FRIDAY SPEAKER DIRECTORY
Get to know our past speakers and view their Climate Forum presentations.
Jennings Ingram
Jennings is a podcast host and social media marketing specialist. A background in Permaculture and Environmental Science, she is an extremely creative, feminine, highly intelligent person with a knack for effective, supportive expression online. Jennings is the founder of Jennings Creative, a digital marketing agency, where she works with ethical organizations and businesses, thought leaders and brands to expand their audiences and generate engagement.
https://jennings-creative.com
https://www.instagram.com/foodforestgoddess/
Emily Emond
Emily is a student at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, where she serves as President and Founder of SD Mines Environmental Change and Sustainability Club. Ecofriendly since 2020, Emily focuses on generating zero waste and identifying ways individuals can change their environmental impact—especially youth who do not control household choices like grocery purchases and energy consumption. She works to provide support, information and simple solutions, making it easier for people to switch to an ecofriendly lifestyle.
Maylynn Quan
Maylynn is a freelance photographer based in Toronto and the founder/director of a not for profit organization called kids Canada. Kids Canada supports schools, organizations and local professionals in Uganda and Canada, providing a platform for children using art and technology to break down negative gender cultural and racial stereotypes. Founded on the belief that a child's home life affects their success in and out of school, Kids Canada supports the family unit as a whole by kickstarting microbusinesses to provide school fees and basic life needs. Maylynn’s vision for children is to build a world of compassion, kindness and human rights for all. She is eager to connect with like-minded individuals who aim to support the empowerment and education of youth worldwide.
Martha Alter Hines
Martha Alter Hines, MSW, is a mom, an author, a healer, and an astrologer. Martha has twenty years of experience as a clinical social worker, psychotherapist, and body worker. She has primarily studied Evolutionary Astrology with Ari Moshe Wolfe and is currently a student of Heather Ensworth as well. Martha bridges her trauma informed clinical background with her astrological knowledge, as well as a deep understanding of ourselves as beings of the cosmos, Earth, divine, heart, mind, and so much more. Martha was born in Thailand and grew up in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Kenya, and the United States. Therefore, she has a deep passion for alleviating the suffering of our world. Martha is dedicated to serving our world, to helping us each to thrive, and to supporting us to come back into the infinite wisdom and healing that is our natural state of being.
Website: https://livingtheonelight.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/livingtheonelight
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgNGs08tGaA3AdK0LpuWJTg
Teachable Site: https://living-the-one-light.teachable.com
Beni Oren
Beni Oren is an aspiring polymath. His main discipline has been meditation. He cares deeply about the collective well-being of our planet and is an ambassador of the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible. He is a writer, philosopher, and researcher of our higher human potentials.
Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/benjaminoren?r=1xev3f&utm_medium=ios
Instagram
Website: ageofsynthesis.com
Rajesh Nair
Rajesh Nair (Founder, CEO-EnCube Labs) has a diverse background as an engineer, designer, serial entrepreneur, and educator. Rajesh's academic achievements include multiple Master's degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Engineering and Management, UMass, Amherst in Manufacturing Engineering, and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Electronic Product Design. He received his Bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communication from IISc. He has founded four companies in the United States and was awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year by New Hampshire High Tech Council. He holds 13 US patents. Rajesh has also served as a founding faculty and Professor of Practice in Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Asia School of Business (ASB) in Malaysia, started by MIT-Sloan, and as a Visiting Scholar at MIT. During his time at these institutions, He conducted research on nurturing young innovators and entrepreneurs from underserved communities and developed the Zero-Maker-Innovator-Entrepreneur framework and training methodology, which focuses on building confidence, self-learning skills, and critical thinking abilities in children. Rajesh has conducted over a hundred workshops in seven countries for school and university students from underserved communities. Rajesh's ultimate mission is to create one million entrepreneurs through his work.
Peter Thomas Sudiyasa Philips
Peter pioneers new meta for Biomimicry and Education. Peter is a bridge to co-creative possibilities for bold people, businesses and brands. Peter conducts business from the HEART where 'HE and WE' channel Profits to Purposeful People, and Projects that heal and uplift Humanity and our beautiful planet Earth.
