Initiative Chair

John Toomey, CEO, Wide Awake Wellness Pty Ltd

John has been exploring, studying and teaching Wellness since 1984. Starting out with a degree in Physical Education and Masters Degree studies in Applied Nutrition, John has followed his curiosity down many paths into the teachings of Yoga, Alternative Medicines, Modern Science, Consciousness Exploration and Elite Athlete preparation. He worked in High Performance Roles in Professional Sport for 15 years, always exploring the uniqueness of each person, seeking ways in which they may improve. He has presented over 3000 seminars in the Workplace Wellness Arena, written and published over 500 articles and written accredited courses in Fitness, Pilates and Wellness.

Initiative Vice Chair

Jessica Grossmeier, Author, Speaker, Researcher, Jessica Grossmeier Consulting, United States

Jessica Grossmeier is an award-winning researcher, speaker, and author of Reimagining Workplace Well-being: Fostering a Culture of Purpose, Connection and Transcendence. As a leading authority in workforce well-being, she collaborates with employers and well-being service providers to create evidence-based strategies. Jessica serves as a Senior Fellow for the Health Enhancement Research Organization, co-leads the Global Wellness Institute’s Workplace Wellbeing Initiative, and serves on several advisory boards. Jessica holds doctoral and master’s degrees in public health, specializing in community health education.

Pauline Akello

Psycho-Social Support Consultant, Strategic Engagement, Uganda

Pauline possesses a unique skill set, allowing her to bridge the gap between individual mental health and its impact within the workplace as a psychologist with knowledge in both clinical and I-O psychology by leveraging the integration of evidence-based practices to achieve positive outcomes. She harnesses her clinical understanding to design programs promoting employee wellness combining knowledge of clinical measurements and organizational needs through intervention skills that are applicable in diverse settings. She is adept at furthering workplace effectiveness, designing work environments that promote mental health, and facilitating change processes within organizations. Whether it’s implementing new policies, or managing transitions, her work centers around helping organizations navigate complex interpersonal dynamics and achieve their goals. By addressing mental health issues, she contributes to the well-being of employees and their families by fostering positive organizational cultures through promoting open communication, teamwork, and support systems. Her mission is to ensure increased career satisfaction, higher levels of employee engagement, and ultimately, improved organizational performance.

Elizabeth Bachrad

Chief Health Strategist, Syntropy Ventures Inc., United Kingdom

Elizabeth Bachrad is a health care design strategist working globally in population health management across business, education and community health. With nearly two decades of work in the health and wellbeing industry, Elizabeth holds a Masters Degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology, with specialisations in design thinking and lifestyle medicine. She is a thought leader in an up and coming Think Tank analysing workplace paradigms influencing health inequities. As co-founder and Chief Health Strategist at Syntropy, her team builds transformative health initiatives by implementing practical, preventative solutions in the workplace.

Ryan Briggs

Founder, FinWELL Global, United Kingdom

Ryan is on a mission to help employees and leadership teams across the world understand, measure and improve financial wellbeing, empowering healthier relationships with money and better mental health. FinWELL initially supported leading employers of all sizes and sectors from the likes of Sky, Hays, DHL, ASOS and Warner Brothers as-well as various Councils, Police Forces and MHS Trusts and the demand for wider support led to the creation of FinWELL Global. Ryan is a level four diploma qualified financial adviser with over ten years experience, and an accredited workplace financial education.

Nuz Chagan

Co-Founder Workplace Wellbeing Alliance, United Kingdom

Nuz together with 4 other passionate about wellbeing co-founders came together to form the WWA (Workplace Wellbeing Alliance) to build a social movement of standards and best practice for workplace wellbeing globally through recognising the need for strategic wellbeing programmes to incorporate a holistic approach across mental, financial, social and physical pillars with the individual at the centre. To truly understanding the interplay between social, personal, economic and work insecurities. Formerly Country Health & Wellbeing Lead for IKEA UK & Ireland and working as an IKEA Marketing & Internal Communications Manager in a previous capacity has led to her having experience into the inner workings of practical and pragmatic approaches to employee engagement. Nuz’s specialism in the wellbeing space has been in financial wellbeing and its link to mental health. Most notably, she co-ordinated and implemented a hugely effective financial wellbeing initiative within IKEA.

