Host
Valerie Smaldone is a 5-time Billboard Magazine Award winner and well known for her unprecedented success holding the #1 on-air position in the New York radio market. She has hosted, produced and created several nationally syndicated programs featuring in-depth interviews with top recording artists such as Elton John and Mariah Carey. She is an accomplished interviewer, always interested in procuring each individual’s unique story. Valerie has also been the “Voice” for numerous prestigious live events, e.g. The Clinton Global Initiative, The Emmy Awards, The Tony Preview Concert on CBS and many more. She is a sought after motivational speaker, and calling on her years of speaking experience, coaches individuals on their presentational skills. Additionally, she consults companies and experts on their brand strategy. Valerie is proud to be able to help others accomplish their personal goals.
Speakers
Adam Rockefeller Growald is an investor, philosopher and philanthropist whose dream for the world is that all might experience life as a precious and wonderful gift. He is committed to creating a joyful, spiritually connected world in which individuals are empowered, communities are connected, and ecosystems are balanced and thriving. As a 5th-generation descendant of business magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Sr., Adam comes from a lineage—on both sides of his family—that valued both enterprise and giving back. After Adam received his BA in Philosophy from Princeton University, he focused on synthesizing insights from traditions of East and West, addressing a deep curiosity about the workings of the universe and our relationship to it. Having worked in the past as a management and brand strategy consultant at Bain and Lippincott, Adam now applies philosophical insight to his investing, board service, and advisory work. Currently, he serves on the boards of the Rockefeller Family Fund, the Growald Family Fund, and the National Center for Family Philanthropy. Adam is a member of the NEXUS Global Youth Summit and the Global Philanthropists Circle of Synergos, is a Director of Eleusis, and is an Advisor to Thankful.org and FullCycle.
Stephen Kennedy Smith, three-time recipient of the Danforth Award, is now the principal at Park Agency – Joseph P. Kennedy Enterprises, the Kennedy family office and the editor of JFK- a Vision for America. Stephen lectures at the Sloan school of Management in the visionary investing program and is a fellow at the Connection Science Group at MIT. He is currently involved as a board member, advisory board member or partner in a number of health care and technology businesses, including Locomobi transportation, The Marwood Group- a healthcare-focused strategic advisory firm; Pear Therapeutics, a digital health care company, Resolute Bio, and New Frontier Bio. His current investment and business focus is scaling innovative healthcare and neuroscience companies. Stephen is a board member of the John F. Kennedy Library, and The Joseph P Kennedy Foundation. He was Deputy Campaign Manager for Senator Edward Kennedy during his Presidential and Senatorial campaigns and continues to be active in Democratic politics. Today, Stephen Smith is the cofounder and vice president of the World Leadership Alliance, an organization of business and political leaders that promotes democracy, international understanding and trade.

The California spirit is deeply rooted in Heidi Kuhn, as her pioneer family from the 1850’s taught her respect for the land and its people. The stewardship of the Earth is violated when landmines are planted, and the land is held hostage for future generations. Inspired by the peace movement on her campus at U.C. Berkeley during the 1970’s, she majored in Political Economics and set forth her footsteps for peace. Bridging borders from Alaska, Heidi was a CNN producer/reporter on the melting of the ‘ice curtain’ between US/Soviet Relations. In the midst of her career in journalism, while raising three children, Heidi was diagnosed with cancer. In 1997, she realized that ‘Cancer was a landmine, and landmines were a cancer to the Earth,’ and made a prophetic toast that the world may go from ‘MINES TO VINES’–replacing the scourge of landmines with bountiful vineyards and orchards worldwide. From the basement of her family home, she reached out to Napa Valley vintners to support her vision, which grew to the United Nations, World Bank, and international governments and leaders. For the past two decades, with support from her family, Heidi has truly planted the Roots of Peace on Earth.



