Bilbao 2022
Ljubljana 2025
Speakers
Arts
Asia 2028

Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl

Professor and NoVo Foundation Endowed Chair in Social and Emotional Learning, University of Illinois Chicago

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About Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl

Dr. Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl is the NoVo Foundation Endowed Chair in Social and Emotional Learning and Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois Chicago. A former middle school and alternative high school teacher for youth at risk, she earned her MA from the University of Chicago and her PhD from the University of Iowa, followed by postdoctoral work as a Fellow in the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Clinical Research Training Program in Adolescence at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University.

Internationally recognized for her expertise in social and emotional learning (SEL), Dr. Schonert-Reichl’s research centers on the factors that promote empathy, compassion, altruism, and resilience in children and youth. She has led numerous studies evaluating SEL programs such as Roots of Empathy, MindUp, and Kindness in the Classroom, and has also examined SEL’s impact on teacher well-being and how SEL can be integrated into teacher preparation programs. Dr. Schonert-Reichl has collaborated with neuroscientists and psychobiologists to explore the biological underpinnings of children’s social and emotional development, including stress physiology and social epigenetics. A leading figure in SEL assessment, she spearheaded the development of the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI), a population-level measure capturing children’s self-reported well-being and social and emotional competencies.

Used globally and translated into multiple languages, the MDI has been administered to more than 400,000 children and is being used in international projects, including a current initiative in Tuluá, Colombia. Her contributions have earned her numerous accolades, including the 2021 Janusz Korczak Medal for Children’s Rights Advocacy, the 2019 Postsecondary Leader of the Year Award (Canadian EdTec), the 2015 Joseph E. Zins Distinguished Scholar Award for outstanding SEL research, and the 2009 Confederation of University Faculty Associations BC’s Paz Buttedahl Career Achievement Award in recognition of sustained outstanding contributions to the community beyond the academy through research over the major portion of a career.

In total, she has authored over 185 scholarly publications, has co-edited two books on mindfulness in education, and has a recent co-edited book Social and Emotional Learning in Action: Creating Systemic Change in Schools (2023). She is Editor-in-Chief of Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy, the first academic journal dedicated to SEL, published by Elsevier. Dr. Schonert-Reichl serves on several influential boards and advisory groups, including the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), the Karanga Global Alliance for SEL and Life Skills, and UNESCO’s MGIEP. She also chairs the Scientific Research Advisory Committee of the Goldie Hawn Foundation and has advised the OECD’s Education 2040 initiative and the British Columbia Ministry of Education on SEL-informed curriculum reforms.

Since 2006, Dr. Schonert-Reichl has participated in dialogues with the Dalai Lama on compassion and educating the heart—experiences highlighted in the 2017 documentary The Last Dalai Lama? Her work has been featured widely in media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, The Atlantic, and Scientific American Mind, underscoring her global influence in the field of SEL and child development.

Eric Mulholland

Dean of Inner Development Program

Whidbey Island, WA, United States

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Eric Mulholland is a licensed mental health counselor, actor, educator, facilitator, and all-around creative person who has worked with groups of all ages for over 30 years. He studied theatre at the University of LaVerne where he specialized in Creative Dramatics and Acting. Professionally, Eric has acted in regional children’s theatre companies and has appeared in over 50 plays. He taught drama in regional acting conservatories, schools, and community programs around the world.

Eric helped launch the international youth program Partners for Youth Empowerment (PYE Global) and traveled extensively as a global trainer for the organization. His interest in somatic awareness and how the body holds trauma led him to study massage therapy at the Port Townsend School of Massage, where he received his massage license. He graduated with a master’s degree from the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland and currently works part-time as a therapist in private practice.

At home, Eric enjoys spending time with friends over a home cooked meal and working with his hands in the garden. Touching the earth regularly keeps him balanced and connected. Hiking, running, swimming, skiing, and travel have all been a routine part of his self-care over the years. Eric loves to explore his creativity in his home studio by painting, dancing, and writing.

What does inner wellbeing mean to you?

Inner wellbeing, to me, is about building a positive relationship with yourself. It’s recognizing that you are your own greatest supporter, nurturing self-compassion, and finding balance within to thrive.

How would you define wellbeing in one word?

Connection

Are there any rituals or practices you use to enhance your wellbeing?

