Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a psychologist, Senior Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and New York Times best-selling author. His seven books have been published in 31 languages and include Making Great Relationships, Neurodharma, Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Just One Thing, Buddha’s Brain, and Mother Nurture – with over a million copies in English alone. He's the founder of the Global Compassion Coalition and the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, as well as the co-host of the Being Well podcast—which has been downloaded over 10 million times. His free newsletters have 250,000 subscribers, and his online programs have scholarships available for those with financial needs. He’s lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard. An expert on positive neuroplasticity, his work has been featured on CBS, NPR, the BBC, and other major media. He began meditating in 1974 and has taught in meditation centers worldwide. He and his wife live in northern California and have two adult children. He loves the wilderness and taking a break from emails.

Dr Mamphela Ramphele is Co-Founder of ReimagineSA, the Chair of the Tutu IP Trust and Co- President of the Club of Rome. She is a change agent rooted in the Black Consciousness Philosophy that enabled many young people in the 1970s to self-liberate from the inferiority complex imposed by racist oppression and inspired the revival of the liberation struggle that ushered in political freedom in 1994. She is a medical doctor (MBChB), a social anthropologist (PhD), an accomplished researcher and Co-author with Francis Wilson of Uprooting Poverty: The SA Challenge. Research on the Psycho-social impacts of poverty and inequality led to publication of six books: A Bed Called Home- Life in Migrant Worker Hostels; Steering by the Stars - Growing up in Townships; Laying Ghosts to Rest - the Legacy of Race, Class and Gender in SA; A Passion for Freedom - Autobiography; Dreams, Betrayal and Hope. She has published numerous journal and popular media articles on the Unacknowledged Legacy of Colonial Conquest, Apartheid and global inequities, and the urgent need for healing to restore our humanity as one human family and continues to promote Global Equity for a Healthy Planet. Dr Ramphele is a global public servant sitting on numerous advisory boards, panels, and commissions. She is a sought-after speaker. She was a Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Town, a Managing Director at the World Bank, and non-Executive Director of many large corporates and Civil Society Organisations. She is an author and recipients of many awards including 23 honorary degrees.