Marike Westra
COFRA Holding AG
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Giada Cattaneo
Hearth Summit Event Senior Manager
Málaga,
Spain
Connect with GIADA CATTANEO :
Giada is an Italian adventurer with a curiosity about the world and diverse cultures. She left Italy some time ago, embarking on a journey that led her to live in different countries such as Estonia, Colombia, and Spain. Her professional journey began in Italy within the contemporary art field, where she collaborated with museums and foundations on interdisciplinary learning projects that fused the arts with diverse knowledge. Giada consistently contributed to press and communication, curatorship, and content development, eventually transitioning to the organizational side of exhibition production and cultural events.
With over a decade of experience in international events, Giada has evolved into a seasoned professional in event management. Her recent role as the Production & Breakout Session Coordinator, Head of Backstage & Program Manager for the international Technology Summit Ecosystems 2030 showcased her expertise in orchestrating complex logistics and managing diverse, bilingual teams. Beyond her professional pursuits, Giada adopts a holistic approach, delving into interests such as inner wellbeing, conscious personal growth, spirituality, and a profound passion for nature. This passion is reflected in her advocacy for climate and environmental causes.
Giada is constantly exploring new ways of inner connection, including the interpretation of dreams, yoga, tantra, meditation, painting, journaling, dancing, and conscious movement in all its forms, including barefooting. As a fervent advocate for positive social evolution, Giada joined The Wellbeing Project in 2024 as part of the Global Summit Team, contributing as the Event Manager.
Alejandra Mejia
Fundraising Coordinator
San Salvador
El Salvador
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Alejandra launched her professional journey in the social sector as a Marketing and Communications Coordinator at the Art Museum in San Salvador. In 2008, she earned a degree in Communications Integrated Marketing from Escuela de Comunicación Mónica Herrera.
In 2010, she ventured abroad to participate in a cultural exchange program in Michigan, US, where she immersed herself and studied Intercultural Communications. In 2011, continued her studies and earned a Certificate in Non-Profit Management from San Francisco State University in California.
Returning to El Salvador in late 2011 with a clear commitment to contribute to her country, Alejandra played a key role as part of the founding team at ConTextos, where she served as an Assistant Director and Development & Communications Director for over seven years.
From 2019 to 2021, Alejandra worked closely with entrepreneurs based in the US and El Salvador, where she explored roles as an admissions officer at an innovative private school and as a marketing director at an immigration law firm.
In 2020, Alejandra became a mom and that led her to take intentional time off between 2021 – 2022, to focus on passion projects and inner wellbeing.
She started teaching Entrepreneurial Thinking and Empathetic Thinking at her Alma Mater in 2023, for students of Marketing, Communications, and Strategic Design.
At the end of 2023, Alejandra reconnected with the social sector, assuming the role of Fundraising Coordinator at The Wellbeing Project, where she can balance her roles as a mom, teacher, and fundraising professional while continuing to work on her inner wellbeing.
What does inner wellbeing mean to you?
Inner wellbeing, to me, can be encapsulated in a single word: “balance.” I believe that every person embarks on a distinct healing journey, and healing is a singular and personal adventure. Inner wellbeing involves discovering how to approach daily challenges with purpose and equilibrium.
How would you define wellbeing in one word?
Balance
Are there any rituals or practices you use to enhance your wellbeing?
1. Meditation every night has proven to be a powerful tool.
2. Lighting a scented candle, savoring a cup of tea, and journaling, are some of the rituals that help me calm and reflect.
3. Expressing gratitude for every payment I make: It helps me with having an abundance mindset.
4. Yoga and regular gym workouts to stay active and energized
5. Regular check-ins with my therapist.
Why is it important that we prioritise individual and collective wellbeing?
It is important to prioritize individual and collective wellbeing because big changes begin at the individual level. By prioritizing wellbeing, we can break generational cycles of trauma, become more present, and act with greater intentionality. This, in turn, allows us to spread healing and wellbeing throughout all levels of society.
Do you have any favourite books, podcasts, or articles that you believe support, promote or educate on wellbeing and related themes?
