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Ángela M. Báez-Silva Arias

Independent consultant -systemic approaches (transformation and PMEL), Adapt Peacebuilding

My expertise lies in complexity and systemic approaches towards human systems transformation. My experience includes working as a facilitator, teacher/trainer (at both undergraduate and graduate levels), researcher, program manager, and executive director in research, intervention, and evaluation projects and institutions focused on gender equity, peacebuilding, citizenship, national literature, psychosocial care, community philanthropy and education. Additionally, I have worked with public, private, and international cooperation institutions on topics such as cultural transformation, conflict resolution, education, negotiation, participation, human rights, gender-based violence (GBV), dialogue, and strategy, using systemic-adaptive and differential approaches. I’ve also produced academic publications, training materials and intervention designs across various disciplines and topics. I believe in participatory, dialogic, and systemic approaches that emphasize intersectoral, ethical, and horizontal relationships. These approaches help foster recognition, autonomy, and trust among people who inhabit different, yet equally valid, multiverses.

Currently, I work as an independent consultant, primarily focusing on participation, everyday democracy, #ShiftThePower, equity, peacebuilding, and education. I’m particularly interested and an active member of networks reflecting about governance, participatory and complex design, PMEL, and how to transform violent everyday behaviors. I studied Psychology and Philosophy, followed by two Master’s degrees: one in Literature and another in Cultural Biology or Biology of cognitions and communication, where I conducted research under the guidance of Humberto Maturana.

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Mile Viero

Mile Đurđević, who performs under the artistic name Mile Viero, comes from a musical family from the village of Osipaonica, Serbia. After completing his secondary education in 2019, he began his studies at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, where he graduated with highest honors (summa cum laude). He furthered his education at the Conservatory of Music in Trieste as part of the Erasmus exchange program in 2023. He is currently pursuing advanced studies at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. Throughout his studies, under the mentorship of Prof. Borut Zagoranski, he has achieved numerous important artistic successes.

He has received over fifty awards at national and international competitions, among which the most notable are prizes from the TEMSIG competition, the Coupe Mondiale in Lithuania, the Concorso Talento Contemporaneo in Italy, and the Akkordeonwettbewerb in Germany. He has performed within prominent concert cycles in Slovenia, as well as at numerous official events organized by the Republic of Slovenia, the University of Ljubljana, the Academy of Music, and other faculties. Among his most significant performances are two concerts for the President of the Republic of Slovenia (2022, 2024), a performance at the Frankfurt Book Fair (2023), three solo concerts in Paris (2025), and a concert at the Slovene Cultural Center Korotan in Vienna (2025).

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Laurence Lien

Director, Co-Founder, and Chairman; Asia Philanthropy Circle; Chairman, Lien Foundation; Co-Founder and Board Member, Asia Community Foundation

About Laurence Lien

Laurence Lien is Co-Founder and Chairman of the Asia Philanthropy Circle, a membership-based platform for philanthropists in Asia to exchange and collaborate. Laurence is also the Chairman of Lien Foundation, a family foundation established in 1980, which has become well-regarded for its forward-thinking and radical approach.  He is also Co-Founder and a Board Member of the Asia Community Foundation.

Laurence was the CEO of the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre in Singapore from 2008-2014. Prior to his work in the non-profit sector, Laurence served in the Singapore Administrative Service in the Singapore Government. Laurence holds degrees from Oxford University, the National University of Singapore, and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. In 2010, Laurence was awarded the Eisenhower Fellowship. He was also a Nominated Member of Parliament in Singapore from 2012-2014.

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Jason Ferenczi

Facilitator, Translocal Governance Collective

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About Jason Ferenczi

Jason’s journey has been shaped by travel encounters, historical study, and listening in a career that has included nonprofit leadership and grant making. He leads JF Consulting and is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His passion is to create environments where participants do not feel the need to perform or prove themselves good enough.

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Kate Woodsome

Founder and Publisher, Invisible Threads; Senior Fellow & Scholar, Georgetown University

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About Kate Woodsome

Kate Woodsome is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, systems change strategist, and mental health advocate who spent two decades reporting on democracy, trauma, and repair — from Cambodia to Cuba, Hong Kong to Washington, D.C. After leading award-winning news teams at the Voice of America, Al Jazeera English, and The Washington Post, Kate’s journey took a personal turn during the pandemic and U.S. political crisis. Covering the January 6th attack on the Capitol — and defusing direct threats with humor and humanity — left her with complex PTSD and a deeper understanding of the human cost of broken systems.

Stepping away from the daily news cycle, Kate turned her focus to building the conditions for intergenerational wellbeing. She is now a visiting scholar at Georgetown University’s Psychology Department and a consultant with the Red House research and design unit, where she co-developed The Journey Framework — a strengths-based model for transforming cycles of harm into resilience, trust, and collective repair. Today, Kate works with individuals, communities, and institutions to unlock new ways of thinking, feeling, and acting — strengthening personal resilience and renewing the foundations of democracy and civic life.

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Jane Davidson

Chair, Wales Net Zero; author, “#futuregen: Lessons from a Small Country”

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About Jane Davidson

Jane Davidson is Chair of Wales Net Zero 2035, an expert group convened between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru to ‘Commission independent advice to examine potential pathways to net zero by 2035 – the current target date is 2050. This will look at the impact on society and sectors of our economy and how any adverse effects may be mitigated, including how the costs and benefits are shared fairly. We support devolution of further powers and resources Wales needs to respond most effectively to reach net zero” The Group’s work was published in late 2024 She is the author of #futuregen: Lessons from a Small Country (2020), the story of why Wales was the first country in the world to introduce legislation to protect future generations. #futuregen is published by Chelsea Green.

