
Author and Professor, Santa Clara University, California
Dr. Shapiro has published over 150 journal articles and co-authored three critically acclaimed books translated into 16 languages, including her most recent book: Good Morning, I Love You: Mindfulness & Self-Compassion Practices to Rewire the Brain for Calm Clarity and Joy. The New York Times, BBC, Mashable, the Huffington Post, Wired, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal have all featured her work, and over 1.5 million people have watched her TEDx talk The Power of Mindfulness. Dr. Shapiro is a summa cum laude graduate of Duke University and a Fellow of the Mind and Life Institute, co-founded by the Dalai Lama.
Prakriti Poddar
Managing Trustee, Poddar Foundation. Managing Director, Poddar Wellness.
Prakriti Poddar
Managing Trustee, Poddar Foundation. Managing Director, Poddar Wellness.
As the Managing Trustee of Poddar Foundation, Dr. Prakriti focuses on raising awareness of mental health issues and creating preventive mental health programs across the country. She is a certified counselor, a certified Transpersonal Regression therapist and Member of earTH, an NLP: a practitioner and a certified Neurofeedback technician. She is amongst the first to add Neurofeedback in her clinic in India. With a thriving Center for mental and emotional wellness in the heart of Mumbai, she is one of the most prominent voices of Mental Wellness having spoken nationally on numerous platforms. She is also a regular columnist on Business World. In her consulting practice, she has been instrumental in setting up and aligning startups, as well as counseling practices within organizations, communities and educational institutes.
Eric Kussin
Founder, CEO: The #SameHere Global Mental Health Movement
Eric Kussin
Founder, CEO: The #SameHere Global Mental Health Movement
Eric Kussin is an 20-year professional sports executive. After five years with the NBA League Office, he rose the ranks with the expansion Chicago Sky, Phoenix Suns. He then switched over to the NHL, working with the New Jersey Devils, & Florida Panthers. However, a debilitating mental health crisis stopped Eric’s quickly ascending career and life in its tracks for over two and a half years. After many failed treatment modalities, he was lucky enough to learn healing practices that enabled him to dig out of his abyss, and found a higher calling, launching a non-profit at the end of 2017 called, We’re All a Little “Crazy,” The #SameHere Global Mental Health Movement.
Jewel
Singer-songwriter, Mental Health Advocate Founder, Never Broken
Jewel
Singer-songwriter, Mental Health Advocate Founder, Never Broken
Jewel went from a girl who grew up with no running water on an Alaskan homestead, to a homeless teenager in San Diego, to an award winning, Multi-Platinum Recording Artist who released one of the best-selling debuts of all time. Through her career Jewel has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, earned 26 Music Award nominations, including The Grammys, AMAs, MTV Awards, VH1 Awards, Billboard Music Awards, and CMAs, winning 8 times. Jewel has been featured on the cover of TIME Magazine, Rolling Stone, performed on Saturday Night Live, at the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, for The Pope and The President Of The United States. Mental health and mindfulness has been a lifelong passion of Jewel’s. She offers free mindfulness exercises and an online mental health community at JewelNeverBroken.com.
Emiliana Simon-Thomas, PhD
Science Director, Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley
Emiliana Simon-Thomas, PhD
Science Director, Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley
Emiliana Simon-Thomas, PhD is the Science Director at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. Trained in neuroscience and social psychology, she oversees research fellowships, directs key science initiatives like "Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude", and leads courses and trainings on the Science of Happiness worldwide. Her research focuses on the critical role that prosocial experience and behavior and social connection play in well-being. Emiliana serves as an expert voice on social and emotional intelligence, genuine happiness, and the most promising practical approaches to fostering stronger, more meaningful social bonds.
Luisah Teish
Womanchief, Iyanifa of the Ifa/Orisha diaspora
Luisah Teish
Womanchief, Iyanifa of the Ifa/Orisha diaspora
Luisah Teish is a storyteller-writer, an artist-activist and spiritual guidance counselor. She is an initiated elder (Iyanifa) in the Ifa/Orisha tradition of the West African Diaspora. She is the author of Jambalaya: The Natural Woman’s Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals, and she co-authored “On Holy Ground: Commitment and Devotion to Sacred Land” with Kahuna Leilani Birely. Her most recent work is “Spirit Revealing, Color Healing”, a book of Zen Doodles.
