Polaris Partners

Polaris Partners is a venture capital and private equity firm that invests in early-stage and growth-stage companies across various sectors. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Polaris Partners focuses on identifying and supporting innovative companies with high growth potential. The firm’s investment strategy spans several industries, including technology, healthcare, and consumer products.

Polaris Partners provides both financial backing and strategic guidance to its portfolio companies, leveraging its extensive network and industry expertise to help them scale and succeed. The firm’s approach combines deep market insight with hands-on support to drive growth and value creation. With a track record of successful investments and exits, Polaris Partners is known for its collaborative approach and commitment to building long-term partnerships with entrepreneurs.

National Council For Mental Wellbeing

The National Council for Behavioral Health is a prominent advocacy organization in the United States dedicated to improving mental health and addiction treatment services. It represents over 3,000 member organizations that provide mental health and addiction treatment services to millions of individuals nationwide. 

The Council focuses on promoting policies and practices that ensure access to comprehensive, high-quality behavioral health care. It also advocates for integrating mental health services into primary care settings and advancing innovation in behavioral health care delivery. Additionally, the National Council offers training and technical assistance to its members and works to raise public awareness about mental health issues.

Hewlett Foundation

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is a private charitable foundation based in Menlo Park, California. Founded in 1966 by William Hewlett and his wife Flora, the Foundation focuses on addressing critical social issues and promoting the common good through grantmaking and partnerships. Its mission is to support efforts that improve the quality of life for individuals and communities, with an emphasis on innovative and impactful solutions.

The Hewlett Foundation’s primary areas of focus include education, global development and population, environment, the performing arts, and philanthropy. It supports a range of initiatives, from advancing educational equity and addressing climate change to strengthening the arts and promoting effective philanthropy. By providing financial support and strategic guidance, the Foundation aims to foster positive social change and enhance the effectiveness of its grantees’ work.

IKEA Foundation

The IKEA Foundation is the philanthropic branch of the IKEA Group, focused on improving the lives of children and families in need globally. It aims to address critical issues such as child poverty, education, and health through strategic partnerships with non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders. The Foundation’s initiatives are designed to enhance child protection, provide educational and vocational opportunities, and support emergency relief efforts in crisis situations.

In addition to its work in humanitarian and educational sectors, the IKEA Foundation also invests in climate action to combat the effects of climate change on vulnerable communities. By combining financial resources with a commitment to sustainable and measurable impact, the Foundation works collaboratively with its partners to create lasting positive change and improve the overall quality of life for those in need.

THE BRIDGESPAN GROUP

The Bridgespan Group is a nonprofit organization that provides consulting and advisory services to other nonprofits and philanthropic organizations. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Bridgespan focuses on helping its clients achieve greater social impact by addressing strategic and operational challenges. Their work encompasses a wide range of sectors, including education, health, and social services.

Bridgespan offers services such as strategic planning, leadership development, and organizational effectiveness assessments. They also conduct research and publish reports on pressing social issues to inform and inspire philanthropy and nonprofit management. The organization’s mission is to help social sector leaders and organizations maximize their impact and address some of the world’s most challenging problems.

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Anique Jordan

Artist, Writer & Curator

Anique Jordan is an artist, writer and curator who looks to answer the question of possibility in everything she creates.

As an artist, Jordan works in photography, sculpture and performance often employing the theory of hauntology to challenge historical or dominant narratives and creating, what she calls, impossible images. Jordan’s work considers different logics of time, the black surreal and the marvellous as it relates to the black Atlantic experience. Jordan has lectured on her artistic and community-engaged curatorial practice as a 2017 Canada Seminar speaker at Harvard University and in numerous institutions across the Americas. In 2017 she co-curated the exhibition Every. Now. Then: Reframing Nationhood at the Art Gallery of Ontario.  Jordan has recently completed her MFA in Photography at Rhode Island School of Design, is a 2024 recipient of Canadas 100 most accomplished Black women and is currently an Assistant Professor and AICAD Fellow at Parsons School of Design.

CONNECT WITH ANIQUE ON SOCIAL MEDIA :

Manuel Bagorro

Hearth Summit Head of Arts

New York,
USA

Connect with MANUEL BAGORRO on Social Media :

Manuel Bagorro is a long-time Creative Advisor at Carnegie Hall, working on the design, planning and implementation of a range of programs. He is also Artistic Director of Bay Chamber Concerts and Music School in Rockport ME, Founder and Artistic Director of the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) in Zimbabwe and served as a program advisor for CultureSummit Abu Dhabi in 2017 and 2018. He curated the arts program for the first Wellbeing Summit in Bilbao, 2022 and leads the artistic team for the Global Hearth Summit in Ljubljana, 2025. For the last 12 years, his work with Bay Chamber Concerts and Music School has resulted in a new approach to the organization’s educational offerings and community engagement programs. Under his leadership, the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) became one of the most significant artistic and social impact projects in Southern Africa, weathering the social, political and economic turmoil in Zimbabwe for more than a decade.

