With a wealth of experience in helping to increase diversity in media, Priscilla is responsible for driving the FT’s Global Diversity & Inclusion strategy. Prior to joining the FT she oversaw ITN’s diversity and inclusion strategy and pioneered their work around the Gender and Ethnicity Pay Gap. Before that Priscilla spent five years at Channel 4 where she spearheaded 4talent and won the Deputy Prime Minister’s Excellence Award for playing a pioneering role in tackling social mobility. Priscilla was also part of the team responsible for implementing Channel 4’s 360 Diversity Charter. Over the last 14 years she has led several diversity initiatives with media companies including BBC, ITV, Media Trust, News International and many more.

Kristine is committed to an inclusive, diversified work environment, serving as the North America Co-Lead of the True Abilities Employee Resource Group and co-founder of the Neurodiversity hiring program at Dell. She is a Board Certified Health Advocate and speaks at the local, state, and federal levels for disability issues including Washington DC on health care reform and mitochondrial disease research.
Kristine and her daughter Kayla continue to raise awareness for inclusion. http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=18646977
She is married and the mother to Kayla diagnosed with Trio (1 of 20 cases worldwide) and mitochondrial disease, and two step-sons, the youngest with Landau Kleffner Syndrome and is on the autism spectrum. In 2019, Kristine received her Masters degree in Health Advocacy.

Emma is Global Inclusion Leader for Deloitte and leads on the development and delivery of the global inclusion strategy.
From 2013 - 2019 Emma was the Managing Partner for Talent for Deloitte LLP in the UK and sat on the firm's Executive Committee. During this period Emma led a period of significant change for the firm from a D&I perspective, including the firm's award-winning approach to Respect & Inclusion. Alongside this focus on culture, Emma also led the UK firm's approach on mental health, overseeing a period during which stigma was reduced and an array of support for those with mental ill health was introduced.
Emma is a member of the LACA Lead the Change board, of the BiTC Gender Leadership Team and the UK Thriving at Work Council.

Danielle Young is the Human Performance & Care Lead for Europe, Russia and the Central Independent States. She has been at Shell for nine years, previously working as the Global Health Promotion Advisor where she helped to shape the resilience and wellness programme. Through this experience she developed her passion for resilience and care and the role it plays in enabling people to be at their best, both at home and at work. Her background is in public health, health promotion and behaviour change and she holds an MSc. Public Health- Health Promotion from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. 

Danielle is originally from California and now lives in London, UK with her partner, three-year old son and cockapoo.

Cathryn has worked in the media industry for the past 26 years. 20 of those years were spent at Mediacom, initially as a media planner in the direct department looking after the likes of Direct Line, Lombard, Help the Aged, Plan International and PPP Healthcare, across Inserts, press, TV, Direct Mail and Radio. After having 2 children, she returned to Mediacom as Head of DRTV, looking after all the Group M daytime deals. In 2014, she moved to Sky Media as Head of Performance. Here she worked with advertisers that were interested in a more closed loop solution using data to optimise and improve TV linear campaigns.

Dr Jablonski has served as the Chief Police Psychologist for the LAPD for 25 years. He has been responsible for overall employee health and wellness, crime specific consultation, organisational consultation and research. He also consults with many different agencies and across professions on psychological, medical, and public health matters, as well provides executive coaching, and business analytics consultation in the US and abroad.

Becky Thoseby owns the wellbeing offer for employees at the Ministry of Justice.  Her primary focus is creating a culture of wellbeing in the organisation.  Recent work includes:

• Running an organisation’s first employee wellbeing survey, a diagnostic tool to target interventions where they are most needed;
•  Designing and delivering training for senior leaders, focused on developing self-awareness and behaviour change;
• Changing the picture painted of a high performer to recognise that colleagues with wellbeing issues can still be high performers if the issue is managed well;
• Providing coaching to individual senior managers to address wellbeing issues arising in their areas;
• Designing and delivering training for line managers on how to make wellbeing an integral part of their management approach.

Becky also practices as a wellbeing coach, both privately and as part of her role, and has delivered mindfulness sessions across the Civil Service.

Dr Tee Jareonsettasin is a UK-trained consultant child psychiatrist and a former Minister of Education Thailand. He is a Gusi Peace Prize laureate for his outstanding public service in education. He is the psychiatrist who has interviewed and learnt from the Thai boys trapped in the cave in northern Thailand about their mental health and resilience.

Mark is a child and adolescent psychiatrist. He has become ever more committed to proactive work on the wellbeing of young people and adults, and to trying to identify a range of wellbeing options, with a view to reducing the need for people to seek complex professional interventions. This works best if it is embedded, and not seen as an extra. The ideal places to do this are in schools and workplaces.

Aggie is a People Strategy and Inclusion expert who works with leadership teams in organisations to deliver their objectives through an effective, empowering and engaging relationship with their people. Aggie believes that by creating a culture in which all feel included; with clarity of purpose and a sense of belonging, organisations can meet and exceed the needs of all their stakeholders. Aggie is also passionate about people as individuals; as a Coach and Mentor she enjoys supporting them as they grow in their professional and personal lives. 
Aggie’s experience includes SME’s and recognisable large organisations where she has successfully lead people teams in the delivery of effective initiatives which include diversity and inclusion, culture, development and engagement programmes.

Esther Marshall is a children’s author and founder of sTandTall, an organisation that provides support and resources to individuals suffering from abuse and bullying via an online platform, community and education programmes. sTandTall has gained national media coverage including the Huffington Post, and has won numerous awards such as Just Giving Influencer of the Year award and Runner up for Women of the Future, Esther was also recently named number 9/100 of Women in Tech to watch. sTandTall has also been publicly backed by the CEO at Unilever and Holly Branson and Esther has been invited to speak about her work and her story around the world at events such as Cannes Lions Festival, One Young World (of which she’s also a UK ambassador), WE Day and Ogilvy along with many schools.

Bhavik Shah is a Mental Health professional who strongly advocates for workplaces to reduce the stigma behind the subject matter and provide pragmatic support to their employees. Bhavik has innovatively created a robust Mental Health programme within his current remit as Mental Health Lead at Capco, a financial services consulting firm. The programme commits to offer services for a workforce of 1150+, ranging from personalised support and provision of self-help tools. With several qualified external partners and the use of digital platform solutions, Bhavik has led his company to positively push forward in this critical space. Bhavik’s personal commitment and transparency resulted in Capco being nominated for 3 industry awards from organisations such as ‘This Can Happen’ & ‘Inside Out’.

Elly has worked at Merck for ten years as a HR Business Partner supporting various sectors from healthcare, performance materials and support functions across the UK. 
Her current role is focussed on the biopharma business working closely with the UK & Ireland Leadership team to drive the people agenda and support business outcomes. Working as part of a larger UK HR team sharing best practice.

As head of Health and Wellbeing, Europe at GlaxoSmithKline, Monika's focus is on supporting employees to be at their best through optimising their wellbeing and to assist leaders to engage more in health and wellbeing across their organisation. 

With a background in General Practice and drawing upon her experience in workplace health in both the NHS and Private sectors, Monika has developed global wellbeing and mental health strategies.

She has experience in delivering resilience programs to teams in several countries and more recently has recorded manager mental health training material which is being rolled out globally.

In her spare time Monika enjoys slowing down the pace though yoga and mindfulness practices.

Becca-Jane is co-chair of the employee-led mental health network Together at M&C Saatchi in London. Coming from a background in the mental health charity sector, she started the Together Network in 2018 to make sure well-being is always a priority in the workplace. The network was founded on three principles - promoting positive well-being, raising awareness of mental and physical health, and providing support to employees who need it. Initiatives are always led by employees' needs - making sure we're giving them the tools and support they need to stay well in every way.

Swetha is an education and employment expert, equity and inclusion advocate, a serial intrepreneur, social enterprise mentor, HR and recruitment professional and an organisational psychologist. 

Over the last decade of her career, Swetha has helped several organisations build programs, teams and processes that are equitable and inclusive. She has worked with large scale multinationals like Google and Microsoft, social organisations like Teach For India and Pollinate Energy and consulted on local government projects. An alumna of the Global Shapers Community, Swetha is committed to improving the state of the world by achieving the SDGs within her lifetime. Her areas of interest and expertise are building inclusive teams, mental health at the workplace, gender-based violence, climate action,

Amber Alam heads Optum’s EAP and Wellness Services delivery for APAC region. Amber has 17+ years of experience in Healthcare, IT/ ITES, Institutional sales, Operations and Corporate Health & Wellness industry. Amber represents India as a Board Member at the Asia Pacific Employee Assistance Roundtable www.apear.org. He is also associated with Arogya World https://arogyaworld.org (As a  pro bono consultant) and serves as a member on their Advisory board, promoting Workplace Mental Health in the Indian subcontinent. He has presented at various International forums such as the EAPA Conference, MAXIS GBN, APITT forum and APEAR conferences.