Jessica Cygan

Human Strategist, Wellbeing + Performance Coach | Be Still Holistic Wellness, US + Europe, Sweden

Jessica is a forward-thinking, ambitious, and curious human-centric professional. Her work is focused on the intersection of personal and professional development, integrating and exploring what it takes to unlock human potential at work. She combines her unique, global career experience in financial services and consulting with passion for behavioral science, wellbeing, and performance. She consults with and provides coaching programs to high-performing organizations. As an advisor to emerging health-tech companies, she leverages her experience with emerging technology to push the bar with how to expand wellbeing into the fabric of organizations. In 2021, she founded Be Still Holistic Wellness, the first global membership network + digital studio serving high-achieving professionals through community, coaching and actionable wellbeing resources.

Grant Ian Gamble

Senior Consultant, Grant Ian Gamble Consulting, Australia

Grant Ian Gamble is a visionary leader and advocate for workplace wellness and comprehensive wellness initiatives. With a career spanning over three decades, Grant has been at the forefront of integrating holistic wellness practices into organizational cultures, fostering environments that prioritize mental, physical, and emotional health. As a pioneer in the integration of AI technology in workplace wellness, he has developed and implemented innovative strategies that encourage team member engagement, retention and overall well-being.

Sylvia Greenley

Innovation Catalyst Community Leader and Wellbeing Champion, Intuit, United States

Sylvia leads the Innovation Catalyst Community at Intuit, a group of a few hundred Intuit employees who volunteer 10% of their time to facilitate, coach and teach design thinking at the company. She is an internal wellbeing champion and has led wellbeing workshops with Intuit teams, helping people pause to think about what wellness means to them, define their ideal state and take actions to get there. Before joining the Innovation group, Sylvia spent five years in Intuit’s Human Resources department focused on the employee and workplace experience. She has a wealth of experience engaging communities, building employee capabilities, collaborating cross-functionally, designing awesome customer and employee experiences, and fostering employee wellbeing.

Nina Hersher

Chief Learning Officer, Digital Wellness Institute United States

Nina Hersher, MSW is Chief Education Officer of the Digital Wellness Institute, author of the bestseller, Your Playbook for Thriving in the Remote Work Era, and a highly sought after speaker. A leading expert in Digital Wellness, Hersher holds a specialized Master of Social Work in Norms of Connectivity, Digital Culture and Program Development from Washington University in St. Louis. Hersher is also Co-founder of annual Digital Wellness Day, reaching over 7.5 million people across the globe in 26 countries. Most recently, Hersher’s work was featured in publications including Forbes, The Stanford Social Innovation Review, Al Jazeera, and Voice of America. A member of several speakers bureaus, she has presented internationally at retreat centers, corporations, and conferences ranging from Kripalu and Wisdom 2.0 to Spotify, Dolby, and The King Abdulaziz Center. Nina’s pioneering work in Digital Wellness includes co-founding the Digital Flourishing® wheel and approach with her team at The Digital Wellness Institute, which led to the creation of the first scientifically validated survey instrument to measure well-being in the digital age. Her leadership brought to life the first nationally accredited “Certified Digital Wellness Educator” program, leading to an educational impact partnership with the 2-time Emmy award-winning documentary, The Social Dilemma, and two internationally renowned universities. Hersher serves as a lead teacher and curriculum developer at The Digital Wellness Institute and sits on the advisory boards of two child and adolescent focused Digital Wellness organizations. She holds additional credentials including Oasis in the Overwhelm Facilitator, Teen Outreach Program Facilitator, and Meditation Teacher, with which she focuses on both youth and adult Digital Wellness education. She also runs Nina Hersher LLC, a private speaking and curriculum development firm dedicated to research and education regarding mental health in a fast-paced world.