Dr. Shruti Nada Poddar or Saudaryaambika is a Globally recognized Nada (Vibrational) Healer, a Musician, Educationist and Mentor, a Cultural Exponent and Teacher of Indian Wisdom and Intangible Heritage, a Poet, a Heritage Conservationist and Entrepreneur. Dr. Shruti is Pioneer of the “Nada Vibronics” a Wellness Ecosystem, which uses various firms of Nada Yoga and Indic Vibrational technologies to heal and empower people Worldwide. She was awarded the Delhi Ratna Award in 2003 for her pioneering work with Spiritual healing sound and music, followed by an NRI award for enhancing international cultural relations. Dr. Poddar was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate in December 2017 for her Global Contributions in Education and Wellness. As a Global Educationist she has conducted Mentoring workshops for thousands of teachers, administrators and students in India and abroad.
Colborn Bell is a Founder of the 5th Element Group PBC and Director of the SDG Impact Fund, whose vision is to help create a new socio-economic era that closes historic gaps in last mile inclusion and engages the “bottom billion” to take true quantum leaps for humanity, prosperity and the planet through integrating the most innovative blockchain and smart contract technologies into new impact capital vehicles and products. He is the Founder and Managing Principal of Finite Square Well, a pioneering crypto-assets management and services company that develops and executes investment strategies for select private families and UHNW individuals seeking intelligent access to the rapidly emerging, global capital paradigm shift in crypto and digital assets. Highly respected among some of the world’s most influential families, Colborn also leads the US-based private family office for a prominent Middle Eastern family managing investments in green energy, education, hospitality, aviation, real estate and art and specializes in enabling tech and innovation focused companies develop or expand their Middle Eastern presence. Prior, he was with Abacus Wealth Partners leading daily trading of over 1000 client accounts with $1B+ AUM. He previously worked with UNCDF and began his career in investment banking with Laidlaw and Co allocating PIPE deals for Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and eHarmony.



As CEO of Fit Reisen, the number 1 operator in Germany for health and wellness trips, Claudia Wagner is responsible for product management, product development and consulting based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. After graduating in business tourism management, Claudia started her career in 1982 at Fit Reisen and actively shaped the companies success story. She introduced a reservations system in 1986 and expanded globally in 1992 to include Ayurvedic treatments from Sri Lanka and India. Being convinced of holistic healing methods, she implemented TCM in their health packages in 1995. With great knowledge and expertise in this area, she continues to expand the product range of Fit Reisen. On top of that, she consults hotels about the composition of attractive arrangements. Together with her CEO colleagues Jan Seifried and Dr. Nils Asmussen, who both took over the company in 2009, she shaped Fit Reisen to become the leading tour operator in the growing health tourism market. Even during her free time, Claudia is fascinated by topics such as fitness, nutrition, Yoga, Qi Gong, Jin Shin Jyutsu and alternative healing methods.


Diana is one of the original pioneers of the raw food movement, an award winning author, motivational speaker, leading raw food chef, health and wellness educator as well as an expert spokesperson for alternative healing. She has coached over 1,000 people back to good health. Diana has created many successful products in health and wellness, and currently has turned her energies toward an international endeavor, The Retreat Costa Rica, a lifestyle hotel that opened May 2015 and already dubbed “Best wellness Spa in the Americas”. Diana is also the creator and lead formulator of the Truth Bar, an innovative probiotic/prebiotic bar and is passionately involved with every part of its development. She currently splits her time between Southern California and Costa Rica.


Julie founded Wellness for Cancer to improve the quality of life for people touched by cancer. The charity focuses on minimizing the side effects on skin and body, caused by cancer therapy, as well as increasing people’s mental wellbeing during that journey. Julie is recognized for building a global bridge between medical experts and wellness professionals, serving as a thought leader within the Global Wellness Institute with the objective of establishing evidence-based guidelines. She has provided consulting and cancer-focused training for thousands of staff members of spas, hospitals and not-for profits throughout the United States, Europe, Mexico, Canada, and India. Julie holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Harvard University.