Adeel is a freelance Senior Producer in Entertainment. In 2018 Adeel formed what is now known as The TV Mindset, a mental health support group for freelancers based on his own experiences; the name is now recognised in the industry as a force for change, and helps advise and inform policies of key players and institutions; it has also been responsible for founding the industry's historic Coalition For Change to improve freelance working practices.

Dr Aarti Anhal is a Positive Psychology coach and consultant who helps people and organisations thrive during good times and periods of adversity, crisis and change. 

She is the founder of before nine, a consultancy that helps organisations sustain optimal performance through a Positive Working approach that enables employee and employer to flourish. 

Aarti and her team integrate the drivers of wellbeing, resilience and agility into organisational systems, leadership and culture. They employ a unique blend of evidence-based psychology interventions and behavioural techniques with organisational resilience and transformation strategies, bringing out the best in people and enabling organisations to sustain success.

Apurva Asrani is a National Award & Filmfare Award winning film editor & a Screen Award winning screenwriter, known for writing the acclaimed film 'Aligarh' & for co-writing & editing 'Shahid'. He is also the editor of 'Satya', 'Chhal', 'Om Jai Jagadish', 'Citylights', 'Simran' & 'Made in Heaven'. Apurva is also the director of 'Tera Mera Pyar', the superhit music videos for Sony Music, that launched actress Nimrat Kaur. His upcoming work as a writer is the drama series 'Criminal Justice 2' on Hotstar. He will be debuting as a Director with 'Cardmaster', which he has also written.

Jane Austin is Director of HR for Wave. Jane spent the first half of her career in various HR  roles in Rover, Land Rover, BMW and Northumbrian Water, she also spent time as Assistant Personnel Director at Coventry University. Jane is part of the Leadership Team of Wave and presents to the Board on HR matters. Jane has established a leading wellbeing offering in Wave via a creative approach to the procurement of support services. Jane’s biggest achievement in the wellbeing area has been embarking on cultural change to breakdown the stigma of talking about mental health in the workplace.  Jane is regularly asked to speak on mental health and wellbeing at workshops and conferences and is passionate about helping companies to achieve a great wellbeing package without large budgets.

Baroness Barran was appointed as the Minister for Civil Society for the UK Government on 26 July 2019. In this role she is responsible for policy related to the UK's Civil Society, including but not restricted to responsible business and social enterprise, youth and social action, and loneliness. She was the founder and Chief Executive of SafeLives from 2004-2017, a national charity dedicated to ending domestic abuse. She was head of grant development at the think tank New Philanthropy Capital from 2001 to 2004, and worked in asset management before founding one of the first European hedge funds in 1993. Baroness Barran was a trustee at the Royal Foundation and Comic Relief, and was chair of the Henry Smith Charity. She received the Beacon Prize for England in November 2007 and an MBE in 2011 for her work addressing domestic violence.

Dr Alexandra Beauregard is a chartered psychologist and Reader in Organisational Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London. Alexandra’s research is centred on the work-life interface and diversity management, with a particular focus on gender equality and gender identity. She has published widely on these topics in academic, teaching and practitioner outlets. Alexandra is an editor for the journal Work, Employment, and Society and serves in elected leadership roles for the Gender and Diversity Division of the Academy of Management and the Work and Family Researchers Network. She has carried out commissioned research for both public- and private-sector organisations and has delivered a number of invited talks to professional associations and employee networks on her research topics.

Claire began my secondary school teaching in 1991 after graduating from Hull University with a degree in geography and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education. She taught in a number of secondary schools across the city of Hull during her 26-year secondary teaching career, culminating in the role of principal at an Alternative Provision Academy.  In June 2017 she left her substantive post in order to pursue other projects, namely that of improving the experience of LGBTQ people in education across the UK. 
In September 2018 she was appointed lecturer in Childhood Studies and Education at Leeds Beckett University. Claire sits on two advisory panels which relate to Mental Health and LGBTQ Inclusion. She is an Honorary Fellow of Bridgend College and patron of Think2Speak.

LeeAnn Black is the Chief Operating Officer at Latham & Watkins, a leading global law firm with nearly 3,000 lawyers in offices across the United States, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Latham consistently ranks among the best firms globally for its transactional, litigation, and regulatory practices, as well as for its innovative approach to management, client service and commitment to pro bono, diversity and inclusion, and sustainability.

For nearly three decades, she has helped lead Latham’s extraordinary growth, both in size and reputation. She oversees Latham’s global operations and strategic financial management, and serves on numerous Latham governance committees — including the Executive Committee, the firm’s highest management body.

She has also been a key driving force behind the firm’s significant and ongoing investment in programs that foster well-being. Under her watch, LiveWell Latham, the firm’s well-being program, has evolved over the last decade into a comprehensive platform that supports the physical, mental, and emotional health of Latham lawyers and staff. She has set a clear tone from the top that encourages a culture of help-seeking, provides enhanced access to high-quality care, and reduces the stigma so often associated with mental health.

She has earned broad recognition as a trailblazer in the legal sector, including by the Financial Times, which named her a 2017 Top 10 Innovative Individual in North America. She is a member of the advisory boards for The Roundtable Collaborative (a group of 50 Chief Operating Officers representing law firms from around the world) and the Thomson Reuters Transforming Women’s Leadership in the Law (TWLL) initiative.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, she is an active member of a number of public interest organizations and academic institutions. She serves as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of The Chapin School, a private all-girls K-12 school dedicated to academic excellence, personal integrity and community responsibility. She also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Pro Bono Net, an organization dedicated to increasing access to justice.

Before joining Latham & Watkins, she was a Senior Auditor with Arthur Andersen & Co. and is a Certified Public Accountant in New York.

Sarah joined Northern Trust in 2016 and is responsible for the strategy and implementation of a wide variety of D&I programmes and initiatives.  Before joining Northern Trust, Sarah headed up D&I teams at AIG and Barclays Wealth and prior to that held a variety of HR roles at Morgan Stanley and Simmons & Simmons LLP. 

Sarah holds a BA in International Management and Business Administration with German from the University of Reading. Additionally she holds an MSc in Human Resource Management and an MBA from the Open University. She is a Fellow of the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development) and is bilingual English/German. Sarah is also a Magistrate, serving on the East London bench. 

Sarah is a qualified Mental Health First Aid instructor.

Laurelle Brown MA, PGDip, PGCert, BA hons (She/Her) is a Trainer and Consultant who specialises in supporting organisations to become genuinely BAME diverse and inclusive for staff, stakeholders and customers. 

Laurelle has honed an in-depth understanding of trauma, relational-based approaches, and the impact of structural racism on the mental health of employees and services users from her 18-year career as a JNC qualified Youth and Community Worker. 

As a Consultant, Laurelle has collaborated with a range of public, private and third sector clients to cultivate inclusive organisations through unapologetic, intentional, and non-judgemental conversation and education; making good of commitments and intentions through action and impact.

Paul works in the media & publishing industry where, for the last thirty years, he has held management and leadership roles. Alongside his current role as Contracts Director for Orion and Hachette Childrens at Hachette UK, Paul founded and co-chaired Hachette UK's Wellbeing Network and now sits on the network's committee as their external relationships represenatiave. Paul is a qualified Executive & Leadership Coach (ILM7), a Mental Health First Aid Ambassador and one of Hachette UK's wellbeing ambassadors.

Michael Byrne is the Founder and Managing Director of LETs (Lived Experience Trauma Support Ltd) and established LETs after overcoming many traumatic events in his life. 

Michael establishes LETs with the main aim of improving Mental Health Wellbeing in the Workplace. 

Michael is regularly in demand to provide Keynote Speeches in Conferences and Events all over the U.K. regarding Mental Health, Survival, Resilience and was recently a Keynote Speaker at The Scottish Parliament in Holyrood. 

Michael is regularly featured in multiple news and media outlets and is also the author of Poems From A Mod: My Journey Through Trauma, Recovery and Survival. This book takes the reader on a journey through Michael’s breakdown into recovery. 

Michael’s 2nd book is due to be released in 2020

Yvette Caster is a journalist and podcaster who lives with bipolar disorder and works for everyone from The Times and National Geographic to The Mirror and Mail Online. She launched and co-hosts Metro.co.uk's weekly mental health podcast, Mentally Yours, which has been running for more than three years and shortlisted for leading industry awards. Before going freelance she managed Metro's award-winning mobile and tablet editions and later ran Metro.co.uk's Platform section. On Mentally Yours, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and AudioBoom, she chats to everyday people living with mental health issues, clinicians and celebrities including Ruby Wax, Rose McGowan, Audley Harrison, Professor Green and Dame Kelly Holmes.