He is also a pianist, having performed extensively and won prizes in the Newport International and Royal Overseas League Piano Competitions. He performed in the John Schlesinger film, Madame Sousatzka, and appeared as soloist with the BBC Welsh and Cape Town Symphony Orchestras. He composed the music for a series of documentaries entitled Africa Unmasked and played for Queen Elizabeth II and other dignitaries at a State Banquet in London in 1995.

Paola Martins

Networks Advancement Coordinator

Caracas, Venezuela

Connect with Paola Martins on Social Media :

Paola, originally from Venezuela’s coastal region (Lecheria) and now residing in Caracas, is a Civil Engineer with a Master in Business Administration from IESA. Her expertise lies in commercial operations and strategic planning. During her leisure time, she enjoys listening to podcasts, watching series, and relaxing at her favorite spot—the beach. For Paola, wellbeing entails nurturing both physical and mental health.

What does inner wellbeing mean to you?

For me inner wellbeing involves connecting with our emotions, making peace with life’s journey and confidently navigating daily decisions, all while striving for balance.

How would you define wellbeing in one word?

Vitality

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

Dedicating time to loved ones and prioritizing physical health through mindful nutrition and exercise. Additionally, I nurture my spiritual wellbeing by engaging in practices such as gratitude journaling and setting goals.

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

Putting wellbeing first is really important for happiness and doing well. When individuals are healthy and fulfilled, they perform better, leading to stronger organizations and communities.

Adriana Azpurua

Hearth Summit Travel and Accommodation Senior Manager 

Bogotá,
Colombia

Connect with Adriana Azpurua :

Hello My name is Adriana, I am Venezuelan-Colombian, mother of twins.
For the last 11 years of my professional life, I have worked in the travel and tourism industry, creating memorable experiences for my passengers.
I graduated with honors in Public Relations and Corporate Image in Madrid, Spain.
I have a specialization in MANAGEMENT, in the Advanced Management Program of IESA in Venezuela; in addition, I obtained a certification from IAB Colombia in Digital Marketing.
I have nearly 25 years of experience in management positions as a Marketing and Communications Manager for the Latin American and Caribbean market, leading the area of different corporations and industries such as Banking, Mass Media, Hospitality, and Tourism.

What does inner wellbeing mean to you?

It is being present in the today and in the now.

How would you define wellbeing in one word?

Empathy

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

Dancing

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

Because we are part of the ecosystem of life and as an important element of organizations and society we must be in wellness for the ideal balance in presence and interaction.

Shawn Westcott

Special Initiatives and Projects Lead at The Wellbeing Project

Stockholm, Sweden

Connect with SHAWN WESTCOTT on social media :

Shawn is a father, husband, and global citizen working to create experiences and connections to practices that rewake people’s interconnectedness to our natural world and each other. With more than 20 years of experience in US politics, sustainability, and impact investing, he is a passionate connector, change catalyst and social entrepreneur, having been a first-mover and catalyst in several movements, including US welfare reform, social entrepreneurship, sustainability, and impact investing.

Shawn began his career as a social entrepreneur, helping to launch a national student-led non-profit focused on welfare reform issues in the US. After university, he began his career with Al Gore’s campaign for President, and eventually working as a US political strategist, Chief of Staff & campaign manager over 9 years.

In 2007 Shawn moved to Sweden to study a Masters in sustainability leadership, after which he had a career as a sustainability adviser to governmental sustainability initiatives and corporates. During this time, he also served as Chairman for the Swedish NGO Social Entrepreneurship Forum. In this role he led the development of the first social impact accelerator and incubator in the Nordics, in partnership with the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida). The program worked to support social entrepreneurs in 20 countries in the Global South. For this he was selected as one of the “Top 100 Leaders to Affect Sustainability in Business in Sweden.”

More recently, Shawn spent nearly a decade as a pioneer in the Impact Investing space in Sweden and the Nordics, having initiated and founded the first impact investor network in the Nordics in partnership with Toniic. He later helped lead Nordic operations for two different global impact asset management firms, Triodos Investment Management and BlueOrchard Finance, working within the renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, infrastructure, sustainable food and microfinance sectors.

In 2021-22, Shawn took a nearly two-year sabbatical — a transformative experience wherein he worked to recalibrate his life and career. This included a deep dive into personal development and wellbeing, trauma-informed decision-making, collapse awareness and the further development of a spiritual practices. After this period, Shawn decided to spend the remainder of his career working to inform, inspire and support other people’s awareness of our role in the natural world and deeper sense of connectedness to one another.