Euphoria Retreat is the vision of founder Marina Efraimoglou, who after following a personal path of inner development, sought to create a special healing retreat. Having a successful career in the financial sector, Marina Efraimoglou was awarded with the Kouros Award for Growth and Innovation, in recognition of her role as the only woman major shareholder, acting as President and co-Managing director of a bank. For the last 14 years, Marina Efraimoglou has shifted her attention from the financial world into the worlds of wellbeing, holistic medicine and self-actualization. She is committed to leading a holistic and spiritual life, has studied in depth with very well-known pioneers in the field including Deepak Chopra, and travelled all over the world sourcing knowledge and experience in its most authentic form. Marina has created her own line of workshops which she has led for the past five years and recently brought into the corporate world. Today, Marina Efraimoglou has chosen to bridge her entrepreneurial background with her holistic and socially responsible approach to life, supporting and nurturing entrepreneurial initiatives from small and young entrepreneurs.
Nimisha Rattan is a Wellness Professional and an experienced practitioner of Alternate Therapies based in India. Through her consultations she tries to help people reach that spot of perfect health by guiding people to experience physical healing, emotional freedom, mental expansion and higher state of consciousness. She is a skillful teacher, who loves to conduct classes based on her own experience with different modules of Healing Yoga, Dynamic Meditations, Ayurveda Lifestyle and Bio field or Energy Medicine. On top of that, Nimisha Rattan is the founder of Bliss Body, which is a Holistic Wellness Academy that works on the Positive – Psychology of Wellbeing. It designs programs and courses for individuals, groups and organizations, helping them to rediscover health and happiness in their lives. Based on the age old Indian Traditional ways of holistic living, Bliss Body is a healthy approach to restore and harmonize the different aspects of a human being and to encourage wellness-oriented life style choices, promoting “Self-Healing Through Self Awareness”.


Marjorie Hines Woollacott, PhD, has been a neuroscience professor at the University of Oregon for more than three decades and a meditator for almost four. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation; Marjorie has authored the book: Infinite Awareness: The Awakening of a Scientific Mind, exploring scientific studies which offer evidence that consciousness functions beyond the mind. She has also co-authored a popular textbook for health professionals and has written more than 180 peer-reviewed research articles — several of which were on meditation, the topic that motivated her to write her latest book.


Claudia Roth is the Founder & Managing Director of Soul Luxury (soul-luxury.com), a company dedicated to providing new ways for lifestyle brands to connect with consumers. In the midst of a successful career in the high profile world of luxury hospitality, Claudia arrived at a turning point in her life. An unexpected, yet welcome, transformation brought with it the realization that others, too, were longing for a more spiritually holistic lifestyle. She sensed that, knowingly or not, many were getting ready to look beyond the purely materialistic world. Within the framework of Soul Luxury, Claudia Roth uses her business acumen as well as a more soulful intelligence to create innovative and commercially successful business solutions. The company helps business leaders and lifestyle brands connect with consumers’ desire for a deeper sense of fulfilment than that which chasing after status symbols can offer. She is passionate about combining the worlds of business and spirituality helping to bring about a paradigm shift in society. Claudia is also one of the co-founders of the HEALING SUMMIT and is a popular speaker at events relating to hospitality, healing and transformation.

Anne Biging grew up in post war Germany and thus developed from early on a strong sense that healing can indeed happen and that life should not be filled with fear and depression. Naturally curious and with the consciousness that there is more in this world that meets the eye, Anne learned about health and well-being through the study of yoga, meditation, ancient Indian scriptures and several healing techniques.
After traveling the world as a journalist and book author, she successfully established her career in international tourism destination marketing and hotel consulting and is now the co-founder of Healing Hotels of the World and the HEALING SUMMIT. Healing Hotels of the World is the only global quality brand uniting the best and most advanced hotels and resorts in the field of holistic health under one umbrella. The brand is also at the forefront of supporting the global paradigm shift towards a soulful economy through organizing the HEALING SUMMIT.
Elisabeth Ixmeier is co-founder of Healing Hotels of the World, an exclusive global partnership of hotels, resorts and retreats offering holistic health and wellbeing in luxury surroundings. In founding Healing Hotels of the World Elisabeth combines her experience in tourism marketing with her enthusiasm for personal development and healing. Elisabeth has a PhD in philosophy and art history. Since more than 30 years she is practising the philosophy of Yoga and meditation. Before creating Healing Hotels of the World she has been a managing director at an international tourism marketing organisation. With her interest in philosophy and the art of living of western as well as eastern cultures and her international experience in holistic health she is a demanded speaker on holistic health topics and its implementation in the hotel industry internationally.