Michael is a native of Hong Kong and an alumnus of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), Stanford University, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is a Diversity, Inclusion, and Well-being Professional at Community Business with cross-disciplinary knowledge in psychology and public health. Michael supports clients across a range of industries to find solutions to diversity challenges within their business by providing a combination of consulting and training services, as well as conducting roundtables to facilitate discussions on diversity, inclusion, and employee well-being as a societal and business issue. On a voluntary basis, Michael is the Vice Curator of the Global Shapers Community Hong Kong Hub, a youth leadership initiative of the World Economic Forum.

Dr. Prabha S Chandra, MD, FRCPE, FRCPsych, FAMS is Professor of Psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India. She works in the areas of Women’s Mental Health, Perinatal Psychiatry, Palliative Care.

She has been a PI for 14 Research Grants and editor of 5 books. Her research papers have been cited 5,700 times. 

Important Positions - President Elect, International Association of Women’s Mental Health, Temporary Advisor, WHO and UNAIDS, Member of Mission Steering Group (MSG) of the National Health Mission, Government of India and Member, Task Force on Suicide prevention in higher educational universities.
 
Received several international and national honours and a speaker at international conferences.

Manoj Chandran is the founding CEO of White Swan Foundation for Mental Health, a non-profit organization incorporated with the mission to deliver knowledge services for mental health and wellbeing. 

Founded in 2014, White Swan Foundation has developed India’s largest knowledge repository on mental health for the public at http://www.whiteswanfoundation.org. White Swan Foundation runs several community outreach and mass communication programs to educate people on mental health and wellbeing. 

Manoj has more than 25 years of experience in a wide range of areas that include journalism, communications, marketing, strategy and leadership. 

Earlier, Manoj served as a Leadership Group Member of Ashoka Innovators for the Public.

Dr. Bhargav Chandrashekar is an occupational health physician at GlaxoSmithKline where he is involved in occupational health program management across multiple R&D and manufacturing clinics in North America. Dr. Chandrashekar also contributes to employee health & wellness strategy and delivery, in collaboration with safety professionals, HR professionals, and business leaders. He also provides consultation and leadership on population health, compliance with federal regulatory standards, employee health, and well-being issues. Dr. Chandrashekar is a board certified specialist and completed his training in occupational and environmental medicine along with a dual M.P.H. and M.H.A from the University of Cincinnati. In his spare time, he enjoys weight lifting and helping startups excel.

Mariette Lynn Clardy-Davis is the founder of M.L. Clardy Law, LLC. She provides strategic and proactive legal counsel in the field of behavioral health, wellness and alternative healthcare. Her services include wellness programs, business advisory and involuntary hospitalisation counsel. She recently launched a successful curated meditation workshop intensive for professional and entrepreneurial women. She is an active speaker, trainer and workshop facilitator in the wellness and mental health space. Mariette received her JD at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, and her BA in Music (classical voice) and her MA in Administration. Mariette uses her authentic lens as a female professional with bi-polar depression and autoimmune challenges to educate, counsel, and connect.

As a co-founder of the Lawyers Depression Project (LDP), Julia works to provide peer-support to others in the legal profession who, like herself, are dealing with mental health conditions. Julia facilitates video conference support meetings, interacts with members through LDP's online platform, and develops content encouraging recognition, normalization, and acceptance of mental health concerns.

Motivated by personal experiences of fertility treatment inequality and the lack of support available for men, Richard Clothier campaigns to end the UK’s NHS IVF postcode lottery. Doing so has enabled him to talk openly about his own infertility experiences, how they affected him and what he did to mitigate the emotional strain.

Mellener is an award winning Inclusion Strategist with a focus on creating cultures where people can bring their passion and whole self to work. 

She is often invited to speak at external conferences including the 2018 UN Women Gender Focal Point Meeting in Geneva. She is currently on the Task Force for implementing the THIS IS ME campaign in India

She is as an expert panelist for the 2021 Review of the Global D&I Benchmarks by the Centre for Global Talent and Inclusion, NYC USA. As a passionate ally for women in leadership Mellener is a mentor for the 2020 LEAD LIKE A GIRL Global Fellowship Program run by Shenomics.

Mellener is honored to be a Global D&I Advisory Board Member for the Future Talent Council.

Rosie is a senior HR Business Partner and leads the Inclusion and Diversity strategy of Mars UK. Mental health is a core part of Mars UK's I&D strategy, resulting in 5% of their UK workforce being trained as MHFAs, and partnering with the Campaign Against Living Miserably.

Harry is passionate about creating environments where people can be open and appropriately supported with their mental health. Much of Harry’s passion in this space stems from the passing of his father when he was 12 years old, sadly by suicide. Through his own story and reflections Harry is keen for others to learn from the way that he dealt with the lost of his father. 

Lee Corless is a Vice President at JP Morgan Chase & Co. within the Global Technology Diversity and Inclusion team where he leads Community and Inclusion Globally and the Autism at Work program for the UK and EMEA region. As an autistic self-advocate diagnosed in adulthood, Mr. Corless supports the advancement of adapting the workplace to embrace neurodiversity and encourage autistic individuals to seek employment. This year he was awarded Outstanding Achievement by an Individual on the Autism Spectrum by the National Autistic Society in the UK.

Paul Cossell became Chief Executive of ISG in April 2016. During nearly 25 years with the construction services firm, he has overseen the transformation of ISG’s office fit out business to become the market leader in the UK. He was also the driving force behind ISG’s entry into the international data center construction market and has grown the business to become one of the most respected technology, science and health sector specialists in the UK and Europe with an industry-leading reputation for creating an unbeatable experience for customers. Paul is also an active member of The Prince’s Trust Built Environment Committee and recently became a Director of Build UK.

Gloria is a Senior Partner at inQUEST. An expert HR and organizational development professional, Gloria has over 25 years of experience working with corporate, non-profit, union, non-union and government entities. She is committed to helping individuals, teams and organizations create and sustain environments where all people can be and do their best.

Gloria is highly respected and much sought after for her work as an instructional designer and master facilitator. She has covered a wide array of topics including leadership, diversity & inclusion, unconscious bias, privilege, multi-culturalism, harassment and discrimination, EEO and AA laws, team building, communications, career and life coaching and performance management, and giving performance feedback across lines of difference (e.g., style, generations, gender, sexual orientation, religion and spirituality, chronic illness and disabilities). She also serves clients as a mediator and collaborator for leveraging conflict for synergistic outcomes that honor all stakeholders.

Gloria has experience working for professional organizations such as the American Society for Training and Development and the Human Resources Management Association Committee – Training & Development Subcommittee. She is active in her community, working with the Double E Program for high school students as well as Project Equal where she is a past board member.

Gloria graduated from Loyola University Chicago where she received a B.S. in psychology. She holds both MBTI and Social Style certification, among other credentials.

MD, BScHB, MBcHB, MMED Psychiatry Registrar. Naeem is leading grassroots to system level change in mental health. He has a track record of impact as a Zambian youth mentor and mental health expert, psychiatry registrar at University Teaching Hospitals, and public health chairperson of the Zambia medical association. 
Using a holistic lens to promote brain health, he incorporates the voices of people with lived experiences, culture and beliefs coupled with evidence base through research to bring change. Naeem believes in implementation research and he uses journalism and community outreach to teach the art of preventive medicine. He is the founder of a mental health community Ganizo, in Zambia which is redefining mental health disorders at grassroots using culture sensitive dialogue.

Laura DeCook is the Mental Health Lead at Expedia Group and sits on the Ability Inclusion Movement board. Starting at a grassroots level, Laura connected with the Inclusion and Diversity team and has run many mental health initiatives, including the first global World Mental Health Day and getting 130 Mental Health First Aid responders trained around the globe. Partnering with Champs Consulting in the UK, Laura has facilitated webinars on burnout and stress, along with Managing Your Mental Wealth During Challenging Times.  

After attending USC film school, Laura went on to receive her Master’s in International Studies. After a decade of working at YouTube in the Bay Area and Singapore, Laura uses her lived experience of anxiety and burnout to help others going through similar situations.

Fabian has worked in communications for nearly 20 years, publicising major organisations like Sky, ITN and The National Lottery, heading up the comms team for national children’s charity Chance to Shine and, most recently, setting up his own freelance consultancy, Devlin Communications. Fabian is passionate about mental health and, following his own experience of anxiety and depression, he has co-curated a men’s mental health book, ‘Big Boys Don’t Cry?’. The collection of 60 stories from men from different backgrounds with lived experience of a range of mental illnesses, was launched in May 2020 (bigboysdontcry.co.uk). Fabian lives with his wife and daughter in South West London and enjoys mindful meditation, playing cricket and walking his King Charles Cavalier Spaniel Star.

Vieshaka L Dutta is a senior HR professional and leads Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) for India at Publicis Sapient. She has been associated with strategic HR efforts, Culture and Diversity and Inclusion for over 14 years. She is passionate about building community support groups and manages large networks focused on support for women and mothers and single parents. She also mentors organisations and institutions on their I&D journey and manages networks of professionals. She is a strong ally for LGBT+ support movement in India and supports advocacy for the community at workplaces.