Website: https://www.biomimicry.works
Website: https://www.peterphilips.xyz
Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@symbioticfuture
LInkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterphilips
Email: peter@symbioticfuture.network
Daniel Pecenka
Daniel was born and raised in Mitchell, SD. In 2017, he e earned an undergraduate degree in Natural Resouces Management from South Dakota State University. Since 2019, Daniel has worked as a technician at Ecdysis Foundation where he collects, researches and categorizes soil and biological samples advising farmers and supporting their success in regenerative agricultural practices. Daniel is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Plant Sciences with an emphasis in Entomology. His project involves exploring ways that insects can be used to estimate ecosystem health within perennial grain production. Here is my contact info:
Email: daniel.pecenka@ecdysis.bio
https://www.ecdysis.bio/
https://www.ecdysis.bio/_files/ugd/49b043_3048549b00a2416c9650d4d21005bcc0.pdf
https://www.ecdysis.bio/featured-project
David Kawanuka Naggenda
David is a social / community worker, Director and Founder of a nonprofit Charity NGO called "Let The Girl Be-Uganda (LEGIBE)-Girls Empowerment and Education." Let The Girl Be Uganda (LEGIBE) is an organization serving and protecting vulnerable girls in Mukono District near Lake Victoria, Uganda. LEGIBE provides a safe and welcoming community for these girls to come together and hone their independent skills in crafts so they can make money for themselves, music and dance to spark and inspire joy, and counseling so that these girls can speak about and process what they have experienced.
Dr. Kelechukwu Okezie
Okezie Kelechukwu (PhD) is the founder and Executive Director of Neighborhood Environment Watch Foundation. A front line environmental non profit organisation in Nigeria. Dr Okezie is a globally recognized social entrepreneur, an Ashoka Fellow, and environmental and human rights activist. Dr. Okezie firmly believes that social and environmental justice are intertwined and works with impacted communities to demand for social and environmental justice. His advocacy work has challenged systemic inequalities and disrupted imbalanced access to social justice. Through his organization, the Neighborhood Environment Watch Foundation, he has been a vocal advocate for policies and practices that prioritize the well-being of all, especially the vulnerable and marginalized communities and his passion is on trees planting and indigenous forests conservations.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelechukwu-okezie-2ab824292/
X: https://www.twitter.com/kelly_jaspers
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com.kelechukwu.okezie.5?
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Malika Vira Sawmy
Malika Virah-Sawmy is a facilitator, researcher and community weaver, dedicated to systemic change and working with companies, institutions such as the UN and with social and Indigenous movements. Her work is rooted in theory and practice in systems change, collective leadership, futures thinking, innovation, learning, generativity, embodiment, ancestral teachings, and healing. She works at the intersection of knowledge, love, power and social justice, with a passion for Global North-South healing. She has worked the last 20 years as a sustainability practitioner and systems scientist across the world from Asia, Australia, Africa to South America, with action-based work on inclusive business models, sustainable production, consumption, and trade, nature based solutions, and community and indigenous rights. She now lives in a community dedicated to collabarory efforts between artists, social innovators and rural communities, just outside Berlin.
Fiston Muganda
Fiston Muganda is a visionary activist and social entrepreneur, born and raised in Congo until circumstances led him to seek refuge in Uganda at a young age before moving to Canada. Since then, Fiston has emerged as a dynamic force in the realm of education, entrepreneurship, and refugee advocacy. Armed with a Certificate in Entrepreneurship from ID4AFRICA and another in Data Research from 60 Decibels, Fiston has embarked on a relentless pursuit of knowledge and professional development. His journey has seen him assume diverse roles, from CEO of the Unidos project in Nakivale refugee settlement to Community Support Officer at Project Hello World. Fiston has also lent his expertise as a Lean Data Research Assistant at 60 Decibels and as a country representative at Full Circle Learning. Currently serving as a Vision Keeper at Full Circle Learning Uganda, Fiston is deeply committed to innovating within Uganda's education landscape. His passion for transformative change extends to his work at Lo*op Center Inc, where he coordinates the Open Portal Network project, fostering connections within the education sector. Fiston's dedication to social impact is reflected in his extensive affiliations with organizations such as Ulab MIT, SDG4Youth, Learning Planet, and YouthxYouth, among others. He is also pursuing a B.A. in Human Relations with a specialization in Organizational Development at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, further honing his skills in catalyzing systemic change.
