#GenKind24 LIVE 2015 Speakers

Anna’s background includes her artistically based businesses in fashion and accessories handmade, manufactured, and corporate experience as head of a multimillion dollar division for a manufacturer of pet products.
As a motivational public figure, her inspirational posts are known worldwide. Through her Facebook page Circles of Inspiration by Anna Pereira, she has helped the lives of over 800K.
Following her calling to truly make a global change, she is involved in several epic projects to better the world. Most recently Anna has founded The Wellness Universe, along with her partner Shari Alyse and their company Soul Ventures Corp.
Focused on building the space for a flourishing network of heart-based entrepreneurs, as the leader of The Wellness Universe it is rewarding helping modern day thought leaders and co-creators of change reach their goals personally and professionally. Seeing world changers not only change the world but their world changing as well through guidance and encouragement has been her life's greatest reward.

Audrey Lin is a coordinator with ServiceSpace, an all-volunteer-run organization that leverages technology to inspire greater volunteerism and to tap into the inherent generosity within ourselves and others. A graduate of Nonviolence and Social Change at UC Berkeley, her journey has been a continuous exploration in service and stillness. Whether holding circles for deeper learning, serving guests at a pay-it-forward restaurant, immersing herself in a Gandhian way of life, supporting groups in 21-Day Challenges on kindness, gratitude, mindfulness and beyond, or simply spreading "Miles of Smiles" on street intersections– her buoyant presence is a reminder of the power and joy that lie in small acts of kindness.

Bio to come

Brooke wants to live in a world where people choose kindness over violence, compassion over cruelty, and action over indifference. She also believes every office should offer yoga and a room full of kittens (for stress relief).

As Vice President of The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, she oversees the education programs, website, social media, and strategic partnership efforts. Utilizing social media to build engagement, the RAK Facebook page engages close to one million fans with an average of 1,000 new fans each day. RAK also maintains an active Twitter following and Pinterest group. Through the RAK website, kindness education materials are downloaded in countries all over the world.

Brooke’s roots are in the arts. She received her degree in art history in 1998 after living in Paris studying art and architecture and developing the rare talent of sustaining on baguettes, wine and chocolate for two years straight. She has worked in the fine art industry and municipal government for most of her career before landing in the world of kindness.

When she’s not posting inspiring stories on Facebook, visiting a school, or attending a kindness event you can find her curled up with a good book, working on one of her many crafts, or hanging out with her husband and daughter.

Discover more about The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation at www.randomactsofkindness.org

Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of 30 published and forthcoming books, including Pay It Forward. Other books include: Ask Him Why, Worthy, The Language of Hoofbeats, Take Me With You , Where We Belong, Walk Me Home, When You Were Older, Don’t Let Me Go, When I Found You, Second Hand Heart, The Long, Steep Path: Everyday Inspiration From the Author of Pay It Forward, and 365 Days of Gratitude: Photos from a Beautiful World.

Pay It Forward: Young Readers Edition, an age-appropriate edited edition of the original novel, was released by Simon & Schuster in August of ‘14. It is suitable for children as young as eight.

She is co-author, with publishing industry blogger Anne R Allen, of How to be a Writer in the E-Age: a Self-Help Guide.

Pay It Forward was adapted into a major motion picture starring Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt, chosen by the American Library Association for its Best Books for Young Adults list, and translated into more than 23 languages for distribution in over 30 countries.
She is founder and former president (2000-2009) of the Pay It Forward Foundation. As a professional public speaker she has addressed the National Conference on Education, twice spoken at Cornell University, met with Americorps members at the White House and shared a dais with Bill Clinton.

Bio to come.