Dr. Michael Eason has more than 15 years clinical experience and holds both Master and Doctorate level degrees in Psychology, along with an advanced Specialist degree in the field of Guidance and Counseling. He is a Chartered Psychologist by the British Psychological Society. Additionally, he is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and a National Certified Counselor in the United States. Since moving abroad in 2013, Dr. Eason is a Registered Counsellor in Hong Kong and holds membership in the Psychotherapy Society of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Professional Counselling Association. Currently, he is Clinical Director and Co-Founder at Lifespan Counselling Central, Hong Kong, where he specializes in LGBTQ+ clients and the treatment of substance abuse/addiction/compulsive behaviours.

Jon is an experienced legal practitioner, who worked for law firms and in business for over 20 years before setting up his consultancy.

Abi was always interested in what makes people tick; but her psychology degree convinced her to turn that passion into a profession and she has spent more than 25 years in the world of HR.  Abi has delivered key business and HR change projects on a national and international level across many industries.  She has worked as an HR Director and in client-facing consulting roles both for a “Big 4” consultancy and as an independent.  Abi's education and work experience certainly came in handy when a loved one's mental health was challenged.

Fatima Azzahra is an IT Security Engineer at Microsoft Canada and a Global Mental Health Advocate. She is a Global Shaper and serves on the governing body of the Global Shapers Community as Co-Chair of the Equity & Inclusion Steering Committee.

In October 2018, during World Mental Health Day, she co-led a Global Mental Health campaign of the Global Shapers Community to break the stigma via testimonial videos from 20 hubs in 6 languages. She currently leads a group of Shapers to implement an international peer counseling program for those who cannot afford professional mental health support.

She holds a M.Sc. in Control Engineering (Colorado School of Mines, USA) & a B.Sc. in Computer Science (Al Akhawayn University, Morocco), both with a full scholarship.

I seek greater fulfillment in humanistic ways where CrossFit, Cookies, and Mindfulness intersect with Corporate evolution. That's crazy right, but it works beautifully.

Kathryn Famer is the Vice President of Global Benefits for Levi Strauss & Co with responsibility for strategy, design and oversight of benefits programs in 46 countries.  Prior to joining LS&Co in 2013, she held a number of Global Benefits leadership roles across the technology, financial services and consumer goods sectors and is well versed in driving innovative and transformational change across global programs.

Kathy led the Global Solutions Total Rewards practice for the Clorox Company, was the Director of Global Total Rewards for hp, and led a number of merger and acquisition efforts at Wells Fargo Bank N.A and the Transamerica Corporation.

In addition to her depth of Total Rewards experience, Kathy has also led a number of large scale transformational change efforts at hp, Wells Fargo, and Transamerica.

Her educational background includes the Strategic Change and Organisational Transformation program at the Harvard School of Business, and a B.S. in Political Science and Speech from Northwestern University, located in Evanston IL (US).

Kathy is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the First Tech Federal Credit Union (a US based credit union and investment services group with over $13B is assets).  Serving since 2001, she chaired the HR Committee for 7 years and is an active member of NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors is the recognised authority on leading Boardroom practices). 

Kathy is married with one son and is committed to a number of community service endeavors.  She devotes her spare time to a number of charitable and community service organisations as well as personal pastimes of travel and gardening.

Based in Hong Kong, Alisha Fernando is responsible for driving Bloomberg's diversity and inclusion strategy across the Asia Pacific region, with a strong focus on implementation of programs and initiatives supporting Bloomberg's enterprise wide D&I goals, which has won them an award from Human Resources Online for Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion.
She previously spent most of her career at the Australian and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), where she served as the firm's Inclusion Program Manager.
Under her leadership, ANZ won the 2017 Business Inclusion award from the Migration Council of Australia for the expanded refugee work placement program. She was also a recipient of a full scholarship to the Victorian Government's 2018 Joan Kirner Young and Emerging Women's Leadership Program.

Dr Stuart W. Flint is an Associate Professor of the Psychology of Obesity at the University of Leeds, Director of Obesity UK and President of Scaled Insights. He has a strong background in psychology with a specific interest and expertise in weight stigma and discrimination and the psychosocial effects of obesity. His research has highlighted the pervasiveness of weight stigma and discrimination in adult and child populations, across various settings, and the potential impact on people with overweight and obesity. He has also developed interventions to reduce weight stigma attitudes and discriminatory behaviours. Dr Flint has published widely in high impact journals and worked nationally and internationally with policymakers, health organisations and charities.

Dr Zoë Fortune currently leads, and helped establish, CMHA HK, an organisation that is led by businesses, that aims to create a culture of good mental health for workers in Hong Kong, increases mental health understanding, and enables businesses to take practical steps.

She is passionate about using research to provide rigour and a sound evidence base for implementation and has led large national and international research programmes within psychiatry and health services evaluation across academic, management consultancy, and international development settings. 

Zoë’s work has been published in academic journals and the wider media and was awarded the BBC News Award for research work.

Geralyn Giorgio has spent 20 years at Johnson & Johnson and currently leads Change Management and Communication for the North America Region and Cross Functional Capabilities within Global Services.  She is focused on Intelligent Automation and Data Strategy initiatives.   

Prior to this position, Geralyn was Head of Change Management, Communications & Training for HireUp in Talent Acquisition, led the Organization & Talent cross functional workstream for Enterprise Standards and Productivity, and held multiple Human Resource Business Partner roles in diverse businesses across J&J.

In April 2017, Geralyn launched and currently leads the Mental Health Diplomats, a part of the Alliance for Diverse Abilities employee resource group, for employees living with mental health conditions and caregivers. 

Geralyn holds a BA in Psychology from Rutgers University.  She is a Certified Professional Coach and Recovery Coach, with a specialization in Health & Wellness.  She holds multiple coaching certifications, including those in Coaching, Addiction, Food, Nutrition, and Fitness through the Addictions Academy and the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC).  She is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) and Member of the International Coach Federation (ICF).  Geralyn has a certification in change management from PROSCI and is certified in Mental Health First Aid.

Geralyn lives in Middlesex, NJ with her two daughters, Kiersten and Carolyn. 

Jessi Gold,MD,MS,is an Assistant Professor and the Director of Wellness,Engagement and Outreach in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University in Saint Louis. She sees college students, as well as faculty and staff as patients, teaches and mentors students, and has helped with her organisation’s mental health response to COVID-19.Dr. Gold earned degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and the Yale School of Medicine, and trained in psychiatry at the Stanford University. She is a nationally recognised expert on college mental health, gender equity, physician wellness, and the overlap between popular media, stigma, and psychiatry. She also writes regularly for the popular press and has been featured in, among others, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Forbes, TIME, and SELF.

Mark is a Partner in the New York office of Reed Smith and a member of the firm’s Labor & Employment Group. Mark’s practice is focused on helping companies in New York and around the world manage their workplace needs. Mark counsels clients on a variety of day-to-day and also big-picture workplace issues. Mark also defends employers in a wide range of employment litigation matters, and advises clients on all aspects of employment-related issues in corporate transactions.

Mark is also a passionate advocate as it relates to mental health and wellness, particularly in the legal profession. Since February 2019 – when The American Lawyer published an article chronicling Mark’s past struggles with severe depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and anxiety as a practicing attorney – he has written extensively on these issues. Mark also frequently speaks about mental health and related issues at conferences, bar association events, law schools, and other programs. In addition, in the past year Mark has partnered with several of Reed Smith’s clients to raise awareness about mental health disorders and develop and implement internal mental health and wellness programs. As part of these partnerships, Mark frequently presents to corporate in-house legal departments about these important issues.

As a result of his work, Mark was selected as a member of ALM Media/Law.com’s Mental Health Advisory Board and has been asked to serve as an advisor to several organizations that focus on mental health-related issues. Mark is also one of the leaders of Reed Smith’s disability inclusion group (LEADRS) and is the partner chair of Reed Smith’s mental health task force.

Emily is a mid-transition Project Management professional with 20 years of experience in delivering strategic projects and programmes across a number of sectors, with a particular interest in risk management.  Outside of work she is a parent and rugby, technology and motorsport enthusiast.  She has lived with mental health issues throughout her life and tries to work to normalise the experiences that mental illness can bring.

Elizabeth is a psychiatric nurse, writer, and mental health advocate who is helping others by sharing her own journey with bipolar disorder. Elizabeth believes in leading by example and that one way to end the stigma surrounding mental health is to open up and share your story. 

After seeing so many of her patients in the hospital battle with feelings of shame and defeat, Elizabeth realized that it was time to confront her own illness and the feelings of shame she had been hiding as well. Not knowing where to start, Elizabeth started writing from her personal experience in the hopes that others could learn from her own struggles. Elizabeth passionately believes that through the power of support and connection, we can dramatically shift the mindset surrounding mental health.

