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Roy Jacob

Trainer and Conflict Mediator, Conscious Communication Academy

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Connect with the Conscious Communication Academy on social media:

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.

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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.

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Pedro Tarak

Co-Founder, Sistema B; Co-Founder, the Regional Impact Trade Alliance (RITA); and Co-Founder, several B Corps

About Pedro Tarak

Pedro has dedicated his life to the creation of national, regional and global organizations that integrate systemically societal dimensions in the DNA of leadership in civil society, government, business, markets and the economy. With an academic background in international comparative environmental and sustainability policy and law, he became an entrepreneur focusing on the evolution of business and markets for holistic value creation and material solutions responsive to people, communities and the planet participating in companies (eg. Guayaki, Emprendia, Impact Trade, Origen) and in catalytic organizations such as AVINA, Sistema B or RITA.

In fact, he currently fosters inter regional impact trade led by provinces, cities, towns and small nations driven by their international unique selling position for the common good, economic innovation and multi party co creation of solutions. His passions include the power of individual and collective callings, regeneration of ecosystems and of the sense of communities and democratic institutional development.

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Dr. Dalal Abu Amneh

Neuroscientist and Artist, Center for Healthy Minds at University of Wisconsin Madison, Sitti Foundation

About Dr. Dalal Abu Amneh

Dalal Abu Amneh is a renowned singer, neuroscientist, therapist and activist. Her work explores the powerful intersections between music, neuroscience, spirituality, social identity, and well-being. Dalal delves into how melodies and rhythms can profoundly influence emotions, cognition, and behavior on both individual and collective levels. She investigates the transformative potential of community music therapy and collective singing in reducing stress and fostering social cohesion.

Through her music, Dalal aims not only to foster intellectual dialogue but also to break cultural barriers, using the universal language of music to inspire and motivate change. With a strong background in neuroscience, including extensive research on neural systems in both health and disease, Dalal brings a unique and interdisciplinary perspective to her work.

Internationally acclaimed as a Palestinian singer, she has spent over two decades preserving and performing Palestinian, Arabic, and Sufi musical traditions while also creating her own distinct style of spiritual and healing music. One of her most notable projects includes incorporating the voices of Palestinian and Arab grandmothers into her music, preserving cultural memory and elevating the wisdom of the divine feminine.

Dalal’s holistic approach to healing and human flourishing integrates her expertise in neuroscience, music, psychology and energy healing. This transformative method offers new pathways for mental and emotional well-being, extending far beyond academic spaces to touch the lives of individuals and communities in profound and lasting ways. Through her artistry and activism, Dalal continues to inspire change and unite people through the timeless power of music.

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Professor Mala Kapadia

Director, Anaadi Centre for Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Anaadi Foundation

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About Professor Mala Kapadia

Prof. Mala Kapadia is a highly accomplished scholar and practitioner with a distinguished career spanning research, education, journalism, human resources, and consulting. She is a passionate advocate for integrating ancient Indian wisdom with modern approaches to wellbeing, leadership, and organizational development. Wellbeing and Happiness, Sustainability – Individual and Planetary Flourishing and Indigenous Psychology are some of the areas of teaching and research.

Dr. Kapadia is currently the Director of Centre for Indigenous Knowledge Systems, at the Anaadi Foundation and the Principal Investigator for a Ministry of Education (India) Indian Knowledge Systems Research Project on Wellbeing and Happiness based on Ayurveda. Grateful to Gurus- an initiative by Indica Academy selected Dr. Mala Kapadia as one the Guru in 2023, for inspiring young minds in ancient wisdom. Dr. Mala is member of the Advisory Council of Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems at Chanakya University, Bengaluru, India. She was Professor & Director, Centre for Wellbeing & Wellness, Rashtram School of Public Leadership, Rishihood University, Sonipat. Dr. Mala Kapadia has been an Associate Professor, People and Performance with SPJIMR in 2005-2006. She continued her career as Adjunct Professor with SPIJR 2007-2010. Dr. Mala has also been an Adjunct Professor with S. P. Jain School of Global Management at Dubai, Singapore, Sydney, and Mumbai campuses from 2005 to March 2020. Her specialized contribution was in designing and teaching Leadership, Organizational Behavior and Managing teams.