Joana Kebss

Founder, Life As Style, Brazil

More than 12 years as an integrative health specialist brought Joana Kebss a deep understanding on how to develop energizing wellness experiences. Her medical background embraces: ~ functional medicine ~ aesthetic medicine ~ lifestyle medicine. Her design skills embrace: ~ branding ~ aesthetic intelligence ~ luxury market. This philosophy and aesthetic design blends minimalist architecture  with coast indoor / outdoor living to incite wellbeing. Through this approach, her business, Life as Style, became synonymous with “style as medicine” providing consulting, concept design and development for wellness business or wellness seeker business.

Talya Landau

Global Wellbeing Manager, Israel

With a long background in Hi-Tech, including Product Marketing Manager and Director of Innovation, Talya studied Positive Psychology Mentor Training under Dr Tal Ben Shahar, and Kundalini Yoga teachers training. She founded of a women’s wellbeing centre for many years in Tel Aviv. Talya promotes a culture that embraces employee wellbeing, balanced work and life routines and with a holistic approach to employee care, a cornerstone of company culture. She believes that offering a variety of solutions enables each employee to adopt habits that lead to healthier and happier life, and to a thriving organization.

Walter MacDonald

GM B2B Wellness Division Operations, CW Group, China

Walter is a highly experienced leader with excellence in hospitality, fitness, sport, aquatic and wellness operational management. He has delivered curated experiences, strategic leadership and strong growth with 38 years of international achievement.

Jocelyn Pepe

Founder, TrU Living, Canada

Jocelyn Pepe is a Mental Health Researcher and Mental Wellbeing Coach at the intersection of Science and Soul and the Founder of TrU, an organization committed to supporting executive and team wellbeing, strategically building healthy and well organizational cultures. She has been coaching for 9 years and researching mental health throughout her life, through her personal journey and more formatively achieved her MSc. in the Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health. Her years as an entrepreneur, being resilient, adaptable, and agile, developing conscious communication inside organizations, as a working mother balancing it all, and as a former endurance athlete, Jocelyn’s experiences frame the context of her work, with the latest research in neuroscience, wellbeing and mental health and its impacts on individual performance and workplace culture. Jocelyn is a Registered Health Coach (RHC), a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC), and a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

Trina Rowsell

Change Leader, Mindset & Personal Empowerment Coach, Trina Rowsell Consulting, Canada

Trina’s desire is to lead a shift in consciousness through awareness and inspiration so that individuals lead their life with intention and fully connected to their body, mind, and spirit. With a great passion for holistic wellness while helping people develop their greatest potential through the discovery of their authentic self. Trina is driven by her personal integrity, gratitude, life balance, community, relationships, and the ability to remain grounded while having fun! Trina has a passion for personal transformation, with over 20 years of experience both as an employee and consultant in organizational change management, coaching, facilitation and training, Trina has worked in various industries such as Aviation, Higher Education, Health Care Insurance, Non-profit, Government, Utilities, and Oil & Gas sectors.

Rachael Riggs

For nearly 30 years, Rachael has been dedicated to creating holistic event experiences that motivate people to be the best versions of themselves. As Wellbeing Leader for Maritz Global Events and member of the Design Studio team, Rachael works with clients to design experiences that care for the whole person so they can perform at their peak. Additionally, she helps lead the internal team that focuses on the sustainability efforts of Maritz Global Events. Rachael currently serves on the Events Industry Council APEX COVID-19 Business Recovery Taskforce, as the President of the North American Chapter for EventWell and has held numerous volunteer positions in PCMA’s Greater Midwest Chapter and the international organization. She’s the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2022 Smart Women in Meetings (Visionary) by Smart Meetings Magazine, 2022 Women to Watch by Meeting Planners International & 2022 Meetings Today Meeting Trendsetters and the 2020 Chairman’s Award for both the Events Industry Council (EIC) and Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA). In 2016, she was awarded the prestigious PCMA International Supplier of the Year. Rachael resides in Chicago, Illinois USA.