Mat has been working for BHP since 2011, and has played an important role in the development and deployment of health programs that are making a very real difference to the wellbeing of their people and the culture of care within the company. He has helped build an environment in which employees feel supported, can cope with the stresses of life, work productively, and be able to make a contribution to their community.

Ben Idle is the COO of the Corporate and Investment Banking Operations Department at Deutsche Bank. Ben has worked in Financial Services for 25 years in London, NY and Singapore. Ben has an MBA and is proud to be a Mental Health First Aider

Ashish Vijay Jain is currently working at GlaxoSmithKline Limited (GSK) Plc where he leads the Global delivery of health and wellbeing for Consumer Healthcare businesses worldwide. He is also responsible for the operational delivery of health and wellbeing delivery to all GSK employees in Asia . 

At GSK, he has taken up roles with increasing responsibilities spanning from Country health lead, Cluster EHS Head, Region Head and Global Health and Wellbeing partner for Consumer Healthcare vertical.  He is a sought-after speaker and has presented at various national and international forums including WHO, World Economic Forum, Global Fund and others. His areas of expertise include – developing strategic, evidence based business solutions on health and wellbeing, resilience and mental health, Health promotion and NCD.

Nisha is currently the General Manager for the UK Ethicon business, responsible for the sales, marketing and commercial operations of the organisation. Nisha returned to the UK in 2017 following an exciting opportunity for an International Development Programme placement in Asia Pacific.  Based in Singapore, she led Strategic Marketing in the Asia Pacific Region for the haemostats and fibrin sealant portfolio within medical devices. She has held a wide variety of roles in J&J Medical Devices since joining the organisation as a graduate in 1999. Nisha is passionate about nurturing customer intimacy, developing talent and leading diverse teams. 

Nisha is a proud mum of two little boys and loves helping them to experience many of the adventures this big, beautiful world offers.

Deepak Kashyap (He/Him) is a counselling therapist and life skills, trainer. With an extensive, experience in corporate wellness and diversity and inclusion initiatives. He provides emotional and mental health services in person and online for over 10 years. He holds a master’s degree in the Psychology of Education from the University of Bristol, UK. He has been formally trained in advanced programs in REBT and CBT from the Albert Ellis Institute in New York and attended the MBCT summer school program at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre at the University of Oxford, England. He has conducted workshops in India, Dubai, the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Canada on various emotional wellbeing projects. He is India's first openly gay television co-host.

Susan combines an academic post in Organisational Psychology with her work as a business psychologist,  an executive coach, mediator and consultant.  She specialises in working with below the surface dynamics and vulnerability at work.  Her research interests include endings, failure and resilience with books published on these topics.

Nathan Khan drives LinkedIn's business growth for Hong Kong and Taiwan. He has spent the last 5 years working with all ranges of companies, helping them leverage LinkedIn for better business success and optimisation. Nathan has spent over 10 years working within the talent sector and is a passionate believer of open-networking and empowering people to be the best version of themselves. He is passionate about the future of work and looks to bring people together through the vision of LinkedIn.

Jon L. Kinning is Co-Owner, Executive VP and Chief Operating Officer of RK, a Colorado-based construction, manufacturing and service company with offices in Colorado and Utah. Jon previously worked in commercial real estate as a Licensed Broker. He established the commercial Service division at RK and is Managing Partner for Kinning Holdings. Jon is President of the RK Foundation, which was founded in 2011 to support local non-profits. 

Jon serves on the Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee and the MSU Denver Foundation Board. He is a founder and board member of the Green and Gold Foundation, a member of Young Presidents Organization-Colorado and on the board of ACE Scholarships. Jon has a BSBA from Colorado State University and an MBA from the University of Denver.

SEE HER THRIVE was established by Clare-Louise Knox, Business Psychologist (MSc) and Board Director at the International Association for Premenstrual Disorders (IAPMD). Clare-Louise specialises in the field of female reproductive health and the impact it has on women in the workplace. She is also part of a government task force addressing menstrual stigma and education in the UK.

Recognised globally as a leading authority on the substance use and mental health problems of lawyers, Patrick is the founder of Krill Strategies, a behavioral health consulting firm exclusively for the legal profession. In that role, he serves as a trusted advisor to large law firms and corporate legal departments throughout North America and Europe, helping them understand and navigate addiction, mental health, and well-being issues on a daily basis. 

Patrick serves on the Advisory Committee to the American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs, and in October 2017, was honored with the Commission’s Meritorious Service Award for Outstanding Contribution to Lawyer Wellbeing. In 2017 he was also appointed to the ABA President’s Working Group to Improve Lawyer Wellbeing and is a founding member of the National Task Force on Lawyer Wellbeing. Patrick was a co-author of the Task Force’s landmark 2017 report, The Path to Lawyer Well-Being, Practical Suggestions for Positive Change. In November 2016, he was presented with the “LCL Founders Award for Service to the Profession” by Minnesota Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers.

A Counsellor with MA in Counselling and Applied Psychology and a BSc in Psychology, Sakshi is also a certified Mental Health First Aider. Over the years, she has practised as a trainee and counsellor at St. John’s Counselling Service and KELY Support Group in Hong Kong. 

Sakshi has experience working with clients aged 14- 60 and in supporting individuals and families deal effectively with stress, anxiety, depression, loss and grief through evidence-based psychological interventions. 

At Community Business, she is the Programme & Content Manager for the Diversity & Inclusion in Asia Network (DIAN). Sakshi also delivers sessions on employee wellbeing that focus on managing workplace stress and anxiety, emotional wellbeing, resilience and coping with burnout.

Sarah Le Brocq, is someone who is living with obesity and Director of Obesity UK. She works in the pharmaceutical industry as her day job and has experience of work based stigma in this setting. Sarah is passionate about reducing weight stigma and changing the narrative around obesity.

Lyn Lee is the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for Royal Dutch Shell. Lyn is passionate and committed to driving workplace inclusion, and champions the organisation’s D&I priorities on accelerating the progress of gender balance in senior leadership and STEM roles, ethnicity & local national representation, enablement for People with Disabilities, different sexual orientation (LGBT+), and promoting Care and de-stigmatising Mental Illness. She represents Shell as a company which embraces a diverse global workforce through building a strong culture of inclusion, respect and high-performance.

Katie has been working with organisations to help them grow and provide excellent customer service. Since joining Mental Health UK in 2017 Katie has been focussing specifically on engaging workplaces with mental health both through advising on organisation-wide strategies and charitable and awareness campaigns for employees and customers to engage with directly. Partners have included Lloyds Banking Group, PureGym and ISG.

Kelly is Senior Human Resources Manager at law firm Farrer & Co where she plays a key role in the development and delivery of the firm’s wellbeing strategy. Kelly is a qualified mental health first aider and in recent years has become a mental health public speaker, drawing on her personal experience of depression and anxiety. Prior to joining Farrer & Co Kelly read Law at the University of Bristol.

Enoch is the Managing Director of BEARAPY, a B2B social enterprise that builds mentally healthy workplaces in Asia-Pacific through consulting and training services. She works with multinationals, governments, and start-ups to advocate emotional and mental health awareness for resilience, leadership development, and productivity. Enoch is featured and published widely in CNN, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, South China Morning Post, China Radio International, and CGTN. Her latest book, "Stress in the City", shares her personal journey and some fun ways to cope with depression, recommending adults, parents, and organizations on playfulness for better wellbeing. Enoch sits on the Advisory Board of the Movement for Global Mental Health and the ExCo of Global Mental Health Peer Network.

Gilbert specialises in cross-border M&A transactions and is a senior member of our dedicated retail sector team. He is recognised as a “Leading Individual” by Legal 500 and ranked by Chambers & Partners. He is also listed in “The A-List: China’s Elite Lawyers” by China Business Law Journal. He has also recently been invited to share his insights at “Asia Business Conference 2020: Asia in Action” organised by the Harvard Business School and the Harvard Law School. He is a member of the Board of the City Mental Health Alliance Hong Kong.

Minal Mahtani is the CEO and Founder of OCD & Anxiety Support Hong Kong, a registered charity (91/16212) dedicated to supporting, educating, counselling and being a resource to adults and teenagers who are affected by Obsessive Compulsive Disorders and Anxiety Disorders. Minal has received training in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Acceptance Commitment Therapy and possesses degrees in Psychology and Education. She runs monthly support groups and conducts mental health workshops in a variety of settings including health clinics, schools, corporates and to disadvantaged/minority communities. Minal is a Mental Health First Aid Instructor and Stress Management Yoga teacher. She is dedicated to mental health advocacy. OCDAHK is a global partner of the International OCD Foundation (USA).