Email: fistonmuganda@gmail.com
Anodea Judith, PhD
Anodea is the author of a dozen books and mixed media addressing social change, psychology, yoga, women’s leadership, and models for personal and cultural evolution. She is the founder of the teaching organization, Sacred Centers, a global teacher whose courses have reached over 170 countries, and whose books are in 28 languages. She is a member of the Evolutionary Leaders Council of the Source of Synergy Foundation and is often called a prophet for our time. Her double award-winning book: THE GLOBAL HEART AWAKENS: HUMANITY’S RITE OF PASSAGE FROM THE LOVE OF POWER TO THE POWER OF LOVE, is the topic of her chat with WSS, looking at humanity’s past and future with a global vision of a heart centered paradigm, based on gender equity, peace, and ecological sanity. Her SHE RISES MOVEMENT project seeks to awaken feminine leadership styles, and create a Matriot Act that would put the health of our environment at the top of the global priority list. With Michael Wayne, she co-hosts the podcast: VOICES FOR THE FUTURE.
Websites:
https://www.AnodeaJudith.com
https://www.SheRisesMovement.com
https://www.VoicesfortheFuture.org
https://www.SacredCenters.com
Rita Ezenwa-Okoro
Rita is a thought leader, creative culturist, performance activist, and communications expert who believes in the transformative power of performing arts for human development. Her visionary leadership shines as the Executive Director of the Global Play Brigade. This movement uses play to soften borders and barriers between people across the globe. She is also the founder of the United Nations and BMW Group’s Intercultural Innovation Award-Winning Street Project Foundation. This organization implements inclusive creative arts-led leadership programs for at-risk youth in Africa. She is a Mandela Washington Fellow, recipient of the Lagos State Award of Excellence in Youth Development and Entrepreneurship Development, respectively, a three-time global fellow of the International Society of the Performing Arts (ISPA), and now the first Nigerian to serve on the board of ISPA, a 75-year-old prestigious organization for performing arts leaders across the world. Rita is also the author of Doing. Being. Becoming. For the love of the creative arts, a book about her performance journey as a grassroots creative youth organizer in Nigeria. Besides developing creative strategies for businesses through her Marketing Communications firm ROC, Rita is also a movie buff, public speaker, singer, and world traveler who considers herself a global citizen.
Dionna Brown
Dionna Brown (she/her) hails from Flint, Michigan, with deep connections to Detroit, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. Currently serving as the National Director of Youth Environmental Justice Programs for Young, Gifted & Green, she is dedicated to educating and empowering youth. Her leadership of a transformative summer camp, which enlightens Flint's youth on the intersection of environmental justice and public health, is a testament to her commitment to fostering future activists. Dionna's resilience and dedication to her community were shaped during the Flint Water Crisis as a teenager, driving her tireless advocacy for justice. A proud alumna of Howard University with a Bachelor's in Sociology, Dionna is on track to graduate in May with a Master’s in Sociology from Wayne State University. She has plans for further studies, pursuing a Master's in Public Health and a Juris Doctorate, to become an environmental justice attorney. Dionna's passion for environmental and climate justice, alongside her interests in race, gender, law, politics, and social justice, motivates her ongoing learning and advocacy efforts. Fluent in Simplified Chinese, Dionna enjoys cooking, baking, reading, family time, and travel. She firmly believes in the value of being teachable and is dedicated to making a positive impact in her community and beyond.
Email: dionna@younggiftedgreen.org
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dionnab3
Website: https://younggiftedgreen.org
Michael Wayne
Michael Wayne, PhD, L.Ac, is a doctor of Chinese and Integrative Medicine, an author of five books and a filmmaker. He has made a feature film, a feature documentary, a video web series, a video interview series, and currently co-hosts a podcast called Voices for the Future. He is currently in pre-production for a documentary film entitled “How to Save Democracy.” His work has been focused on the theme of positive societal change—politically, economically, environmentally, and culturally. As he has gone deeper in the weeds of positive societal change, he has come to see and understand the root causes of the problems society and the world face, and what the solutions are. His most recent book, “Toward a More Perfect Union: From Scarcity to Abundance for All” focuses is on politics, economics, health, climate change, and the evolution of consciousness, and discusses not only these issues, but also presents solutions, and how we can achieve a more sustainable, regenerative, egalitarian, and redistributive society. Michael says, “These topics are all deeply interconnected, and I am immersed in all three. Our political and economic systems are deeply skewed toward the interests of the wealth class, and favor the agenda of fossil fuel energy companies, which has led to the climate crisis. To change things, we need to create a more responsive and direct democracy, and an economic system that favors a more sustainable, regenerative, egalitarian, and redistributive approach. And underlying all that will take a transformation to a more evolved and sophisticated way that we think, act, and behave.”