Satya Hinduja
Sound Artist, Futurist and Founder of Alchemic Sonic Environment
Satya Hinduja
Sound Artist, Futurist and Founder of Alchemic Sonic Environment
Satya Hinduja is a sound artist helping bridge ancient practices of sound and energy medicine with emerging technologies. Merging her mother culture’s origin of meditative sound and her passion for experimental electronica, Satya creates Alchemic Sonic Environments (ASE): site specific, multi-sensory, deep listening experiences designed to invoke states of reflection, receptivity and exchange.
Russell Brand
Comedian, Actor & Mental Health Activist Above the Noise Podcast
Russell Brand
Comedian, Actor & Mental Health Activist Above the Noise Podcast
Russell Brand’s career spans stand-up comedy, acting, broadcasting and writing. He is the author of the Audible Original, ‘Revelation: Connecting with the Sacred in Everyday Life' and his weekly meditation podcast, 'Above the Noise', is available on Luminary Podcasts. Russell lives in the UK with his wife Laura, their two daughters, two dogs, two cats and chickens.
Roger Jahnke, OMD
Founder and Former Board Chair for The Healer Within Foundation
Roger Jahnke, OMD
Founder and Former Board Chair for The Healer Within Foundation
Dr. Roger Jahnke, OMD, one of the most respected luminaries in the fields of mind-body practice, wellness, and integrative medicine, has dedicated his professional life to sharing the holistic healing traditions of China. Dr. Jahnke is the director and chief instructor of the Institute of Integral Qigong and Tai Chi (IIQTC), and author of the highly regarded books The Healer Within and The Healing Promise of Qi. With 35 years of clinical practice as a physician of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, and 10 research tours to China, Dr. Jahnke has emerged as a key spokesperson for and master teacher of Tai Chi and Qigong and Mind-Body Practice.
Olivia Lubarsky
NCAA Division 1 Gymnast, TEDx Speaker
Olivia Lubarsky
NCAA Division 1 Gymnast, TEDx Speaker
Olivia Lubarsky is a senior on the Division 1 gymnastics team at Towson University where she has been selected to be the commencement speaker for her graduation in Spring 2020. Olivia will earn a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a concentration in Legal Studies, and a minor in Psychology. Olivia delivered a TEDx talk titled “Perfectionism Paralyzes Potential” in response to her Own Your Roar initiative, which strives to unite mental health and athletics and demonstrate that mental illness is equally valid to physical injury.
Raghu Appasani, MD
Psychiatrist, Neuroscientist, and Social Entrepreneur
Raghu Appasani, MD
Psychiatrist, Neuroscientist, and Social Entrepreneur
Dr. Raghu Kiran Appasani is focused on bridging the gap between western and eastern practices to create a wholesome society. He is the Founder & CEO of The MINDS Foundation, a mental health nonprofit, for which he has been recognized as a World Economic Forum Global Shaper. His commitment to wellness has led to him receiving the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award from the Gold Humanism Honor Society. He most recently launched CircleSpace, a new wellness company that specializes in addressing the growing subclinical mental health space.
Walter Greenleaf, PhD
Distinguished Visiting Scholar, MediaX Program - Stanford University
Walter Greenleaf, PhD
Distinguished Visiting Scholar, MediaX Program - Stanford University
Walter Greenleaf, PhD is a research neuroscientist and medical product developer working at Stanford University. He is currently a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Stanford University’s MediaX Program, a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, Director of Technology Strategy at the University of Colorado National Mental Health Innovation Center, and Member of the Board of Directors for Brainstorm: The Stanford Laboratory for Brain Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Walter previously served as the Director for the Mind Division, Stanford Center on Longevity, where his focus was on advancing research on age-related changes in cognition.
Barbara Ricci
Senior Advisor for the Center for High Impact Philanthropy in the School of Social Policy & Practice at the U.Penn
Barbara Ricci
Senior Advisor for the Center for High Impact Philanthropy in the School of Social Policy & Practice at the U.Penn
Barbara brings to Mindful Philanthropy deep expertise from working with mental health nonprofit organizations and global financial services firms. In 2018, Barbara retired from a 30 year career in global financial markets to fully devote her time to improving outcomes in mental health, addiction, and community well being.
Kristen Ward
Public Health and Philanthropy Professional
Kristen Ward
Public Health and Philanthropy Professional
Kristen is a Social Impact Fellow for behavioral health for the Center for High Impact Philanthropy. Kristen joined CHIP in 2018 as a dynamic public health professional with experience in corporate philanthropic strategy development, program management, research, and evaluation. Kristen led the development of CHIP’s guidance, Health in Mind: A Philanthropic Guide for Mental Health and Addiction.