Prakash Mallya is Vice President & Managing Director of the Sales, Marketing and Communications Group of Intel India. A 20-year veteran of the company, Prakash joined Intel in 2000 as Business Development Manager, responsible for the Financial Services segment in India. Over the years, he has held several regional roles including leading Intel’s Asia Pacific strategy to win in the Manufacturing and Oil & Gas verticals, as well as managing strategic global customer and partner relationships. Prior to this he was the Director for Intel Asia’s Data Center Group and managed the region’s data center strategy for cloud service providers, communications service providers, enterprise and government infrastructure, spanning server, storage, and network solutions.

Mark McLane is the Head Diversity, Inclusion and Well-being for M&G plc, an international savings and investments business across the UK, Europe, Asia and the Americas. Prior to M&G, he held the position of Head of Global Diversity and Inclusion at Barclays PLC, a UK based consumer and investment bank. Mr. McLane has also held the positions Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Booz Allen Hamilton, in Washington D.C. and Chief Diversity Officer for Whirlpool Corporation, a Fortune 500 company in Benton Harbor Michigan.

Hannah is the Head of Marketing and Strategy at the City Mental Health Alliance Hong Kong. She is a public relations, digital strategy and coaching graduate with over fifteen years’ experience working for agencies, in-house and not-for-profits spanning London, Sydney and Hong Kong. Her most recent experience has been in the diversity & inclusion and employee wellbeing field in Asia.

Sarah leads Talent, Insights and Inclusion at TSB. That means making sure that the bank understands its current and future workforce, and is using that insight to intentionally develop an attractive, inclusive, successful place to work. 

With a background in both HR and communications, Sarah specialises in creating positive, productive working experiences. She's particularly interested in what influences an individual’s relationship with work, and what that means for them, the organisations they work for and society more widely. 

Sarah hadn’t thought much about mental health until getting involved in creating a ‘resilience toolkit’ for a global organisation about 5 years ago. Many conversations and changes later – at work and at home - she’s committed to putting mental health awareness, support and healthy habits at the heart of the relationship between employer and employee.

Jan Meurer is the President, J&J Southeast Asia (SEA).  He is responsible for the entire J&J footprint in Southeast Asia, covering our Pharmaceutical, Medical Devices, Consumer Health and Vision Care businesses. 

Immediately prior to his appointment as President of J&J in SEA, Jan was the Area Managing Director of J&J’s Central Europe Consumer Health business.  Known for his strategic leadership and commitment to patients and consumers, Jan was a board member of several industry and trade associations in Europe and Globally that shaped health and industry policies. 

From 1998 to 2015, Jan held a variety of roles with increasing responsibilities in Procter & Gamble. He is an experienced and diverse leader who has successfully managed highly complex markets in Europe, US and Latin America.

Jan graduated with a master’s degree in business from University of Passau, Germany and studied on a Rotary Scholarship at Valdosta State University, USA.  Apart from his German native tongue, he is fluent in English, French and Spanish. 

Jan is an active sportsman and lives in Singapore with his family.

Dr. Benjamin F. Miller, PsyD is the Chief Strategy Officer for Well Being Trust, a national foundation committed to advancing the mental, social and spiritual health of the nation. He helps oversee the foundation’s portfolio ensuring alignment across grantees, overall strategy and direction, and connection of the work to advance policy. The end goal is to help advance the national movement around mental health and well-being. Prior to joining Well Being Trust, Dr. Miller spent 8 years as an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine where he was the founding Director of Eugene S. Farley, Jr. Health Policy Center. The Farley Center was created in 2014 to be a leader in conducting policy studies, relevant to health and health care challenges, disseminating evidence to those positioned to use it in their decision-making issues related to health policy for the University, and to be a leader locally and nationally on a variety of topic areas. Under Dr. Miller’s leadership, the Farley Health Policy Center worked on four main areas: behavioral health integration, payment reform, workforce, and community-based prevention. He remains a Senior Advisor to the Farley Center. Miller is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the Stanford School of Medicine.

Educated at Durham and Newcastle Universities, Dick has been  English teacher, rugby coach and, for almost 23 years, a headteacher. He is also a father and grandfather!    He has spoken at over 350 schools, businesses, universities and conferences around the world about his passion for the emotional and mental health of young people. Dick is an instructor for Mental Health First Aid, a trainer of the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust and attended an ASIST course focusing on suicide intervention. Dick has appeared on BBC Breakfast, ITN News, BBC Radio 5 Live and numerous local radio stations and gave a TEDx talk in 2015 and a Head talk in 2018. He has a passion for all sport (especially Fulham FC!), the Gallipoli Campaign and the American Civil War

Gina Passarella is editor-in-chief of The American Lawyer and ALM's global legal brands. She has covered the business of law since 2005. Starting in 2019, she led Law.com's Minds Over Matters project, a yearlong investigation into mental health and substance abuse in the legal profession.

Chintan leads the Chief Technology Office and Systems Engineering Community. His team of engineers, architects and technologists lead all aspects of technical engagement with Cisco's customers and partners. The team also focus on a broad range of Emerging Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, IoT, Cybersecurity, Quantum and Future Mobile Networks.

Chintan is passionate about driving business transformation using innovative technology and working with Cisco’s major clients, partners, industry and academia. He is a frequent industry speaker, quoted in the press and media, has appeared on platforms such as TEDx and SXSW, authored multiple papers in a range of technology topics and blogs around future technology trends.

Sarahbeth Persiani is the author of Run, Walk, Crawl - A Caregiver Caught Between Generations. For five years, Sarahbeth was the primary caregiver for her Father, who had dementia, while working full-time and taking care of her own family. She is a recognised speaker on working while caregiving and has written on the topic for many outlets including, Thrive Global, TLNT and The Elephant Journal. As the founder of We Are Sharing the Sun, her focus these days is to help companies create a supportive culture for family caregivers and provide education, support and encouragement for working professionals who are themselves in the sandwich squeeze. 

Ben Plowden is a Director at Transport for London, where he has held a number of senior roles since 2002, including Managing Director of Communications and Director of Strategy and Project Sponsorship in TfL Surface Transport. Prior to joining TfL, Ben was one of the country’s leading environmental campaigner and was founding director of the national NGO Living Streets. He is a qualified executive coach at an Advanced level and a TfL Mental Health Champion.

Katie is Head of Wellness for APAC for Goldman Sachs. She has over 10 years of experience in the corporate benefits and wellness industry, starting as a consultant in London and moving to Hong Kong 6 years ago. Her previous roles included healthcare consulting, brokerage and implementation from an EMEA and APAC perspective. She joined Goldman Sachs in APAC in November 2017 with a particular focus on health and wellness. She is passionate about resilience and mental wellbeing and how this relates to overall workplace wellbeing.  

Gian started his career at Deutsche Bank and PwC and witnessed first-hand some of the Inclusion and Wellbeing issues that need to be tackled in the corporate world. In 2015, an unexpected family tragedy changed Gian’s life forever. Whilst working in the city, Gian found out his father had been murdered on a business trip in India. 
His experiences and inner resilience sparked his passion for prioritising wellbeing and inclusion in the workplace. Gian is the founder of TLC Lions and The Unwind Experience and is passionate about igniting emotion in the workplace, encouraging others to share and be themselves at work. 
TLC Lions has reached over 57 countries, 30,000 individuals and Gian's work has been featured in global media including Business Insider and BBC Documentaries about his work.

James has made a career out of following his intuition and exercising his willingness to reinvent himself. Having spent time as an entrepreneur software engineer, product manager, product leader and HR leader at technology companies from 5 to 100,000 people, he now brings his versatility, intuition and courage to his executive coaching practice. He’s the coach leaders trust to dig deep, unwind the inner stories and find their own unique, powerful and courageous path forward. After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and losing a close friend to suicide, James founded the Silent Superheroes podcast to tell the real stories of people living and working with mental illness.

Gareth is the Global Managing Partner of global law firm Allen & Overy where he has been a partner since 2003.  He is passionate about spotting and investing in the potential of people and making Allen & Overy a place that offers opportunities to all and where everyone can thrive.

Gareth recognises that whilst Allen & Overy must serve its clients, it must also strive to be a valued and valuable member of the communities in which the firm operates.  He firmly believes that all businesses will need a social licence to operate.  Although Allen & Overy is already well placed in this regard, there is always more that can be done to address the broader set of environmental, social and wellness challenges relevant to being a professional services firm that contributes fully to the communities it is a part of.

Suzanne Price, representative director of Price Global, is a Consultant and Coach, with expertise in Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Psychological Wellness and Emotional Intelligence. 

Suzanne’s clients include numerous Fortune 500 multinational companies across industries. Some have won awards for her initiatives. Suzanne transitioned from clinical practice in Psychiatric Nursing and Psychotherapy to APAC Head, D&I for UBS Securities and retained consultant for Diversity and Wellness at Goldman Sachs. Suzanne is known for, creative drama-based live and video content to advance the conversation on DEI and Psychological Wellness. 