Dr. Mala was a Convenor, IKS Sources, Theories, Concepts and Practices, Rashtram School of Public Leadership and AICTE IKS Division, November 2021. Convenor of Faculty Development Program Gender Studies, CPDHE, Delhi University, February 2022. AyuManasa 2022 was designed and curated along with AVP Research Foundation in July 2022. First of its kind program on Psychology and Ayurveda. Chairperson, Ayurveda Conversations, in association with IKS Division MoE, GOI, Ashirvad Health Trust and Punarnava Trust, 2023 & 2024. Resource Person, IKS FTP UGC Sponsored and facilitated by IKS Division and Malviya Mission Teachers Training Centres at Nagpur, Varanasi, Srinagar, and Guwahati. She has participated in many National and International Conferences and Symposiums.

Some of the Publications: Kapadia, M. (2019). Practical Spirituality: Dabbawala Case. In: Giri, A.K. (eds) Practical Spirituality and Human Development. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3687-4_10 Kapadia, M., Dagar, C. (2022). Understanding Self and Well-Being Based on Ayurveda: Implications for Indian Management. In: Pandey, A., Budhwar, P., Bhawuk, D.P.S. (eds) Indigenous Indian Management. Palgrave Studies in Indian Management. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87906-8_6 Kapadia, M. (2024). Toward a New Dharma of Peace, Health, and Global Well-Being. In: Giri, A.K., Varghese, S. (eds) Towards a New Dharma of Peace Building. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-6066-8_9 Books- Heart Skills-Emotional Intelligence for work and life, 2008 Sukha Sutra- Wellbeing and Happiness for Flourishing, 2025

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SUMMIT HOST

Shadille Estepan 

Senior Communications Manager, Born This Way Foundation

CONNECT WITH SHADILLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

CONNECT WITH BORN THIS WAY FOUNDATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

Shadille Estepan (she/ella) is a storyteller, digital communication strategist, and mental health advocate dedicated to fostering a kinder, braver world through research-driven communications. As Senior Communications Manager at Born This Way Foundation, she brings over a decade of experience in strategic storytelling, media relations, and public health advocacy to amplify youth voices, destigmatize mental health, and expand access to critical resources.

Shadille has led high-impact partnerships with local, federal, and international organizations, ensuring that research-backed mental health resources reach young people and their communities. She has curated and facilitated hundreds of conversations–both online and in person–on mental health, youth wellbeing, and community building, amplifying the voices of young changemakers and policy leaders alike.

As a Dominican who immigrated to the United States at a young age, Shadille saw firsthand the gaps in culturally responsive and accessible mental health resources. This experience shaped her commitment to ensuring that all young people have the support they need to care for their well-being. Through her work, she translates research into compelling narratives that drive action, ensuring mental health conversations are inclusive, empowering, and reflective of diverse communities.

Her journey with Born This Way Foundation began in 2012 as a member of its inaugural Youth Advisory Board. Since then, she has played a pivotal role in shaping the organization’s messaging and outreach strategies. She remains dedicated to leveraging storytelling as a tool for social change, ensuring that young people have the platforms, resources, and support they need to thrive.

 

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Thobile Chittenden

Network Co-Lead, Wellbeing Economy Alliance

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Connect with Wellbeing Economy Alliance on social media:

Thobile Chittenden is the Network Co-Lead at the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, bringing together thinkers and doers building economies that serve people, planet, and future generations. Her work is global, but she remains committed to Afrikan initiatives, ensuring that local wisdom and community-led solutions shape the larger, global movement.

Rooted in her studies in Integral Economics at the University of Fribourg, Thobile believes the economy is not just about transactions but about relationships, ethics, and the common good. 

She brings this thinking into her work with Makers Valley Partnership, a Johannesburg-based community initiative, City Kidz, an inner-city school expanding access to quality education, as well as serving on the board of Down 2 Earth Incubator, which is all about restoring soil health, reviving indigenous Afrikan crops, and demonstrating how food systems can be both regenerative and rooted in community care.

With over 10 years of experience in advertising, education, youth development, and creative activism, Thobile has helped shape programs impacting more than 3,000 schools. She has been behind initiatives such as Room 13 South Africa and Reimagination’s MADDD Labs, nurturing young “artivists” who use creativity to challenge the status quo.

A BMW Foundation Responsible Leader and TEDx Speaker, she weaves together faith, creativity, and economy, believing that our shared future depends on how we design economies that care for people and the planet. 