https://voicesforthefuture.org
https://moreperfectunion.solutions
https://drmichaelwayne.com
Matthew Friedman
Matt Friedman is an international human trafficking expert with more than 30 years’ experience. He is CEO of The Mekong Club, an organization of Hong Kong’s leading businesses which have joined forces to help end all forms of modern slavery. Mr. Friedman previously worked for USAID and the United Nations in over 40 countries. Mr. Friedman offers technical advice to numerous governments, banks and corporations working to eliminate all forms of modern slavery and is the author of fourteen books. In 2017, Mr. Friedman won Asia’s prestigious “Communicator of the Year” Gold Award.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-friedman-9788555/
Mekong Club: https://themekongclub.org
“Where Were You: A Profile of Modern Slavery” book
“Be the Hero: Be the Change” book
Tom Bosschaert
Tom is the founder and director of Except, and the visionary force behind its development. He is also the chairman of the Environment Committee of the World Institute for Change Management and Innovation (WICMI) in Switzerland. Tom founded Except at the age of 19 in 1999 with a mission to find systemic solutions for our societal challenges by combining science, business, design, and communication. In the past decades, he has developed several hundred projects globally, for groundbreaking sustainable cities, buildings, business, policy, and industry. Tom’s vision shows that we can flourish globally when we simultaneously integrate environmental, societal, economical, and technical aspects in our society. He is a frequent keynote speaker, and author of the Symbiosis in Development (SiD) framework and books.
Tom has been recognized in the past few decades as a leader in sustainable thinking, the circular economy, and systemic innovation. In 2014 he was elected number 38 of the most influential sustainability professionals in the Netherlands by national newspaper Trouw, and ranked 21st on the Dutch Sustainable Real Estate awards. At his initiative, the UCo center for sustainable entrepreneurship was opened in Utrecht in 2017. This center has brought over 150 sustainability pioneers together in the first energy-neutral, circular, and future-proof listed heritage building in Europe.
Robyn Whittaker
Robyn is a Collaboration Convenor seeking to understand how best the conditions for effective collaboration can be fostered through relationship building. A medical doctor by practice, she has shifted her practice from a focus on the individual, to address social therapeutics, and in particular to understanding how the conditions for relationality and trust for supporting societal wellbeing might be facilitated. Through Kaleidoscope Lights and Africa Voices Dialogue, Robyn supports organizations, sectors and systems to engage in deeper forms of co-creative work.
Robyn has a particular focus on human development, and on understanding the "how" of deep collaborative work to support the evocation of human potential and the evolution of functional and relational impact ecosystems. She currently explores this through work in the fields of learning ecosystems and youth development in South Africa (with DBE E-Cubed and EdEco Connect), on the African continent (with Africa Voices Dialogue, Catalyst 2030, Talenttalks Africa and The Room), and globally with the NetEdu Project and Purpose Alliance.
Kaleidoscope Lights
Africa Voices Dialogue
The NetEdu Project
Katy Bee
Katy is a life coach, clown, improvisor, laughter yoga leader, and in training to be a Chief Well-Being Officer with the World Happiness Academy. She offers public speaking programs discussing joy, happiness, and how to bring joy to self and others spontaneously.