Being in nature fills me with peace and connection. It is not uncommon for me sit in silence for long periods of time in the forests or at the seaside near my home. I also enjoy yoga for balance, trail running to strengthen my heart, meditation to smooth the rough edges of my mind, poetry to bring the tears, and cooking delicious food for joy and community.

Why is it important that we prioritize individual, organizational and societal wellbeing?

Life comes at us fast and furious most of the time. Most of which we can’t control. Building a practice that supports wellbeing is a tonic for the vicissitudes of life. If I am well, then I can contribute from an empowered place. I can be creative and thoughtful and compassionate. Organizations and societies are made up of individuals so I believe wellbeing starts with me.

Do you have any favorite books, podcasts, or articles that you believe support, promote or educate on wellbeing and related themes?

Poems by Rumi, The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis Weller, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff, and Start Where Your Are by Pema Chödrön

Bilbao 2022
Ljubljana 2025
Speakers
Arts
Asia 2028

Mia Jafari

Founder, Fluid Labs

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About Mia Jafari

My work aims to transform corporate cultures by designing innovation programs that tackle real challenges holistically. My upcoming book “Collaborating with Life” (October 2025) shares my research and insights that explore how innovation starts with an inner journey and how, when combined with technology, this mindset can create solutions that honour both our creativity and life itself.

Since 2010, I have been designing, planning, and executing innovation and entrepreneurship programs for universities, foundations, and banks, including the University of Arts London, Emirates Foundation, Impact Hub, Abu Dhabi Arts and Music Foundation, Commercial Bank of Dubai, and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank. My company Fluid Labs, founded in 2023, builds innovation systems that benefit people, planet and profits.

Unlike traditional approaches, I’ve found transformation sticks when people feel truly inspired, supported and aligned with a vision they believe in. I aim to break down complex tech and business ideas into practical contexts that help everyone think like entrepreneurs. I am driven by unlocking creativity through wellbeing, building future-fit business models, and forming partnerships where organizations, people and life can flourish together.

Bilbao 2022
Ljubljana 2025
Speakers
Arts
Asia 2028

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Omar Sosa

Artist, OTA Records

Omar Sosa is a Cuban-born pianist, composer, and bandleader whose musical horizons span world jazz, Cuban, Caribbean, Latin American, European, and African traditions. Over a three-decade career including some 35 recordings, Sosa has gained a devoted following, while garnering numerous commissions and residencies, Rockefeller Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts support, the Smithsonian Lifetime Achievement Award, two BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards, four GRAMMY® nominations, and three Latin GRAMMY® nominations.

Omar Sosa’s creative trajectory embodies the expansive perspective of a visionary artist who has taken Monk’s uncompromising attitude to heart. Rooted in Afro-Cuban percussive, dance, and spiritual traditions, intimately versed in a range of contemporary musical forms, but defying easy labels, Sosa’s finely textured compositions and ensemble leadership complement, engage with, and amplify the animating talent of his collaborators through a varied palette of astonishing musicality.

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Bilbao 2022
Ljubljana 2025
Speakers
Arts
Asia 2028

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Tim McHenry

Curator of the Mandala Lab at the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art

Tim McHenry has been presenting Rubin Museum audiences over the past twenty years with what the Huffington Post has called “some of the most original and inspired programs on the arts and consciousness in New York City.” McHenry initiated some of the early public conversations on neuroscience and contemplative practice in the context of his long-running series Brainwave.

At the Rubin, McHenry specialized in art-contextual experiences that broke the traditional mold, such as an event that converted the museum building into an olfactory Memory Palace; the Dream-Over—a sleepover at the museum for grown-ups— ; and The Game of Life a museum-wide game of emotions that fostered cooperation. He is the curator the Mandala Lab – a secular experiential translation of the Vairocana mandala with the involvement of Ponlop Rinpoche, Mingyur Rinpoche, Peter Gabriel, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Laurie Anderson, Amit Dutta, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and other artists.

It is now on view in a travelling free-standing version that has been seen in Bilbao, London and Milan, and is available in workshop form as well as in a classroom version rooted in Social, Emotional and Ethical Learning (SEE Learning ® ) in a partnership with Emory University.