Podcast: Life Kit from NPR
App: Insight Timer for meditations
Books: Real Life, Sharon Salzberg Good Morning Monster, Catherine Gildiner Real Self-Care, Pooja Lakshmin, MD Rest is Resistance, Tricia Hersey
Adriana Romero
IDP Coordinator at The Wellbeing Project
Mexico City,
Mexico
With over 9 years of experience as a dedicated project manager, she has refined her skills in comprehending clients’ precise needs and seamlessly communicating and coordinating projects with diverse and talented teams.
Her journey as a designer and visual artist complements her professional path, enabling her to infuse projects with attention to detail, strategic analysis, and creative problem-solving.
In the realm of self-discovery and personal growth, and aligned with the principles of The Wellbeing Project and The Inner Development Program, Adriana strongly believes that uncovering tools to nurture inner peace and self-awareness is essential in navigating the complexities of the world.
What does inner wellbeing mean to you?
Taking action into cultivating your inner-peace.
How would you define wellbeing in one word?
Wholeness
Are there any rituals or practices you use to enhance your wellbeing?
Practicing gratitude on a daily basis and being mindful of my inner dialogue through meditation, long walks, journaling, and painting. Additionally, observing and learning to stay present through Paco, my cherished dog and favorite companion.
Why is it important that we prioritize individual, organizational and societal wellbeing?
I believe it all begins with self-awareness, and developing this powerful skill has an impact on all aspects of life.
Do you have any favourite books, podcasts, or articles that you believe support, promote or educate on wellbeing and related themes?
Diego Perez / @yung_pueblo and James Clear Newsletters, All about love, The creative act: a way of being. Mel Robbins podcast, The Diary of a CEO.
Kate Barranco
Network & Storytelling Coordinator at The Wellbeing Project
Madrid,
Spain
Kate Barranco is the Network and Storytelling Coordinator at the Wellbeing Project, where she focuses heavily on the partnership with Georgetown University research efforts (Intergenerational Trauma and Ecological Belonging). She is a recent graduate from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, where she studied Culture & Politics and cognitive science, with a focus on equity-centered design and leadership. Through her work at the Red House at Georgetown University, she had the chance to collaborate with the Wellbeing Project on the intergenerational trauma work and attend the 2022 Global Wellbeing Summit in Bilbao. Outside of work, she enjoys boxing, watercoloring, trying new foods and recipes, going to see live music/arts performances, and traveling. She is incredibly grateful to be a part of the Wellbeing Project team!
What does inner wellbeing mean to you?
While wellbeing is personal for everyone, it encompasses finding balance, resilience, fulfillment, and purpose in the everyday. For me, I feel most rejuvenated when I am interacting with or doing art.
How would you define wellbeing in one word?
Rejuvenation
Are there any rituals or practices you use to enhance your wellbeing?
Attending live music performances, exploring new hobbies, reading
Why is it important that we prioritize individual, organizational and societal wellbeing?
The individual, organizational, and societal wellbeing are all intricately interconnected. We are shaped by our environments, and our environments shape us. Prioritizing wellbeing across these levels is not just important, it’s ethically imperative, as it is a fundamental right to lead a fulfilling and healthy life.
Do you have any favourite books, podcasts, or articles that you believe support, promote or educate on wellbeing and related themes?
Anything by Brene Brown (books, podcasts, or otherwise), My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem, https://2030.vice.com
Connect with Kate Barranco :
Raquel Vicedo
Regional Summits Director at The Wellbeing Project
Madrid, Spain
Connect with Raquel Vicedo on social media :
Raquel has extensive experience as a Project Manager in multicultural and multilingual contexts, and has worked both nationally and internationally at private and public institutions, such as the A. P. Moller – Maersk Group, the Spanish Ministry of Culture or the Hay Festival of Literature & the Arts.
Naturally interested in people and current affairs, she is passionate about learning and about personal and organisational development, and truly believes in the power of listening, listening, listening. In her thirties, she came across a poem —”Wild Geese”, by American author Mary Oliver— that literally brought her back to life and forced her to regain connection to that thing that used to keep her going and had somehow lost. After a year-long sabbatical, she finally managed to turn that out-of-tuneness into a yearning, and redirected her efforts so that her professional life would be aligned with her personal wish to find that place of encounter which her inner self was craving for.
Sociable and dynamic, her main motivation is to help implement instruments that can generate sustainable social and economic development for communities and individuals, as well as to contribute in a broad sense to making our society more human-centered, sustainable and fair.