Sign up for the Joy First Foundation Newsletter
Joy First info:
Website: https://www.joyfirst.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoyFirstFoundation/
X: https://twitter.com/makejoyfirst
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joyfirstfoundation/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@joyfirstfoundation
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joyfirstfoundation
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katemcglynn/
Laughbox podcast: Laughbox.aath.org
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Keri Evjy
Keri is an earthkeeper and guild assisting healing for people and the planet through nature-inspired land and life design. For more than 26 years, she has been an educator and ecological designer observing natural patterns and demystifing holistic life design practices to cultivate abundant and resilient lives and landscapes for individuals and organizations. Her transformative programs include group curriculum and one-on-one coaching experiences through Regenerative Life Design. Her book, Regenerative Life Design Playbook, an earth-inspired multimedia toolkit to flourish in life, career and relationships, was released July, 2022. Keri is also the founder of Healing Roots Design, a regenerative landscaping company cultivating planetary health and re-wilding through edible and medicinal landscape design, install and maintenance. She thrives in a cooperative home she stewards with friends in Asheville, NC.
For more information on programs, services, events and info, please visit: www.healingrootsdesign.com
And here: www.regenerativetraining.com
Nissaf Sleymi
Nissaf Sleimi is a purpose-driven social innovator and a visionary founder of an ecofriendly game service. With a profound background in civil engineering, she seamlessly transitioned into the world of entrepreneurship after gaining extensive knowledge in business and project management. Nissaf is not only a dedicated woman, but also a passionate person of education from early age and trainer in sustainability and green buildings. She aims to share her knowledge and broad mind to help young generations in need. Driven by a strong commitment to making a positive impact and grit to lead the educational landscape, Nissaf leverages her academic expertise and entrepreneurial spirit to create engaging educational games that promote sustainability and environmental consciousness. She exemplifies the fusion of academic acumen, business prowess, and a deep-seated commitment to fostering a culture of sustainability through innovative and impactful initiative for the planet and future generations.
Emily Liu
https://www.compostology.org/Emily is an 18-year-old student from Rockville, Maryland, dedicated to advancing inclusive climate solutions. She is the Director of Compostology, a youth-led organization pushing the movement for food waste consciousness nationwide. Emily has been involved with student advocacy since her freshman year, where she discovered the power of her voice to drive change. Outside of her pursuits in environmentalism and student advocacy, Emily has played the violin for the past 11 years.
https://www.compostology.org/
Email: compostologymd@gmail.com
Instagram
Thomas Poetter
Thomas Poetter graduated as master of computer science from the University of Kaiserslautern with an IQ of 140 (at the time the only opportunity to study AI, today called RPTU) with artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) as key focus areas. Working with DFKI (German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence) during his studies, Thomas was the only German AI graduate around the year 2000, one of the first entrepreneurs who received in 1998 a 2 years’ start-up stipend from the Fraunhofer society, in his case from the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering (IESE). Inspired by Fraunhofer’s success with MP3, Thomas achieved a comparable success with his 8 patents around innovations for watermarking text-based contents (eBooks, documents, web pages, etc.) and for secret inconspicuous communication. His business plans received 3 awards and €40k in prize money, among them 2nd best in Germany (VW’s Promotion startup contest) and Thomas was 2x best German participant of the business French contest “Golden Word”
(Mot d’or with over 30 000 participants). The patents are nowadays being used by IBM, SAP/Sybase, Amazon, Intel, Microsoft, Nuance, Fuji Xerox, AT&T, Amazon, Fraunhofer, Yandex, Adobe, Discord, Certicom and many others. He with his company since then has successfully helped 13 DAX30 corporations, the German government and more than 100 international Fortune 500 corporations making each project a success and achieving significant innovations in the fields of AI, IT architecture, cybersecurity, big data and artificial intelligence – improving the lives of more than a billion people. His publications have achieved more than 30 000 downloads, ranking him in the top third of all researchers in spite of never ever having gotten research subsidies like most of the researchers.
https://potentialismpcf.substack.com/about
https://www.youtube.com/@potentialism
https://www.tiktok.com/@potentialismpcf/
Katie Spreitzer
Katie is a Master's student earning a Master's of Sustainable Solutions (MSUS) and a Master's of Public Policy (MPP) at Arizona State University. She is interested in sustainable education for youth and environmental justice and policy. Her research involves intergenerational education, particularly among marginalized youth, and how to co-create sustainable food-energy-water systems in communities. Her future plans involve developing sustainable policy changes to mitigate climate change impacts on underrepresented communities.
