Category: Speakers Bio

GRACE RAMIREZ IS NOT YOUR AVERAGE CHEF.

 Miami-born, Venezuela-raised, Chef Grace has lived all over the world – her travels have inspired her cooking, passions and philanthropic efforts. In addition to her venture with Zacapa Rum, as the World Wide Ambassador, Chef Grace works with World Central Kitchen, a chef relief team, helping them provide people in need with meals during difficult times. In 2017, she got on the first flight to Puerto Rico to help with Hurricane Maria relief, and shortly after traveled to the Bahamas to assist in cooking 10,000 meals a day after Hurricane Dorian hit. Passionate about the work they do, Chef Grace then became a volunteer and consultant for World Central Kitchen’s operation in Venezuela and to this day, she continues to work with the organization. During the COVID-19 pandemic, over 100,000 meals were distributed daily to frontline workers in New York, and people in need, across the five boroughs.  Throughout this initiative, the organization has helped prevent over 250 restaurants in NY from closing due to the pandemic, and over 8.5 million meals have been delivered up-to-date. Thanks to these efforts The City of New York, has recognized Chef Grace Ramirez, as a Covid-19 hero.

In addition to World Central Kitchen, Chef Grace’s philanthropic efforts include working with The Horticultural Society of New York, Wellness in the Schools, Healthier Generation, New Zealand’s Garden to Table, Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, Woman Kind, and more. In 2018, she was the recipient of the Distinguished Latina Star Award by the Puerto Rican Bar Association for her hurricane relief efforts. Chef Grace was also featured in Cherrybombe’s 100, celebrating the most influential women in the hospitality industry. 

 Currently, Chef Grace shares her love of the entire culinary process on Hogar de HGTV, an all-new network offering fresh, fun food and home content for Spanish-language audiences. As host of the hit series Destino con Sabor, Chef Grace immerses viewers in Latin America’s most exquisite dishes, from the traditional to the trendy. Chef Grace is also a judge on the all-new original series, Chef a Domicilio, which was entirely produced amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, Chef Grace hosts the Discovery en Español GO original short series, De Chuparse los Dedos, where she tours the United States in search of the most finger-licking food in the country. She has also appeared on multiple American cooking shows such as Beat Bobby Flay as a judge, Gooey, The Chew, The Dish on Oz, and more. 

Chef Grace’s start in the culinary industry began behind the scenes working for Food Network, where she produced and directed Throwdown with Bobby Flay. She was also a contestant on Masterchef USA, showing her impressive skills in the kitchen and as a result, earning a scholarship to the French Culinary Institute where she continued to hone her cooking skills.

Chef Grace is the author of two books, The Five Ingredient Electric Cooker Cookbook and La Latina. She currently resides in New York City. 

Jordan Sooter has been working as a Senior Manager II, Finance & Strategy at Walmart for 9 years. Walmart is part of the Department Stores, Shopping Centers & Superstores industry, and located in Arkansas, United States.

Named 1 of 13 People Magazine “Women Changing the World 2021”, Marisa Hamamoto is a stroke survivor living with PTSD, an invisible disability, speaker, dancer, and a proud 4th Generation Japanese American. After feeling like the “other” throughout her life through anti-Asian discrimination, body shaming, rejection as a dancer, sexual assault by a dance teacher, and stroke, Marisa developed deep empathy towards those who are excluded. This eventually led her to find Infinite Flow in 2015. Since 2015, Marisa has led Infinite Flow’s dancers to perform at over 140 events, from school assemblies to corporate events with Apple, Facebook, Red Bull, Porsche, Farmer’s Insurance, International Monetary Fund, Kaiser Permanente, among others.  Her videos have been viewed by over 75 Million people on Facebook alone with Sheryl Sandberg and George Takei being amongst the public figures that have shared her work, and she has been featured on NBC Today, ABC Good Morning America, among other media outlets. Marisa and wheelchair dancer Piotr Iwanicki made history becoming the first dancers to perform at Apple’s Steve Jobs Theater with CEO Tim Cook in the audience.  She was also a fellow within the Red Bull Amaphiko and Facebook Community Leadership Program and was named 1 of 13 People Magazine Women Changing the World 2021, InStyle Magazine Badass 50 2021, and 1 of 9 women leaders “reimagining sport” for adidas International Women’s Day Campaign 2020.  Most recently during the 2020 pandemic, Marisa was featured on Marie TV / Marie Forleo Podcast, and along with Infinite Flow, launched Scoops of Inclusion, a 47 min short film celebrating diversity and empowering kids to take an active role in creating a more inclusive world where we each feel we belong. Marisa is a leader, artist, and speaker on the rise looking to empower people through dance and storytelling, to think outside the box, disable bias, build new connections, and create breakthrough innovations.