A dancer, mother, and faith leader, she moves through the world with a deep commitment to building an economy that reflects who we are, where we come from, and the future we want to create.

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Kumi Naidoo

President, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty; Co-Founder, The Riky Rick Foundation for the Promotion of Artivism

Kumi Naidoo is a South African human rights and environmental justice activist, who currently is the President of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Payne Distinguished Lecturer at Stanford University. He is the former Secretary-General of Amnesty International (2018-2020) and also the first person from the Global South to lead Greenpeace International (2009-2015). He is an advisor for the Community Arts Network. He serves as a global ambassador for Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity. His family has started the Riky Rick Foundation for the Promotion of Artivism to build on the positive legacies left by popular South African rapper Rikhado “Riky Rick” Makhado through his music and life’s work. Kumi is the author of award-winning Letters To My Mother: The Makings of a Troublemaker. Kumi is also the host of the podcast Power, People and Planet.

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IN KUMI’S WORDSIN KUMI’S WORDS

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

Today we live in a world with increasing evidence of climate anxiety and eco-anxiety coupled with growing anxieties that people feel as a result of the rise of fascist sentiment from the United States to Europe and ongoing failures in governance at significant scale corruption corrupted behavior by our leaders. The manifestation of that anxiety of what’s happening with regard to the climate crisis the governance crisis and so on increasingly impacts on people’s individual sense of wellbeing. I am of the view that one of the best antidotes to despair and depression is that participation is the antidote. Public participation in public life is the best antidote to despair and depression. Therefore in my work I am constantly trying to promote creative ways in which people of all classes and backgrounds can be enabled to participate in the communities at the national level and beyond. So I see a fundamental connection between individual, collective, and planetary wellbeing.

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

Firstly, I hope that whatever happens at the global Hearth Summit is communicated beyond those that attend the summit itself. I’m hopeful that the organizers will find ways to make what’s going on at the summit accessible to a much broader audience than those of us who would be privileged enough to attend for those of us who attend. I hope it will be as the first Global Summit in Bilbao was a place for deep learning of new wellbeing techniques and capabilities as well as a place for deep connection with like-minded folks from around the world who are seeking to contribute to a just world and while being able to nurture themselves and take care of themselves. 

I also hope in particular that those who are entering the discourse and engagement around wellbeing as I did in 2022 at the Bilbao summit would be encouraged to leave the summit with a sense of being able to contribute in a substantive way to the challenges of dealing with the world in crisis but maintaining the strength and the capability to be strong while contributing to addressing the polycrisis while taking care of their own wellbeing, so that activists don’t burn them burn themselves out as I have done multiple times in my life.

WHAT KUMI IS LISTENING TOWHAT KUMI IS LISTENING TO

“People, Power, Planet” podcast

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Honorable Justice Martha K. Koome, EGH

Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya

Chief Justice Martha K. Koome, EGH, assumed office on 21st May 2021 as the 15th Chief Justice of the Republic of Kenya and 3rd President of the Supreme Court of Kenya. She is the first woman to hold the office of Chief Justice since the Judiciary of Kenya was established more than a century ago.

Chief Justice Koome joined the Judiciary in 2003 as a High Court Judge where she served until 2011. In that period, she engaged in leadership and administrative roles within the High Court.

She has served as President of the Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association (KMJA) and as an official of the East Africa Magistrates and Judges Association (EAMJA).

She was involved in the formation of the East African Law Society in 1995 and served as the inaugural Treasurer. While at the East African Law Society, Chief Justice Koome participated in negotiations towards the enactment of the East African Community Treaty.

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IN THE HON. JUSTICE’S WORDSIIN THE HON. JUSTICE’S WORDS

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

This is an ideal that presupposes the personal, physical, mental and social wellbeing of an individual and the subsequent increased capacity to agitate and contribute to collective wellness and social justice. A just society is keener on the sustainable use and preservation of natural endowments as well as the need to preserve the same for posterity. The wellness of the individual and the safeguarding of personal rights is therefore an important building block in realizing communal health and deliberate ecological awareness. Accessible and equitable justice systems are an integral aspect healing and collective wellbeing.

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

To expand the platform to disseminate the message of hope and individual responsibility to be the catalyst for change as well as the collective responsibility in realizing a just and more equitable social system.

LEARN MORE FROM HON. JUSTICE MARTHA KOOMELEARN MORE FROM HON. JUSTICE MARTHA KOOME