When she’s not working, she loves to spend time with her family and friends, go for long walks with her dog, travel or read a book (yes, she’s an avid reader).
What does inner wellbeing mean to you?
Acceptance, compassion and empathy towards oneself and the rest of fellow creatures.
How would you define wellbeing in one word?
Interconnectedness
Are there any rituals or practices you use to enhance your wellbeing?
I meditate three times a week and practice pilates regularly. I also try to walk everywhere! Walking is an amazing practice that helps to stay fit, bot physically and spiritually.
Why is it important that we prioritize individual, organizational and societal wellbeing?
Because as my dear Mary Oliver says: “Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —over and over announcing your place in the family of things”.
Do you have any favourite books, podcasts, or articles that you believe support, promote or educate on wellbeing and related themes?
“The Art of Contemplation” and “Tao: The Watercourse Way“, by Alan Watts
“Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver“, by Mary Oliver
“Mysticism for Beginners“, by Adam Zagajewski
“Minase Sangin Hyakuin —A Poem of One Hundred Links Composed by Three Poets at Minase”, by Sogi, Shohaku
Socho (or any other good poetry book —the healing power of poetry is immense!).
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John Gasko
Engagement Lead at The Wellbeing Project
Austin, Texas
John has a long history with the Wellbeing Project. Back in 2017, he collaborated closely with the project to create the vision for what has now become the Higher Education Network and was personally transformed as a member of the first cohort while serving as a professor and Dean.
Once again, a lightning strike of creativity happened over coffee at Sigmund Freud’s summer villa in the Austrian Alps while participating in an inner work retreat. It was there where the Teacher Wellbeing Group was further incubated and soon thereafter Gasko was quickly dispatched to the WISE Summit in Qatar to meet up with Xymena Salado, Networks Senior Manager, and curate a workshop with education leaders from around the globe.
In the Fall of 2019, Dr. Gasko was appointed Chief Well-Being Officer at Uplift Education, one of the largest public education , charter school systems in the United States.
In 2016, Dr. Gasko was appointed Professor and Dean of Education at the University of North Texas and eventually Special Advisor to the President. While at UNT, Dr. Gasko built and launched thirdspace, one of the first mindfulness and well-being centers dedicated to supporting students, faculty, and leaders in higher education. Earlier in his career, Dr. Gasko served as the Director of Research and Public Policy for the Children’s Defense Fund, worked alongside physicians, neuroscientists, and psychologists as Associate Division Chief of Developmental Pediatrics at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston, and became CEO and Managing Director of the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Institute. Dr. Gasko has experienced firsthand how talented social changemakers are besieged, overwhelmed, stressed out, and who leave their professions at alarming rates. Striving evermore to understand why people on the front lines of helping others were “dropping out,” Gasko traveled the country and the globe to study with a variety of institutions, physicians, scientists, and wisdom teachers—including Harvard Medical School, the Chief of Primary Care at UChicago Medicine, Alex Lickerman, UMASS Medical School’s Jon Kabat-Zinn, Boston Trauma Center’s, Bessel Van Der Kolk, and Tibetan teacher, Pema Chodron. Gasko is one of the few people to attain a Black Belt “with distinction” in Jamie Wheal’s Flow Genome Project system, which is featured in the NYT’s best-selling book, Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work.
He has trained in expedition-based canyoneering in the rugged Utah-based desert system with Wheal and Curt Cronin, a former commander of Navy SEAL Team 6, and is extending this training to include back-country skiing and guiding in the Holy Cross Wilderness in the Pike San Isabel National Forest. Gasko is also a trained Emergency Medical Technician and Wilderness First Responder.
What does inner wellbeing mean to you?
From the Heart Sutra: “Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form…”
How would you define wellbeing in one word?
Harmony.
Are there any rituals or practices you use to enhance your wellbeing?
I have imperfectly experimented with Shikantaza or “Just Sitting” for almost 30 years and will receive Zen Jukai ordination in November, 2023.
Why is it important that we prioritize individual, organizational and societal wellbeing?
Because there’s nothing like feeling at home in your own body and mind, with colleagues at work, within our communities and in seamless relationship to nature.