Charles F. Glassman, MD has practiced internal medicine for over 25 years. Over this time, he has observed that many medical problems and physical symptoms arise from our ability to manage the challenges of everyday life. His first book, the award winning Brain Drain, is a handbook on how to overcome common roadblocks to success in order to obtain a joyful and deeply meaningful life.
After untold thousands of patient visits, Charles F. Glassman, MD, has found that the key to optimal wellness is balancing mind, body, and spirit to deal with the challenges of daily life. Standing alone among the sea of books telling us the best diet, medication, vitamins, and exercises, Dr. Glassman's powerful books and programs show that the key lies within ourselves, and we can find it by unlocking the power of our mind and reaching the gateway to our Divine nature. Patients who come to Dr. Glassman seek not just a medical diagnosis, but a human touch that can guide them to solutions for the torments, challenges, triumphs and failures of their lives.
Seeing that his practice was evolving into a true holistic one, he began calling himself Coach MD. As Coach MD, his internet and social media presence has grown with more than 240,000 followers on Facebook and more than 22,000 on Twitter, contributing to a global reach of over SIX MILLION. People look to Dr. Glassman, for his keen understanding of the human condition and often turn to his website, where he gets over one-half million page views per month.
He has recently completed a new book manuscript and frequently adds content to his website. Dr. Glassman lives in Rockland County New York with his wife Melanie, their four children and dog, Ginger.

He is an award winning coach having been recognised by the Association for Coaching, Coaching at Work, World Business & Executive Coach Summit, Global HR Excellence Awards and the World Coaching Congress as a Global Thought Leader in Executive, Business and Professional Coaching.

He is a serial purposeful entrepreneur and social innovator who loves working with senior clients in complex, agile and challenging environments. He brings a straightforward, can-do attitude + solution focused mindset to everything that he does.

Darren is a Dad of 2 young daughters who keep his feet firmly planted in the ground and remind him daily who and what’s important in life. He is proud to be a trusted advisor to CEOs, business leaders, entrepreneurs and their leadership teams.

I am a teacher, poet, rapper, from Brooklyn New York. I modernize Shakespeare's Sonnets through Hip-Hop as The Sonnet Man. I perform shows and provide workshops in schools, universities and theaters to young audiences nationally and abroad. As The Sonnet Man, I have appeared on The Today Show, UK's, Stratford Upon Avon, Shakepeare Festivals in Stratford Ontario, MTV profile, and won The L.A. Times Book Award for Inspirational Poetry. It's been a blessing to give inspiration to students worldwide through Shakespeare.

Dr. Mark Rowe is a practising Family Doctor based in Waterford City. Mark graduated from U.C.D. Medical School in 1991 and went on to specialise in family practice and became a qualified member of the Irish College of General Practitioners in 1995 achieving the first place ‘Ellerd Eppel’ award.

His current research interest is in the area of 'generative space', which means that by providing inspiring surroundings in the primary healthcare setting you can enhance the esteem and feel good factor of both patients and staff with resultant long term health improvements. Dr. Rowe is a part of a worldwide research collaboration on 'Generative space' and is involved in ongoing research with the CARITAS project. The CARITAS Project is a non-profit organisation dedicated to pioneering the next generation of improvements in health and healthcare delivery through innovative design of the healthcare environment.He is a trainer with the South East G.P. Training Programme and Senior clinical lecturer with the University of Limerick Graduate Medical School.

Greg Tehven is a fifth generation North Dakotan. In college, he built Students Today Leaders Forever with three great friends. The primary program is the Pay It Forward Tour, a road trip for young people that has brought 26,000+ students across the United States to serve over 361,000 hours to folks in need. His current focus is on Emerging Prairie, an organization committed to celebrating and connecting the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Fargo, North Dakota. He is a national speaker, TEDx curator, and serves as an adjunct faculty member for Concordia College in their business school.

John Sweeney is a social entrepreneur and kindness coach from Cork, Ireland. He is the founder and Chief Kindness Officer of Suspended Coffees, the global social movement that has positively impacted and changed millions of lives around the world. No stranger to difficult times in his life, John’s mission is to change society one act of kindness at a time. “Everybody matters and deserves to be cared about,” says John. “No one should ever feel alone when one kind act – something as simple as a smile, a conversation or a cup of coffee – can change the course of their day and even their lives. John is an international Speaker, Kindness Coach, and Storyteller. He’s an expert in building social connections for Brands, and has grown his own Suspended Coffees Facebook page to more than a quarter-of-a-million fans with an average weekly post reach of 1.5 million.