Aida Murad
Founder of AM Creatives
Aida Murad
Founder of AM Creatives
Aida Murad is a start-up advisor, entrepreneur coach, visual artist and community builder. Currently, she is working on building a systems approach to tackling the mental health crisis in the US and is in the process of designing a curriculum that bridges wellbeing and entrepreneurship, focused specifically on founder wellbeing. She is a motivational speaker, speaking about her disability & empowerment, a writer for Thrive Global, and serves as Co-Director for NEXUS MENA & Arab Diasporas and NEXUS’s mental health coalition bringing impact investors, philanthropists and social innovators together.
Kenneth Cole
Founder & CEO of Kenneth Cole, Founder & Chairman of The Mental Health Coalition
Kenneth Cole
Founder & CEO of Kenneth Cole, Founder & Chairman of The Mental Health Coalition
Kenneth Cole is an American designer, social activist, and visionary who believes business and philanthropy are interdependent. In 1985, with the help of renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz and many of the top fashion models in the world, Kenneth launched the first AIDS public service campaign. He then joined amfAR’s board of directors in 1987, became vice chairman in 2001, and on World AIDS Day in 2004, he became chairman of the board. He then served in that position for 14 years. In May 2020, with a coalition of the most respected and influential nonprofits, brands, businesses, influencers and high-profile figures in the entertainment, creative and media space, Kenneth officially launched the Mental Health Coalition to end the stigma against mental health conditions.
Arthur Brooks, PhD
Professor and Faculty Fellow at Harvard, Author, and Columnist at The Atlantic
Arthur Brooks, PhD
Professor and Faculty Fellow at Harvard, Author, and Columnist at The Atlantic
Arthur Brooks is a Harvard professor, PhD social scientist, bestselling author, and columnist at The Atlantic who specializes in using the highest levels of science and philosophy to provide people with actionable strategies to live their best lives.
Julio Salazar, MD
COO of The Failure Institute
Julio Salazar, MD
COO of The Failure Institute
Serial entrepreneur, highly skilled at failing and getting back up again. Thrives at the intersection of business, culture and impact, where he has cofounded global organizations made in Mexico with love. He believes we can detoxify the corporate cultures our parents had to endure through transparency, resiliency and creativity. Ask him how his heart is to provoke meaningful conversations, preferably with a strong drink in hand.
Aaron Samuels
Co-Founder & COO, Blavity, Inc.
Aaron Samuels
Co-Founder & COO, Blavity, Inc.
Aaron Samuels is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Blavity Inc. , a digital community for Black Millennials that reaches over 60 million people per month. Beginning his career as a poet, Aaron has since toured the country with his acclaimed book, Yarmulkes & Fitted Caps , performed on television, and landed himself on Forbes' coveted 30 under 30 list as a rising star in the tech and media space. Aaron received his undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis, and his MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. When he is not at Blavity, Aaron works as an executive coach and as an investor, operating a small fund that deploys capital into early stage companies founded by women and people of color. Aaron Samuels is Black and Jewish.
Mi’jan Celie Tho-Biaz, EdD
Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Founder, the New Mexico Women of Color Nonprofit Leadership Initiative
Mi’jan Celie Tho-Biaz, EdD
Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Founder, the New Mexico Women of Color Nonprofit Leadership Initiative
Mi’Jan Celie Tho-Biaz, Ed.D., is a cultural leader, oral historian and documentarian who shares narratives of personal transformation and community change. As the founder and Director of the New Mexico Women of Color Nonprofit Leadership Initiative at the Santa Fe Community Foundation, she works with communities across the themes of sovereignty, transformation, healing and equity. Mi'Jan is also a 2019-2020 Kennedy Center Citizen Artist, represented by FRESH Speakers alongside luminaries like Alicia Garza, Ai-jen Poo and Brittney Cooper. She graces audiences with her visionary, story-rich talks at a range of institutions, from Carnegie Hall to the Institute of American Indian Arts, to SXSW. Her goal? To make the historical contemporary and personal, while surfacing the marginalized stories that need to be heard.