Bilbao 2022
Ljubljana 2025
Speakers
Arts
Asia 2028

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Erin Robinsong

Poet and interdisciplinary artist; PhD candidate, Concordia University

Erin Robinsong is a poet and interdisciplinary artist working with ecological imagination. She is the author of Rag Cosmology (2017) and Wet Dream (2022), both winners of the AM Klein Prize for Poetry. Her readings and performances have been presented by the More Than Human Life (MOTH) Festival, Architectural Association School of Architecture, Toronto International Festival of Authors, OFFTA Live Art Festival, Fierce Festival, Blackwood Gallery, and more.

Collaborative dance works with Andréa de Keijzer and Hanna Sybille Müller include This ritual is not an accident; Facing away from that which is coming; and Polymorphic Microbe Bodies. A PhD candidate at Concordia University (Montreal), Erin’s research-creation work focuses on regenerative, relational and embodied poetics. Erin grew up in Coast Salish territory, on Cortes Island, Canada.

Bilbao 2022
Ljubljana 2025
Speakers
Arts
Asia 2028

Nektarios Liolios

Co-founder, The Future Farm

About Nektarios Liolios

Nektarios ‘fell into’ banking and spent the first 15 years of his career in very traditional roles in finance. This changed in 2011 when he joined an innovation team, a step that became his path out of the corporate world and into entrepreneurship. Since then he has started multiple business and has worked closely with hundreds of entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses.

He is the cofounder of Startupbootcamp FinTech, the world’s largest fintech startup accelerator, the Innotribe Startup Challenge, the first global fintech startup competition and Radish Credit, a lending platform, helping underserved communities to finance important life needs. Driven by the realisation that nobody cares about the emotional needs of founders, he cofounded The Future Farm in 2019, a global community dedicated to healthier entrepreneurship. Driven by collaboration and the desire to improve the lives of people, Nektarios is a global nomad, travel geek, and sneaker freaker.

Bilbao 2022
Ljubljana 2025
Speakers
Arts
Asia 2028

Diego Ruete

Fooducator, Fooducation for all – Petit Gourmet

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Diego Ruete is a 49-year-old cook, preschool teacher, and Ashoka Fellow from Uruguay, with over 20 years of experience. He developed the concept of Fooducation by uniting his paths in food, education, and social change. A father of three, surfer, and passionate gardener, Diego sees cooking not just as a skill, but as a powerful, transformative practice.

His work places the use of local, seasonal vegetables at its core—fostering conscious food choices that nourish people, respect nature, and strengthen communities. He is the author of Hoy cocinamos nosotros (2016) and Educocina (2019), two books that reflect his commitment to learning through food and with purpose.

Bilbao 2022
Ljubljana 2025
Speakers
Arts
Asia 2028

Roy Jacob

Trainer and Conflict Mediator, Conscious Communication Academy

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About Roy Jacob

Roy Jacob is a facilitator, trainer, and conflict mediator. He grew up in the U.S. and worked as a software engineer before finding his true calling in 2003 and coming to India, where his family is from.

In India he explored alternatives including permaculture and living on the land, and has been facilitating retreats especially for young changemakers since 2011. He is the founder of the Conscious Communication Academy (https://consciouscommunicationacademy.com/) and also facilitates retreats for YES! (https://yesworld.org/) and for other NGO’s and companies. He believes in the transformative power of ‘slowing down’, especially through situations of conflict. In his spare time he enjoys floating in water, playing frisbee and watching the stars at night.

Bilbao 2022
Ljubljana 2025
Speakers
Arts
Asia 2028

Lisa Mikkelsen

Partner, People (OR) Head of Global Human Capital, Flourish Ventures

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About Lisa Mikkelson

A seasoned HR executive, Lisa is passionate about engaging with fintech founders on the topics of leadership, wellbeing, and talent management. At Flourish, she is Head of Global Human Capital where she architects the future of the firm’s distributed workforce and oversees its global HR strategy, its strong inclusive work culture and ongoing people development. She works across all facets of human resources strategy and people development on a global scale for Flourish as well as its portfolio companies helping align their business goals with people development, remote collaboration, and company culture and strategy.

Recruited for the founding team of Flourish Ventures, Lisa was instrumental in creating and building the culture of the rising early-stage global fintech venture capital firm that backs mission-driven entrepreneurs. Prior to Flourish, she helped build the Human Capital team at Omidyar Network for 8 years. She started her career recruiting and developing teams for two high-growth Silicon Valley startups. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology/Human Development from UC-San Diego.