Our 2021 Presenters

Brother Phap Hai is a senior monastic disciple of Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh who was ordained as a monk in 1997 and formally authorized to teach in January 2003.

Dr. Emmanuel Ivorgbha holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Comparative Religion and is the strategic lead for Mindfulness Without Border's programs in schools, youth leadership groups and universities in Nigeria.

Dr Addie Wootten is the CEO of Smiling Mind and a Clinical Psychologist by background. Addie is a well-known leader in her field. Prior to joining Smiling Mind Addie delivered and researched innovative programs to enhance the wellbeing of people with cancer.

Māori cultural practioner & Grammy award winning featured solo artist Puoro Jerome shares his ancestors Māori ancient music traditions.

Sandy completed her Masters in Clinical Psychology from the University of Mumbai. She has worked in the field of mental health for 19 years. She is the Founder-Director of Just Being Center for Mindfulness and Presence.

Myoshin Kelley been teaching meditation for over 25 years and currently leads workshops and retreats in the US and worldwide for Tergar Meditation Community.

Vito Friary is an author, clinical psychologist and Founder of the Centro de Mindfulness in Brazil. He is a certified facilitator of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (Oxford). Since 2013 has lived in Brazil and is currently guest lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Juditta is the ToWO group director and the MiA - Mindfulness in Arabic founder. She is an international lecturer in the fields of mindfulness-based treatment, trauma therapy and resiliency building.

Shankari Goldstein is a 500 hour Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) and Regenerative Black Farmer. She has spent years connecting to breath, body, strength, movement, and energy to cultivate a holistic approach to being with the land. She is a Program Manager and host of the “Inspiring Minds Series” at the Mind & Life Institute.

Wendy is the Science Director of the Mind & Life Institute. She is a neuroscientist, contemplative practitioner, teacher, and writer who is interested in understanding how the mind and brain can be transformed through experience and practice to enhance flourishing.

Mirabai is the Founder of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society; author with Dan Barbezat of Contemplative Practices in Higher Education; co-creator of Google's Search Inside Yourself; host of podcast Walking Each Other Home on the Be Here Now Network

Dr. Cortland Dahl is a pioneering scientist, translator, and meditation teacher. His background includes a wide range of experience, from eight years spent living in Tibetan refugee settlements in India and Nepal, to co-founding a global meditation community, and for the last decade, to helping shape the cutting edge scientific research taking place at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin.

Andrew is the Workplace Policy Lead for the UK Mindfulness Initiative, set up by the UK Parliament to support the use of mindfulness nationally. He published 'Organizational Mindfulness - a how to guide' in 2018, following a 20 year career in senior leadership, during which he brought mindfulness into his leadership and teams.

Jeroen is the co-founder of the Inner Green Deal and is a Director for Awaris leading leadership mindfulness training for the Members of the European Union Parliament. He is a co-founder of Brussels Mindfulness and is a certified mindfulness training through Oxford University.

Liane is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Awaris and Co-Founder of the Inner Green Deal Initiative, delivering evidence-based mindfulness training to Fortune 500 organizations internationally and mindful leadership development for Members of the EU and UK Parliaments.

Deputy head priest at Shunkoin Temple, Thinker and Author and offers lectures and workshops in various academic institutions and corporations all over the world.

Susan is the President of the Mind & Life Institute. She has held leadership, academic, and clinical roles that have largely focused on fostering resilience through studying and teaching contemplative practices in health care and higher education. In addition to over 80 scholarly articles and chapters, she wrote a book for the lay public, “Leaves Falling Gently: Living Fully with Serious & Life-Limiting Illness through Mindfulness, Compassion & Connectedness.”

Jamie Bristow is the Director of the Mindfulness Initiative. His work on mindfulness and climate change has been featured at the United Nations and he has been instrumental in bringing mindfulness into the political mainstream and governments around the world.

Dr. Michelle C Chatman, is the Board President of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, Assistant Professor University of the District of Columbia, and Founder of The Black Mindfulness Summit

Associate Professor Craig Hassed is an award-winning educator and has worked within the Faculty of Medicine at Monash University since 1989 and is coordinator of mindfulness programs across Monash.

Jay is the Design Strategy Lead at Mindful Society Global Institute. He has served as the Design Thinking Chair for A Mindful Society for over 7 years. He is an award-winning experience designer and researcher who guides teams through a human-centered approach to creating meaningful products, systems, and services.

Michael Apollo is the Founder of Mindful Society Global Institute and A Mindful Society. His work in organizations, academia, and building award winning technologies has introduced millions of people worldwide to the research and practice of mindfulness.

Author, public speaker and teacher of mindfulness, Theo is the founder of Mindfulness Without Borders, a registered non-profit and leading provider of evidenced-based programs on social-emotional intelligence and secular mindfulness to youth, educators, health and corporate professionals.

Michele Milan is the Chief Curator at Mindful Society Global Institute. She has spent 20 years in leadership development designing and delivering leadership and governance programs for governments, corporations and organizations around the world.

Zindel Segal PhD. is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology in Mood Disorders at the University of Toronto – Scarborough. His study of mindfulness meditation and antidepressant medication has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, CNN Health Online and the New York Times.

Patricia Rockman is the co-founder of the Centre for Mindfulness Studies and an associate professor with the University of Toronto, department of family and community medicine; cross appointed to psychiatry.