Do you have any favorite books, podcasts, or articles that you believe support, promote or educate on wellbeing and related themes?
Shantideva’s Guide to the Boddhisattva’s Way of Life
Madelaine VanDerHeyden
Senior Marketing and Storytelling Manager at The Wellbeing Project
Paris, France
Connect with Madelaine VanDerHeyden on social media :
Madelaine is a skilled marketing and communications professional passionate about using storytelling to encourage community in our pursuit of social change and sustainability. From a family of artists, musicians, and writers, Madelaine’s love for storytelling is deeply personal; as a conscious citizen and yogi, her passion for human unity is as well.
Madelaine’s connection with The Wellbeing Project started in 2020 after her year spent abroad in Auroville, India, where she researched compassionate communication in sustainability and social change organizations. Curious about the inner, affective experience of communication and development, she found the Project and its motto, ‘wellbeing inspires welldoing’, which spoke deeply to her research and personal experiences. Today, she is thrilled to be reunited with the Project and join the Storytelling Team.
In her career communicating across a variety of media — including broadcast television, print journalism, and digital channels — Madelaine brings a dynamic approach to storytelling which allows her to effectively engage diverse audiences ranging from women’s self-help groups in rural India to international corporations to the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
She has a Masters of Arts in Global Communications from the American University of Paris, and a Bachelors of Art in English and International Affairs from the University of Washington.
In her free time, Madelaine can be found practicing (and teaching) yoga, reading, hiking, leisurely walking the streets of Paris, and FaceTiming with her family and dog back home in sunny southern California.
What does inner wellbeing mean to you?
Peace.
How would you define wellbeing in one word?
Blossoming.
Are there any rituals or practices you use to enhance your wellbeing?
Joyful movement, intuitive eating, getting a full night’s sleep, therapy, mindful walking, and artistic creation.
Why is it important that we prioritize individual, organizational and societal wellbeing?Wellbeing, to me, is the root of all peaceful experiences on this earth. It brings us back to our roots to help us truly know who we are, how to live in community with others, and see what type of world we want to live in. With wellbeing in our minds and hearts, we can awaken from the dream of human unity and live in real harmony with each other and Mother Earth.
Valeria Peredo Figini
People & Culture Lead at The Wellbeing Project
Spain
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Valeria has developed her professional career in the HR field. She has played different roles as HRBP, expert in training, talent management, leadership development, culture, well-being and employee experience in different companies for more than 15 years. Since 2017 she has the accreditation of the International Coaching Federation (ACC) and the Coactive Coactive and HR Agile certifications (CPCC – ICP-AHR).
Since 2018 she has been working as a Senior consultant on internal communication projects, employee engagement, cultural transformation and leadership, executive and team coaching, collaborating with different talent development firms. Since 2018 , she is also a volunteer at PWN Madrid, a profesional women network association. She is the Academic Director of The Human and Digital leadership program. In adition to this role, she also performs as responsible for the anual individual coaching program for executive women organised pro-bono together with UNED ( Spain National at a distance University) and Green Light GO ( CTI Spain).
Since novemeber 2022 she is People & Culture Lead for The Wellbeing Project. She firmly believes that in order to better adapt to the rapidly changing world we live in,
it is important to learn how to keep ourselves and our work environment psychologically safe. She is focused on helping people, leaders and teams to grow and flourish in environments of healthy and sustainable relationships.
What does inner wellbeing mean to you?
Inner wellbeing is the constant practice of all the activities that help us feel healthy, at peace of mind and full of energy. Each of us need to go through the journey to discover what are those specific initiatives that care and nourish our physical, mental , emotional and spiritual health.
How would you define wellbeing in one word?
Living at your full potential.
Are there any rituals or practices you use to enhance your wellbeing?
I practice yoga, I meditate and take care as much as I can of muy closest relationships.
Why is it important that we prioritize individual, organizational and societal wellbeing?
We live in a complex world. We frequently forget we are human and we are nature. We are not a piece of machinery that functions non stop. We need to take care of our bodies, minds, heart and environment as well as our relationships. Health is not only physical but being in a state to be able to relate to others and contribute from our talents and strengths.
Do you have any favorite books, podcasts, or articles that you believe support, promote or educate on wellbeing and related themes?