Dr. Nancy D. O’Reilly, PsyD
Nancy D. O'Reilly, PsyD, founded Women Connect4Good, Inc., a 501(c)3 foundation, to help support other organizations working to advance women and girls. She also serves on the boards of several social-profit groups, including the National Women’s History Museum. Dr. Nancy’s latest books, In This Together: How Successful Women Support Each Other in Work and Life (Adams Media/Simon & Schuster, January 2019), and Leading Women: 20 Influential Women Share Their Secrets to Leadership, Business, and Life, were both released as audiobooks in 2022, and she has two new titles scheduled to be released in 2024. Supporting women is Dr. Nancy’s passion and purpose. Her popular podcast “Smart, Amazing Conversations with Dr. Nancy” examines the stories of life and leadership of smart, amazing women and men whose stories connect us, and helps listeners understand that the possibilities are endless if we support each other and lift one another up.
www.drnancyoreilly.com
LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram @DrNancyOReilly
Master Teresa Yeung
Master Teresa Yeung is a rare female generational Qi Gong master who has been practicing Qi Gong for 29 years. She is a three-time #1 International Bestselling Award-Winning Author, speaker, and trainer, as well as the founder of Pureland International Qi Gong, a Canadian registered private Qi Gong institution. In 2023, she presented with her daughter, Jacqueline, at the Science of Tai Chi and Qi Gong as a Whole Person Health conference, a landmark event organized by the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine in conjunction with Harvard Medical School and Brigham Women’s Hospital. Their presentation focused on Qi Gong to Improve Vision and Qi Gong for Menopausal Transition. Master Teresa is the leading successor of Grandmaster Weizhao Wu’s lineage, who has positively impacted millions of people. Additionally, she is a provider of continuing education professional development activities (PDA) accredited by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncturists and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) in the USA.
Website: PurelandQiGong.com
Book an Appointment
Wu's Eye Qi Gong®
Remote Fa Chi Remote Healing Certification
Chi Gong: The Natural Menopause Solution
School: PurelandQiGong.com
Youtube.com/c/PurelandQiGong
Instagram
Facebook Group Menopausewellness
Facebook/qibreaks
Twitter/masterteresa
LinkedIn
Mary McGillicuddy Mary
Mary is a career advisor and instructor at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability, where she supports undergraduate and graduate students with career exploration and preparation.
David Delano D’Angelo
David Delano D'Angelo is an environmental activist, influencer, vlogger, digital marketing consultant, gamer, streamer, host, and cosplayer. David is part of various organizations advocating for the protection, rehabilitation, and nurturing of nature. In 2022, he ran for Senator in the Philippines, carrying an environmental agenda. David is now the President of the Green Party of the Philippines, committed to pushing policies and programs on environmental protection and sustainable development. The party is currently organizing in 16 regions, 31 provinces, and 162 cities and municipalities across the Philippines. David is also a Board of Trustee at Green Convergence - Philippines, an organization dedicated to promoting environmental sustainability in the Philippines by offering training programs on responsible mining, environmental impacts on indigenous peoples, and the energy transition in the transport sector.
www.dangelodavid.com
Socials: Facebook | Twitter | Tiktok | Instagram | LinkedIn youtube.com/DAngeloSpeaks
Owner and Manager: Red Cloud Interactive | Tindahan Ng Kalikasan (Green Eco Store)
Philippine Representative: Asia Pacific Greens Federation and Global Greens
National President: Green Party of the Philippines
Board of Trustees: Green Convergence Philippines
Vice President: Bayanihan Para sa Kalikasan Movement, Inc.
Director for Environment: Rotary Club of Alabang Madrigal Business Park
Soomaya Javadi
Soomaya is an Afghan human rights advocate dedicated to the empowerment of women and the preservation of human rights. She was born in 1997 in a Hazara family, one of the most persecuted ethnicities in Afghanistan by the Taliban.
Originally a dentistry student on the verge of graduation, her life took a dramatic turn when Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in August 2021. As a Hazara woman, she faced immense peril, prompting her courageous journey through countless Taliban checkpoints to reach safety in Canada. Now residing there, she continues to tirelessly shed light on the plight of her people and serves as an influential voice for the marginalized. Soomaya's firsthand experiences and unwavering determination fuel her powerful narratives, inspiring change and fostering a deeper understanding of Afghanistan's complex struggles.
Currently, Soomaya is a student at the University of Saskatchewan majoring in Health Studies with focus on Biology, Development, and health. She aspires to reclaim her professional life, preparing to apply for dentistry school once again.