Isikilu Salami

Managing Director Triqure Healthcare Limited, Nigeria

Isikilu is a Certified Health Coach (American Council on Exercise) and certified in workplace wellness (Chapman Institute and National Wellness Institute, NWI). He leads Triqure Healthcare Limited , an employee wellness service company. Driving up access to workplace wellness services  in Sub-Saharan Africa from 1% is his passion. He has a background as a Registered Pharmacist and did sales and marketing in pharma for over 20 years. www.triqure.com

Ellenit Serrano

Global Product & General Management V.P.,  Leadership and WellBeing Ambassador, United States

Ellenit brings over 30 years of global executive leadership experience at Fortune 100 organizations across the areas of Product, Operations, Finance, and Strategy. She is also a Certified Corporate Wellness Specialist, Yoga instructor and Chopra Meditation Facilitator and has directed individuals and groups for over 12 years. A passionate advocate for Wellbeing and authentic Leadership, Ellenit is the founder of “Be (W)ellenit” and the “Yoga to Lead Program”. Her mission is to produce a sustainable increase in wellbeing and happiness through creating healthier workplaces. As a Business Coach and Leadership and Wellbeing Advisor, she uniquely combines her skills and passions to deliver and implement impactful strategies and programs focused on business operations, leadership development and all facets of wellbeing: Physical, Mental, Spiritual/Purpose, Financial, Social, and Environmental. Her signature Yoga to Lead Program yokes the principles of yoga and leadership to ignite an authentic, human-centered management approach, increase employee engagement and ultimately impact the bottom line.

Gloria Treister

Board Certified Holistic Health Coach and Practitioner/Founder, Wellness Evolution, United States

Since, 1980, Health Activist, Certified Holistic Health Coach & Practitioner, Reiki Master, Advanced Physical Fitness Specialist, Certified Corporate Wellness Specialist, Author, entrepreneur and community servant, Gloria Treister, HHP, has been a powerful advocate for wellness. She recognized early on that it made better sense to take a proactive approach to one’s health, rather than be reactive. She uses her knowledge and experience to create unique models for delivering client-centered, one-size-fits-one strategies for both individuals and corporations.

Andrew Walls

Andrew founded FLOW—Find a Life of Wellbeing—after more than 15 years building a career in fitness and health that has taken him from his native Scotland to Dubai via a variety of training, coaching, and management roles. It was while working as fitness and leisure director at a prestigious wellness retreat in Thailand that he first encountered the concept of holistic wellness coaching, and behaviour and habit coaching in particular. This resonated but coming from a background in science-focused exercise, Andrew was looking for long-term results driven more by data than spirituality. Originally moving to Dubai in 2008, Andrew lived there for 10 years before returning to the UK in 2018. After two years, Andrew felt the Dubai was his true home and moved back in 2020. It was then that he began developing the unique wellbeing approach that has become FLOW’s hallmark. He now leads a team of fellow practitioners who are all experts in their field and—equally important—share his passion to ensure that individual needs and goals are met. Andrew has degrees in sport and exercise science and business management, and further qualifications in sports coaching, personal training, and nutrition. He is an accredited American College of Exercise (ACE) behavioural change specialist, and a UAE Register of Exercise Professionals member.

Danielle (Dan) Watkins

People & Employee Experience Advisor / Certified Health Coach, Nurture Nourish Flow, Australia

An experienced human resources and coaching professional, Dan Watkins has experience working in IT, Community Health and Corporate sectors, as well as (certified) health coaching in her own business Nurture, Nourish Flow. Her main objective is to shine a light on the importance of wellbeing and contribute to a positive employee experience. She leads with a compassionate, warm and friendly personality taking extra care in the strategies and initiatives that she develops and contributes to. For Dan, it’s a thoughtful, care-based, model and approach that will make the most difference in the lives of those around us.

“Create moments in your day to take care of You” – Dan Watkins