I'm a mother of two teenage boys living in Melbourne, Australia. When I started Ripple Kindness Project, there were a few who doubted my mission, but not much can get in the way of a driven woman with passion, especially when it's about making the world a better place for our kids.

There's nothing extraordinary about my life, but as I've been living it, I've learned that it's kindness that gives me joy and helps me through the tough times. Realizing the immense power kindness has to transform our thoughts, feelings and actions, I researched and developed an on-going, whole school, heart-based kindness curriculum to help reduce bullying.

I've also found that giving is a powerful remedy that can greatly assist people suffering from loneliness, anxiety and depression.

Ripple's community project was born to provide resources, education, inspiration and support to those who want to embrace a kinder lifestyle but feel they need some direction. Countless feel good stories submitted by our community, encourage people to step outside their comfort zone and often provide ideas they may not have otherwise thought of.

We endeavour to widen the ripple with over 140,000 Ripple Kindness Cards now circulating the globe.

Liz Strauss is an engaging, intelligent, and profoundly relevant speaker, retreat producer, and business coach. She has built authority where personal development fuels business growth -- branding, community, content, and customer relationships. Liz leads by distilling complex (and seemingly disconnected) human business data into elegantly simple concepts and then helping leaders apply those concepts to focus in on the next best.steps to meet their goals,

​Liz Strauss speaks softly and carries a lot of street cred. Recognition by Huffington Post as one of The Top Ten Influencers Alive (next to Oprah and Warren Buffet) and further recognition as an accomplished social marketer by The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and others.has made Liz a sought after executive coach, team trainer, and keynote speaker.

Liz learned leadership early. At 10, a first grade teacher asked Liz to be a teaching assistant. By 17, Liz had gone from assisting to teaching the whole class. In college Liz majored in Education. Senior year, when Liz presented her honors thesis, the Dean of the School of Education introduced Liz by saying, "I've met five master teachers. This is one." Liz loved teaching, but needed to do more. So she moved to educational publishing, building products for students from pre-K to graduate school at MIT and working with C-suite publishers on four continents..

Megan is the editor-in-chief of TheMighty.com, a startup website that launched in April 2014 and is devoted to telling stories of people facing disability, disease and chronic illness. To date, more than 60 million readers have visited The Mighty, where we focus on positive storytelling with a mission to help the people we write about. Previously, Megan was the editor of The Huffington Post's Good News section, a vertical that shares stories of kindness and inspiration. She's a graduate of Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication where she majored in magazine journalism and creative writing. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her 4-year-old labradoodle, Thurman.

Hugely respected and experienced within the charitable sector, Mike is the Founder of the Rainmaker Foundation, an exceptional community of individuals who are committed to make the world a better place for all. Rainmakers use their collective resources, funds, contacts and expertise to help charities and drive greater social impact.
He is also the author of the new book ‘Our Generous Gene’ to be published in October 2015.
Mike co-founded the successful children’s charity Whizz-Kidz, which provides mobility equipment and advice for disabled children. In the last 25 years the charity has raised over £100 million to help more than 20,000 children and young people.

Mike has advised numerous philanthropists and businesses on their charitable giving, and how to give money away effectively.

He has given many talks, including two TedX events and his inspirational story of being goaded into running the London Marathon during a Christmas party has inspired many of those who’ve heard him to commit acts of generosity that are both life changing and make a real difference to the lives of others.

Mike is married with two children and lives in West London. He has run six marathons, led several treks and recently completed a 100 mile bike road race.

Molly is a transformation expert. Her nonprofit, WWDF, provides women with cars in order to help transition them from a life on welfare to one of independence. But the car is a tool; the woman herself is the vehicle for changing her life. Having been a former single mother on welfare, Molly created WWDF to help identify and mobilize women who want to become themselves.

Orly Wahba is an educator, entrepreneur, and community activist passionate about inspiring and motivating people to make the world a kinder place. In 2011, Orly founded Life Vest Inside, a non-profit organization with a mission to empower and unite the world with kindness. Through Life Vest Inside, Orly encourages people to embrace the incredible power of giving and recognize that in times of hardship, kindness, like a life vest, keeps the world afloat.