The update was published in Welsh by Lolfa in 2022 #futuregen: Gwersi o Wlad Fechan and a Japanese version is to be published mid 2025. She is Pro Vice-Chancellor Emeritus at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, having spent nearly a decade leading the university’s sustainability agenda through the establishment of INSPIRE (the Institute for Sustainable Practice, Innovation and Resource Effectiveness), with the university achieving a number of awards under her leadership. From 2000 – 2011, Jane was Minister for Education, then Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in the Welsh Government, where she proposed a law to make protecting future generations the central organising principle of government; the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act came into law in 2015. She introduced the first plastic bag charge in the UK, and her recycling regulations took Wales to among the best in the world. She created a Climate Change Commission for Wales, the post of Sustainable Futures Commissioner, One Planet Developments and the Wales Coast Path.

In Education, she piloted major curriculum changes: in particular, moving away from subjects to areas of learning in the Foundation Phase for early years and broadening the A level curriculum through a Welsh Baccalaureate, integrating Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship into the Welsh Curriculum. From September 2022, the new Welsh statutory curriculum embeds both approaches. Jane is a patron of the Chartered Institute for Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) Seatrust, Cambrian Wildwood and Tools for Self Reliance Wales (TFSR Cymru). She holds honorary fellowships from IEMA (Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment), WWF, CIWM (Chartered Institution of Wastes Management), CIWEM (Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management) and honorary doctorates from the University of Glamorgan. She is a RSA Fellow and has been guest faculty in the Executive Education for Sustainability Leadership programme at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She contributes regularly to international expert events, particularly on intergenerational equity. She lives on a smallholding in west Wales where she aims to live lightly on the land.

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Dr. Mays Imad

Associate Professor, Connecticut College

About Dr. Mays Imad

Dr. Mays Imad’s academic journey began at the University of Michigan–Dearborn, where she pursued philosophy and minored in chemistry. She earned a doctoral degree in cellular & clinical neurobiology, with a minor in biomedical sciences, from Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Arizona’s Department of Neuroscience, she joined Pima Community College (PCC), teaching a variety of biology-related subjects. During her tenure at PCC, she founded their Teaching and Learning Center (TLC). Throughout her education and professional journey, Dr. Imad has maintained a keen interest in exploring how the nervous system perceives and responds to the world, which has deeply influenced her approach to both teaching and research.

Currently an associate professor at Connecticut College, Dr. Imad is interested in understanding the social determinants of student wellbeing and success and conducts research on equity pedagogy. Her work reflects a deep commitment to equity and justice in and through education. With fervor, she advocates for institutions to pay close attention to intergenerational trauma and to prioritize repair, healing and growth. She is a Gardner Institute Fellow, AAC&U Senior STEM Fellow, a Mind and Life Institute Fellow, and a Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and the Reparative Quest (AVReQ).

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Zaya Benazzo

Director and producer, Science and nonduality (SAND)

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About Zaya Benazzo

Born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria, and fascinated with exploring life’s big questions, Zaya feels most at home in nature and, increasingly, within herself. Her deepest passion is bringing spiritual wisdom in service of all life. She has produced and directed several award-winning documentaries including The Wisdom of Trauma, The Art of Life, Rays of the Absolute, and Where Olive Trees Weep.

 

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Mar Cabra

Executive Director, The Self-Investigation

About Mar Cabra

Mar Cabra is executive director and cofounder of The Self-Investigation, a global nonprofit catalysing a healthy work culture in the media ecosystem by placing well-being and mental health as a core business strategy and value. Recognized by Forbes as one of the most awarded Spaniards, she is a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, digital wellness educator and fellow at Ashoka & Acumen, working on raising awareness on how technology is changing the way we interact with ourselves, each other and as a society. She’s committed to creating a healthier working culture to prevent others from burning out like she did after leading the technology and data work for the Panama Papers investigation. She’s a master of ceremonies, keynote speaker and has talked to companies such as Twitch, Santander Bank, Just Eat, The Guardian or PWC.

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IN MAR’S WORDS

How do you think individual, collective, and planetary wellbeing are connected?

It’s urgent that we rethink the way we interact with ourselves, each other and the planet. We’ve been operating as if they were separate parts, but in reality, we’re all one and need to work on our interconectedness.

What do you hope the outcomes are from the global Hearth Summit?

Inspiration, community and positive action.

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Rabbi Lynn Gottleib

Rabbi, visual & performing artist, and author; Founder, Shomeret Shalom Collaborative for Jewish Revolutionary Nonviolence; Board Member, Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity

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About Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb

Lynn Gottlieb is one of the first ten women to become a rabbi in Jewish history. She is a pioneer Jewish feminist, writer, visual and performing artist, master storyteller and founding elder of Shomeret Shalom Ordination Program for Jewish Revolutionary Nonviolence. Lynn served Temple Beth Or of the Deaf from 1972 – 1979 in NYC where she also created Mishkan A Shul – an arts based community. Founder of Nahalat Shalom Community in Albuquerque, NM in 1981, her community is rooted in culture tending of Ashkenazi and Sefardic traditions. Lynn is a team member of Grassroots Reparations Campaign, board member of Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity and on the rabbinic council of Jewish Voice for Peace. Lynn has been devoted to Palestinian human rights since 1966. She is author of She Who Dwells Within; Trail Guide to the Torah of Nonviolence; Peace Primer II; World Beyond Borders Passover Hagaddah and Shomeret Shalom: Replanting Seeds of Jewish Revolutionary Nonviolence After October 7. Her most recent theatrical work is called: Storyteller on Sacred Ground – stories of pilgrimage to justice. She is very funny.