Elizabeth Lombardo, PhD
Psychologist and Speaker
Elizabeth Lombardo, PhD
Psychologist and Speaker
Known as Shaquille O’Neal’s “Head Coach for Happiness,” Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo is the authority on how to crush your inner critic so that you can live your life with purpose, fulfillment, and True SuccessTM. She is a regular media contributor to outlets such as TODAY show, Good Morning America, Dr. Oz, Forbes and The New York Times. A global speaker who has shifted to virtual trainings, her clients include Fortune 500 companies such as Coca-Cola, Deloitte, UBS and Westinghouse. Over the past 6 weeks, Dr. E (as her clients call her) has trained tens of thousands of people on how to cope with the stress of the pandemic so they can optimize their personal and professional lives.
Miri Polachek
CEO, Joy Venture
Miri Polachek
CEO, Joy Venture
Miri joined as CEO of Joy Ventures in January 2018. Prior to Joy, Miri co-founded and led Israel Brain Technologies (IBT), a non-profit envisioned by late Israeli President Shimon Peres that accelerated brain-related innovation and established Israel as a global brain technology hub. Miri started her business career as a corporate economist at Teva Pharmaceuticals and later held financial management positions at Pfizer in New York. She also served as VP Finance at IntegraMed, a specialty healthcare services firm. Miri holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Mathematics and a Master of Arts in Health Economics, from Boston University, as well as an MBA from New York University Stern School of Business.
Bonnie Kaplan, PhD
Professor Emeritus, University of Calgary Co-Author, The Better Brain
Bonnie Kaplan, PhD
Professor Emeritus, University of Calgary Co-Author, The Better Brain
Bonnie J. Kaplan, PhD, is a Professor Emerita in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. As one of the 2017 top 150 'Difference Makers" in Canada in the area of Mental Health, she has published widely on the biological basis of developmental disorders and mental health – particularly, the contribution of nutrition to brain development and brain function.
Rob Stephenson
Founder of InsideOut and CEO of Form
Rob Stephenson
Founder of InsideOut and CEO of Form
Rob Stephenson is an international keynote speaker, campaigner and consultant who is on a mission to help create happier, healthier and higher performing workplaces. He experiences bipolar disorder personally. Rob is the founder of Inside-Out.org, a social enterprise with the mission of smashing the stigma of mental ill-health in the workplace by showcasing senior leader role models with lived experiences of mental ill- health – The InsideOut LeaderBoard. Rob is the CEO of Form, a technology platform helping employees authentically answer the question “How are you today?” - reflecting on what is driving their mental health and supporting those around them.
Kristin Neff
Self-Compassion Researcher, Author, and Teacher
Kristin Neff
Self-Compassion Researcher, Author, and Teacher
Kristin Neff is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, conducting the first empirical studies on self-compassion over fifteen years ago. She has co-developed an empirically supported training program called Mindful Self-Compassion, and is author of the books Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself, Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook, and Teaching the Mindful Self-Compassion Program: A Guide for Professionals.
Suhas Kshirsagar, MD
Ayurvedic Physician and Educator
Suhas Kshirsagar, MD
Ayurvedic Physician and Educator
Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar is a world-renown Ayurvedic physician and Educator from India born of a traditional Rig-Vedic family. He holds a M.D. in Ayurvedic Medicine, with a Gold Medal from the prestigious Pune University in India. He is an accomplished Ayurvedic physicians, who has traveled worldwide popularizing Ayurvedic Medicine, setting up clinics, training health professionals and has provided Ayurvedic consultations for thousands of his patients. He is an internationally acclaimed motivational speaker, experienced Clinician, researcher, and an insightful Medical Astrologer, who adds tremendous value to his clients and students alike. He is currently the Director of "Ayurvedic Healing" an Integrative Wellness Clinic in Santa Cruz, California.
George Everly, MD
Professor at Johns Hopkins and Author
George Everly, MD
Professor at Johns Hopkins and Author
George S. Everly, Jr., PhD, FACLP is Professor in The Center for Humanitarian Health, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He is the author of 20 books on stress, trauma, and human resilience.
Elisha London
Founder & CEO, United for Global Mental Health
Elisha London
Founder & CEO, United for Global Mental Health
Elisha London is the CEO and Founder of United for Global Mental Health; an organization committed to ensuring everyone, everywhere has someone to turn to, who is trained to support them with their mental health. In 2013 Elisha suffered a trauma and was diagnosed with PTSD and depression. Following her recovery Elisha was appointed as Campaign Director for the Head Together Campaign.
Jeezy
Rapper, Entrepreneur, and Philanthropist
Jeezy
Rapper, Entrepreneur, and Philanthropist
Jay Wayne Jenkins, known professionally as Jeezy, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. Jeezy is credited, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, for helping to pioneer and popularize trap music with a mainstream audience
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