LVI gained international acclaim when Orly’s award-winning film Kindness Boomerang went viral, receiving over 30 million views and counting and eventually landing her a spot to speak at TED2013 on the magic of kindness.

Orly began her career in kindness as a Middle School educator empowering children to embrace unity, build their self-value, and use their power to influence the world for good. As her kindness community grows by the thousands, more people are experiencing the addictiveness in the giving of kindness.

Paul Newnham is an evocative leader who brings out the ideas and creativity in all he meets. Travelling the world for most of his life, he has engaged people from very diverse backgrounds.

Paul has a Bachelor of Arts majoring in History and Indigenous Studies, a Bachelor of Theology and a Masters in International Development. Following time in the Australian Army, Paul worked as Youth Pastor and Events Manager. He then joined World Vision Australia where he spent eight years working in various roles with churches and youth. As the Youth Segment Manager, he developed and executed a new approach to youth engagement.

Most recently Paul has led the World Vision New Zealand Public Engagement team. In this general management role Paul’s passion for youth continued, before moving to work as the World Vision International Global Youth Engagement Director. In this role Paul is working across borders to bring youth together and provide positive change to children. He relocated to Houston in the USA, working closely with the Latin American regional team in accelerating their youth mobilisation efforts. Most recently, Paul has been one of the key leaders driving a global collaboration to forge a new approach to tackling hunger with a focus on youth and general livelihood’s in East Africa. This is emerging to be an exciting approach, seeking to bridge the divide between programing and mobilisation. Check it out at www.hungerfree.org

Paul has travelled extensively, visiting almost half of the world’s countries. He has lived in the developing world for extensive periods, including time in Latin America, Africa and Asia. He is married to his high school sweetheart, and is the proud father of four adventuring children.

Together with his wife Keren, Paul writes about life’s challenges, adventures and opportunities at www.thisonedayislife.com

RICH SPECHT is a father of four who holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Mary Washington and a master’s degree in liberal studies from Stony Brook University. Prior to embarking on his career as a public speaker and advocate for kindness, Rich was a science teacher for 15 years at Great Hollow Middle School, in Nesconset, New York. In addition to his speaking, Rich is also the published author of the award winning children’s book "A Little Rees Specht Cultivates Kindness." Rich and his wife, Samantha, are the co-founders of the ReesSpecht Life Foundation which they formed in the wake of the loss of their only son, Richard Edwin-Ehmer (Rees) Specht at 22 months old. The acts of kindness that the family received after Rees’ passing inspired them to “pay forward” that kindness; which the foundation does in the form of scholarships for High School seniors who demonstrate a commitment to their community, compassion and respect, as well as the distribution of almost a quarter of a million ReesSpecht Life “pay it forward” cards. The themes and characters from Rich’s book(s) are currently slated to become an animated children’s television series produced by Safier Entertainment. The book and television adaptations of A Little Rees Specht Cultivates Kindness represents the culmination of Rich’s goal to help make this world a little better, one Rees’ piece at a time. Rich currently resides in Sound Beach, New York with his wife, Samantha, daughters, Abigail, Lorilei and Melina as well as his angel above, Rees.

Award winning Twitter expert, Founder of Irishbizparty and Womens inspire network. Speaker

Shari is one of the founding partners of www.TheWellnessUniverse.com, an online platform that features individuals who are here to make a positive global impact on the planet. Shari is Vice President and Chief Inspirational Officer of Soul Ventures, Inc., a company focused on being a catalyst for positive change in the world. She is presently working on several other world-changing projects with partner, Anna Pereira, CEO of Soul Ventures, Inc.

Motivated by her own healing from childhood trauma, Shari devotes her life to inspiring others through different mediums that she is passionate about. She is an inspirational speaker, published author, and video blogger. Shari inspires over 85k people daily on her Facebook page, her website (www.SharingWithShari.com), youtube channel, and can often be heard on mountaintops passionately speaking to the world or really, whomever will listen. Shari presently lives in Los Angeles with her boyfriend and their cats, Hershey and Piper. It is Shari’s mission to help rebuild what some call “broken” spirits by being the catalyst to help reignite the light each of us have burning within us.