Soomaya at the United Nations Opening, Geneva Summit 2023
Soomaya at Saskatoon City Hall
Soomaya at the Learning Planet Festival 2024
Soomaya on Now or Never Program, CBC National
Soomaya on Rachel Johnson’s Difficult Women Podcast
Soomaya at the Canadian House of Commons
If you’d like to contribute to our ongoing EmpowerEd Friday Speaker events, please do so here.
Trish Kane
Trish s the CEO and Founder of Healerverse Platform, an online sanctuary for holistic healing and connection, which brings together a global community of healers, lightworkers, and individuals seeking a deeper sense of purpose. After a near-death experience, Trish embarked on a decade-long journey of self-healing, guided by powerful healers and a supportive community. Now, her passion is to empower others on their own paths to well-being. She is a sought-after keynote speaker, inspiring audiences with her message of hope and healing and an author, sharing her personal story and insights to empower others
https://www.trishkane.com/
https://www.5dhealerverse.com/home
LinkedIn
Cindy Forde
Cindy is a thought leader and acclaimed author with over 25 years dedicated to systems change. In 2023, she won the Change Champion Award alongside leaders such as David Attenborough and Malala Yusufzai. Her ground-breaking children's book, ‘Bright New World, Building a Better Planet,’ garnered critical acclaim, selected among the best new children's books by The Guardian and hailed as "outstanding" by New Scientist. It has been adopted by the Australian National Curriculum. She is the founder of Planetari, pioneering Earth-led education, earning a Climate Positive Award at UN COP28. Previously MD of Blue Marine Foundation and CEO of Cambridge Science Centre, she has an MSc in Sustainability and Business Practice, is guest faculty at University of Cambridge's Homerton Change Makers program, she serves on the Steering Committee of She Changes Climate among other boards. She was named a Shero for Black History Month 2023 by Environment Magazine and is currently writing a book on colonization and climate change.
Melissa Subban
Melissa Subban is a renowned People Strategist and Change Manager, dedicated to creating joyful and engaging human experiences in the workplace. With over 18 years of experience in the corporate world and additional expertise in the SMME sector, she has successfully founded two start-ups and actively participates in various international programs.
As the Chief Office Fairy at HappyFactory, Melissa specializes in advising companies on designing and implementing unique people strategies, customer journeys, and communication plans. Her approach is grounded in human-centered design, aiming to enhance interactions for customers, vendors, employees, and stakeholders alike.
Melissa is passionate about activating leadership potential and fostering happy, productive environments. She is a prolific mentor, offering guidance on business modeling, career planning, and change management. Her creative energy is also channeled into running three Meetup groups focused on mind-body-spirit practices.
When not advising or mentoring, Melissa enjoys painting, yoga, and exploring other holistic practices. Her work is a testament to her belief in the power of positivity and well-being in professional settings.
Melissa Subban is available for speaking engagements, employee program designs, and private consultations on creative business development.
Enock Sangaka Mong’are
Enock is the project lead and chairperson of Green Initiative Kakuma, a community-based organization in Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya, that promotes and advocates climate change adaptation, climate justice and mitigation practices, promotes climate change awareness and advocates for climate smart sustainable agriculture. He has successfully led implementation of Nakoyo smallholder farmers women groups capacity building project where 34 smallholder farmers were trained on climate smart agricultural practices between February 2024 and March 2024.
Enock holds a certificate in project management, a post graduate diploma in education and a bachelor's degree in Chemistry.He has undergone training on climate governance, diplomacy and negotiations leadership under the African Group Network of Experts Support (AGNES). He is also a student at the International School of Climate Mobilities at Earth Refuge and a student at Climate Change Artificial Intelligence Summer School. Enock is an alumnus of the Kenya Climate Innovation Centre Incubation hub and an alumnus of the East Africa Community Youth Leadership fellowship.
UPCOMING GLOBAL SOLUTION COLLABORATION FORUMS
Join us at one or all of the following collaborative events.
EmpowerED: Global Solutions Collaboration Forum
ZOOMEvery Friday, from 9:00 am PT to 11:30 am PT, the EmpowerED Global Solutions Collaboration Forum serves as a hub for sustained collaboration among climate-focused…