In 2015 and 2016, Suzanne was recognised by The Economist as one of the 'Top 10 Global Diversity Consultants’.

Hale Pulsifer works in the Office of Customer Accessibility at Fidelity Investments. Fidelity is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing and other financial products and services to more than 20 million individuals, institutions and financial intermediaries.

In this role, he works to optimise customer interactions for people with disabilities by ensuring that accessibility is a design principal in everything we do at Fidelity. In addition, he is the former national co-chair of the Fidelity Enable Employee Resource Group for associates impacted by disabilities.

Prior to leading the Office of Customer Accessibility, he served in multiple finance and strategy roles at Fidelity for over 15 years.

He has his Masters of Business Administration from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College and earned his Bachelor of Science in International Relations and Development from Brown University.

Serena is Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Asia ex-Japan at Nomura where she works on creating an inclusive, safe place to work. She graduated from Yale-NUS College with a major in Anthropology, and spent her college life working on improving mental health resources on college campuses and leading the College's organization for gender, sexuality and intersectional feminism, amongst other things. Previously, she was Yale-NUS' first NASPA Undergraduate Fellow where she researched third-culture student identity their experience in higher education. She has previously spoken on panels relating to mental health with CHAT, AWARE, and more with a mission to destigmatise mental illness in Asia.

Jessy was born and raised in the Philippines and moved to Devon when she was seven years old. From a young age she was introduced to bad relationships with food and throughout most of her life saw it as her best friend and also enemy. Early into adolescence, Jessy found her bad relationship with food was balanced with regular exercise but as life’s challenges came her way, she found herself losing confidence and found the weight piled on. Staying away from public situations, she found herself going from healthy and petite to becoming obese in a matter of a few short years. This added to complications with health as well as body shaming from senior managers. Today Jessy wants to share her story on gaining body positivity as well as her journey to getting healthy again!

Tammy has spent 20+ years focused on growth — her own and that of professionals of all ages, at all stages in their careers, from a variety of cultural backgrounds, and across a wide range of industries. As a gay woman of color in Tech and the only person of any generation in her family with a doctorate and equity, Tammy is especially committed to helping people overcome barriers and discover opportunities within and beyond themselves.

Peter joined Community Business following a short career break, prior to which he was an Executive Director of Standard Chartered Bank. Throughout his career, Peter has been a dedicated diversity and inclusion (D&I) advocate and a champion for minority groups. Peter has had a long association with Community Business, participating in the Community Business Leadership Team (later known as the Responsible Business Network), the Diversity and Inclusion in Asia Network (DIAN) and the Hong Kong LGBT+ Inclusion Index and Awards, since their inception, and has become a recognised speaker and advisor on D&I issues within the workforce.

Dr. Candice Schaefer is a licensed clinical psychologist and the global head of employee wellness at Twitter. Dr. Schaefer spent 10 years as a practicing clinician in medical settings and private practice before moving to the tech industry in 2017, where she created and delivered resiliency programming for employees working with graphic and sensitive content at Facebook. At Twitter, Dr. Schaefer serves as a program manager, subject matter expert, and consultant to many organizations within Twitter, with the goal of increasing employee resilience and decreasing occupational burnout. Last year Dr. Schaefer received board certification from the American Board of Professional Psychology in Business and Organizational Consulting Psychology.

Zoe is one of the founders of This Can Happen. She is also the founder of Employees Matter, the largest provider of employee engagement seminars and webinars in the UK.

Sky has been with KELY Support Group (KELY) since 2011 and was appointed as the organization’s Executive Director in April 2015. Having spent 16 years growing up in Ghana, West Africa, she experienced first-hand the challenges that poverty, lack of access to education and health can have on a young person’s development. 

With a background in Public Health practice and a passionate vision to see youth thrive regardless of their environment, Sky has worked in adolescent health research and local and international community development projects, including those related to girls’ empowerment and education in developing South Asian nations. In 2005, Sky co-founded a support network in Hong Kong for ethnically Chinese third culture teens.

Anya has worked in the field of Infertility for over 13 years now including 6 years at the London Womens Clinic before joining the Fertility network. She has written a book entitled Fertile Thinking and helped establish several courses for those facing infertility. She is often in the media as a champion for the patient perspective on facing Infertility and is currently busy lobbying MPs and speaking in Parliament regarding fair provision of IVF for all.  She is the women’s officer for her local Labour Party branch and is on the executive committee for the Fabian women’s network. She has worked for three MPs and is currently office staff for David Lammy MP. She has two children from IVF and one from adoption and is a Champion for both 'Saying Goodbye' and 'Home for Good' charities.

Vickie Skorji completed her Bachelor of Behavioral Sciences with honours from La Trobe University, Australia in 1995, and a Masters in Counseling from Monash University in Australia, with specialist training in neuropsychology. Prior to moving to Hong Kong & Tokyo, she managed an Acquired Brain Injury Support Service in Australia, supporting families and individuals with a variety of neurological conditions and published a resource book for carers of people with neurological conditions or Acquired Brain Injury. Over the past 15 years, she has worked in Japan with TELL a mental health NPO developing a range of suicide prevention, mental health, and psychological first aid programs to address the countries high suicide rates and mental health stigma.

Debra Sobel is an experienced Creative Director and Strategic Communications Consultant, with a strong background in editorial, communication strategy and planning, content production and delivery. She is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Verity London, a Purpose-driven Strategic Communications Agency helping brands develop and communicate their Social Purpose to drive positive commercial and societal change. Debra was previously co-founder and MD of Vanilla Films, which she successfully ran for 12 years, creating and producing films for corporate clients, all drawing on her early experience working as a Producer / Director on prime-time public service BBC television programmes including Watchdog and Crimewatch.

Sally Spencer-Thomas is a clinical psychologist, inspirational international speaker and an impact entrepreneur. Dr. Spencer-Thomas was moved to work in suicide prevention after her younger brother, a Denver entrepreneur, died of suicide after a difficult battle with bipolar condition. Known as an innovator in social change, Spencer-Thomas has helped start up multiple large-scale, gap filling efforts in mental health including the award-winning campaign Man Therapy and is the lead author on the National Guidelines for Workplace Suicide Prevention. She currently serves as Executive Secretary for the American Association of Suicidology and President of United Suicide Survivors International. Additionally, she is co-editor of the "Guts, Grit & The Grind" book series on men's mental health.

Madeleine Starr MBE is Director of Business Development and Innovation at Carers UK, a not-for-profit organisation working to improve the lives of unpaid carers. Madeleine joined Carers UK in 2000 to lead its work on carers and employment. In 2009 she was recognised as a Working Families Pioneer for ‘her sustained and successful campaigning for carers’ employment rights’ and for her influence in establishing the Employers for Carers membership forum, launched in 2009. She is currently leading Carers UK’s work on digital innovation in health, care and the third sector. Madeleine was awarded an MBE in 2012 for services to employment.

Hannah Storm is a sought-after speaker and moderator, panellist and facilitator, with significant international experience and global contacts to connect others in vital conversations.

She is the CEO of the Ethical Journalism Network and the former director of the International News Safety Institute, as well as a media consultant. Specialising in gender, media safety, mental health and newsroom leadership, she has co-authored several publications on these issues. Hannah has recently shared her own diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder in an attempt to tackle some of the stigma around mental health in the media. She now convenes industry-wide conversations about collective solutions to better support journalists’ mental health.   

Co-founder and Chairman of the RS Components SPECTRUM LGBTQ+ community. A proud transman advocating, championing and supporting equality and respect within the workplace.

Jonathan is a Chartered Psychologist at Pearn Kandola, specialising in the areas of diversity, inclusion and wellbeing. Much of his work involves working with organisations to embed new behaviours and processes to support inclusive practices and cultures. An experienced facilitator and trainer, Jonathan leads a number of Pearn Kandola’s Inclusive Leadership and Positive Action programmes with clients across the private and public sectors. 

Jonathan’s passion is creating healthy workplaces, which allow people to perform at their best. A key component of this is ensuring fairness at each step of the employee journey, from the point of attraction, recruitment, development and progression. He recently contributed to a new book on the topic of Race and Wellbeing – ‘Free to Soar'.

Carolyn Thayer-Azoff brings over a decade of experience in employee health, well-being, and engagement in the workplace. With a background in Counseling and Health Psychology, she is deeply committed to an inclusive, whole-person approach. Her work positions mental health as foundational to the success of all individuals, across organisations. 

Carolyn is on a mission to unlock opportunities for individuals and communities to achieve their highest potential. She currently works as a Senior Director in strategy and development, bringing integrated mental health products from ideation to market. Her products have enjoyed excellent user satisfaction scores and validated outcomes. Outside of work, Carolyn cherishes quality time with her fun-loving husband, curious daughter, and energetic dog.

Odile completed her Nursing education at the University of Toronto. She is Paediatric Advanced Practice Nurse with over ten years of experience. In Toronto she lead the improvement of mental health care in the Emergency Room at Sick Kids Hospital, as well as working with survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. In Hong Kong Odile has focused on mental health and education. At Mind HK Odile is a clinical advisor, trainer and the Anti-Stigma lead, focusing on mental health awareness and stigma. Odile is also a teaching fellow at the HK PolyU, School of Nursing. Finally, she works with the Child Development Team supporting a collaborative approach to care. Odile’s extensive experience has allowed her to cultivate expertise in child and adolescent development and mental health.

Vivian Tsoi advises multinational corporations on their operations and activities in China and China-based clients on strategies for entering overseas markets.

Recognized by professional directories as a leading practitioner in her field, Vivian's reputation is based on her significant track record, supporting clients with major mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions across the globe.

Drawing on her deep insight into the market environment in China with her international deal-making experience, Vivian steers clients through complex, cross-border transactions to help them achieve their expansion objectives.

Caroline is the founder of Creased Puddle Ltd a UK based Neurodiversity training and consultancy company. She spent 21 years as a Police Officer qualifying to Inspector before retiring in 2017. Prior to leaving she was supported by Chief Officers to create the first Neurodiversity support group in British Policing. She launched Creased Puddle in early 2018 which has since grown to become a recognised centre of expertise for Neurodiversity. It now boasts a nationwide Psychologist and Coaching network providing assessments, diagnostics, specialist coaching and workplace support. Day to day Caroline and her team can be found delivering evidence based training and consultancy for a large number of large multinational clients including NHS and UK Policing.

Nick Tzitzon has been a leader at the highest levels of global business and government for more than two decades. He is currently Chief Strategy Officer of ServiceNow, one of the fastest growing companies in the enterprise technology industry. With a market value that surpassed $100 billion in record fashion, ServiceNow’s purpose is to make the world of work, work better for people. Nick’s personal passions are promoting a culture of respect, destigmatising mental health at work and unlocking new channels of communication between stakeholders.

Before joining ServiceNow, he served in executive roles for business software market leader SAP SE, Europe’s most valuable technology company with 100,000 employees and 440,000 customers worldwide. Most recently as Executive Vice President, he was a member of the company’s Global Leadership Team and senior counsel to CEO Bill McDermott.

Before joining SAP, Nick was a management consultant in the areas of strategy, transformation and public affairs. He has advised businesses in the healthcare, energy and public services industries. He spent ten years serving in local, state and federal government agencies, including the programs division of the U.S. Department of Justice, a $3 billion agency focused on public safety, research and juvenile justice. He served on the staffs of two Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Tommy G. Thompson and Michael O. Leavitt. HHS is the largest U.S. civilian agency, overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, the Centers for Disease Control and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Before moving to Washington, D.C., Nick served on the staffs of former Massachusetts Governors Mitt Romney and Paul Cellucci. An honors graduate of Suffolk University in Boston, Nick was a United States Senate Youth Scholar. He is active in a variety of causes, including the Alzheimer’s Association and the We Are Family Foundation. He is a below-average tennis player and an above-average food lover. He claims to have a good sense of humor, but there is little evidence from others to validate this credential.

Charlotte Valeur has over 35 years of experience in finance, primarily as an investment banker in Denmark and UK. She has an extensive portfolio career with a number of Non-Executive Directorships and Chair roles – as well as delivering training and advising boards in corporate governance through her company Global Governance Group.

Charlotte been a director of 7 public companies, including three appointments as chair. Charlotte also has board experience with a range of unlisted companies including international engineering firm Laing O’Rourke, BT Pension Fund, Chair of Institute of Directors U.K. and Founder and Chair of Board Apprentice.

Hannah Vaughan Jones is a journalist, broadcaster, writer and professional moderator. She has anchored primetime live television news for Sky News and CNN - winning an Emmy nomination along the way. Hannah regularly moderates and hosts high profile events, predominantly in the field of Global Health, for the WHO and other international institutions. Hannah was thrust into the public eye in 2017 when she wrote an article for The Times about her own experience of multiple failed rounds of IVF. Since then, she has been an advocate for fertility education, smashing the stigma of infertility and has encouraged her thousands of social media followers to share their own stories. She has a baby son, Sonny, after fifteen rounds of fertility treatment.

Kate Vernon is Executive Director at Community Business. Since 2005 she has played an instrumental role in building the organisation, driving its strategy forward and establishing its position as a leader in advancing responsible and inclusive business practices in Asia. A recognised authority on diversity and inclusion in Asia, Kate has authored extensive research and developed benchmarks to help companies promote more inclusive workplaces in Asia. She has been the driving force behind Community Business’ focus on mental health, compiling pioneering research in 2018 on 'Embracing Mental Health in the Workplace in Asia' and forging strong partnerships globally and locally. Previously, Kate worked for 12 years in the private sector, holding senior international marketing positions.

Jaya Virwani heads the Ethics office and the Diversity and Inclusiveness (D&I) strategy for EY’s Global Delivery Services . In her role as the D&I Leader, she focuses on initiatives that promote cross-cultural teaming and inclusive leadership, eliminate unconscious biases, and create an ecosystem that supports gender equity in senior leadership positions. Jaya heads the Ethics office and drives consistent behavior of the highest ethical standards across EY Global Delivery Services. Jaya is also the Chairperson for the Internal Committee for the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) at Global Delivery Services.

Mike Weiner, LMSW is the Director of EY Assist, Ernst & Young’s US based Employee Assistance and Work Life program. Mike joined EY in 2015 and is a mental health clinician with nearly three decades of experience.  He leads a team of clinicians who, together with a number of vendors, develop innovative programs and solutions to support the emotional wellbeing and daily life needs of EY’s people.  

Mike previously worked for Anthem as the Clinical Account Manager for one of their largest global EAP / behavioral health accounts. He also worked for Managed Health Network, the behavioral health division of Health Net, Inc. as the Director of Account Management. Prior to working in the Employee Assistance field, Mike assessed and counseled adults, couples and families at a public hospital and a private mental health clinic. Mike has a Master’s of Science and Social Work from Columbia University

Laura Willis is one of the UK’s leading experts on digital wellbeing and management at work and a thought-leader on thriving in a constantly-on world. She co-founded Shine Offline in 2015 to help businesses understand the importance of supporting staff to have healthy and sustainable relationships with their work and personal digital technology. With an increase in screen time during the Coronavirus pandemic, and a rise in home-based, working Shine Offline have been working with clients to ensure staff have the appropriate boundaries in place to protect wellbeing, work life balance, performance and relationships. Clients to date include National Grid, CPS, ITV, 3M, O2, Discovery, PwC and the UK Parliament.

Paul is a clinical psychologist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong. He has been involving in suicide prevention research and mental health promotion and practice since 2003. His recent research projects include youth social withdrawal behavior, using animals as part of educational and psychological interventions, youth positive development of local and non-Chinese young people, and family care giving for people with psychological issues. His main research theme aims to promote social inclusion in our society and has published about 90 academic articles and book chapters. He is also Fellows of the Hong Kong Psychological Society and the Hong Kong Professional Counselling Association.

WONG LAI CHUN (MSc, BA, DIP TM, Cert Counselling) was the Senior Assistant Director of Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) – a 24 hour hotline suicide prevention centre and the author of the book published in 2019 – ‘Do I Matter’. She is also a Certified Behavioural Consultant and Life Coach. (Institute of Motivational Living Inc (USA) American University of NLP)
She also has many years of corporate experience training locally and internationally in service and building service cultures as a service consultant/trainer in local and international organisations. Her clients included organisations from Dubai, Mauritius, China, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan and ASEAN countries.

Iestyn is an experienced campaigner with a demonstrated history of working in both the third and public sector. His background is in campaigning, public engagement and communications. Iestyn is an eager individual with a passion for mental health awareness, equality, human rights and political engagement. After a diagnosis of OCD in recent years, Iestyn has been a strong advocate for mental health and in championing the need for awareness raising of misunderstood mental health disorders and the stigma surrounding them. Through his work at Stonewall Cymru, Iestyn continues to lead the charity’s campaigning and policy work in Wales with the aim of protecting and furthering LGBT rights and equality.

Emiley has had over 20 years experience in the legal industry. She is tri-qualified in Singapore, England & Wales and California, USA. As a practitioner, Emiley has had experience in commercial litigation and securities law in Singapore and the US. In the wider legal industry, Emiley has had experience in HR/talent acquisition, finance and operations in Singapore and the UK. She is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the Singapore office of Allen & Overy and concurrently co-Heads the HR function in Asia Pacific. She is passionate about nurturing talent and looking after staff wellbeing. Emiley is also one of the Mental Health Advocates for A&O in Asia Pacific.