Scarlett Lewis founded the nonprofit Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement in honor of her son, Jesse, who was murdered during the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy in December 2012. Shortly after his death, Scarlett decided to be part of the solution to the issues that we’re seeing in our society — that also caused the tragedy — and turned it into an opportunity to build a culture of love, resilience, forgiveness, and connection in our communities at a time when it is needed the most.

Scarlett became an advocate for social and emotional learning (SEL) and character development to help children manage their emotions, feel connected, and have healthy, meaningful relationships. She created the Choose Love For Schools program, a no cost, comprehensive, lifespan, next generation character and social emotional development (CSED) program that teaches children how to thoughtfully respond with love in any situation by using the Choose Love Formula (Courage + Gratitude + Forgiveness + Compassion-in-Action), and offer ways for children to handle adversity, have courageous conversations, and to respond with love. Choose Love extends beyond the classroom through additional no-cost programs, including programs for the home, communities, athletics, and the workplace. In addition, the movement offers Choose Love C.A.R.E.S. (Cultivating Authentic Relationships in the Education System) and Experiential Educator Wellness Workshops for school leaders and educators, and multiple extension programs. The Choose Love programs have been accessed in all 50 states and in more than 120 countries, reaching 3 million children.

Scarlett Lewis is the author of Nurturing Healing Love: A Mother’s Journey of Hope & Forgiveness, a memoir of her journey toward choosing love and forgiveness; From Sandy Hook to the World: How the Choose Love Movement Transforms Lives, an in-depth look at how Scarlett founded the Movement and its impact around the world today; and Rose’s Foal, a children’s book, with photographs by Scarlett Lewis, that tells the poignant story of a beloved horse and her newborn foal.

Since the tragedy, Scarlett has spoken across the U.S. and internationally to diverse audiences sharing her empowering story and the organization’s far-reaching programs, urging everyone to become part of the solution to the issues the world is facing. Scarlett has spoken at multiple national, statewide, and community-based events including hundreds of talks at schools, addressing educators and administrators.

In 2022, Scarlett was named to Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2022 Bloomberg 50, and was a featured speaker at the New York Times DealBook Summit 2022 alongside many of our world leaders, CEOs of businesses and emerging leaders. In 2021, Scarlett was named a Forbes 50 over 50 Impact Honoree, one of 50 women leading the way with impact and changing their communities and the world in ways big and small through social entrepreneurship, law, advocacy and education.

Scott is the Chief Executive Officer of The SHINE Hope Company. He was previously the founder and former CEO of Enjoy Life Foods (www.enjoylifefoods.com) (2001-2016), a company dedicated to developing, manufacturing, and marketing great-tasting gluten-free and allergy-friendly food products. In addition to starting Enjoy Life, Scott effectively created an entire category, which is now known as “Free From,” through thought leadership, education, and certification standards. Scott advised in the creation of the gluten-free certification organization (GFCO), the largest gluten-free certification program in the world.  Enjoy Life became the first company to have its facility and products certified by the GFCO.  In February 2015, Enjoy Life Foods was acquired by Mondelēz International, Inc. Scott was named by Food Processing magazine in 2016 as one of five company leaders who are “revolutionizing Big Food.” He was named as an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award Winner in 2015, was the Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) Chicago Gala Honoree in 2014, was named to the Crain’s Chicago Business “40 Under 40” list in 2008, and was inducted into the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame in 2006.

Kristy is a Behavioral Scientist, licensed K-12 Administrator, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Consultant, and Entrepreneur. Kristy has served as the Clinical Director of a non-profit organization for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, and as a consultant to state mental health agencies and university teaching centers.

Kristy was an instructor in Clinical Psychology at the University of Michigan and is now adjunct faculty in PA. Kristy holds an Ed.M. in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University, where she co-founded an education technology start-up at the Harvard Innovation Lab. She has served as a board member on the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Innovation and Ventures in Education Organization, and on the leadership team for the Behavioral Insights Student Group at the Harvard Kennedy School. She additionally holds an M.A. from U of M and a B.A. from OSU.

Kristy has presented her work at Harvard University, the University of Michigan, and the United Nations headquarters in NY. She has spoken internationally on child development, mental health, and behavioral insights and design. Kristy is passionate about disseminating evidence-based, prevention-focused programs for children and families.

Clinical Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University and Director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, Stanford University

James Doty, MD, is a clinical professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Stanford University and the director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University School of Medicine. He completed his undergraduate education at the University of CA, Irvine and medical school at Tulane University. He trained in neurosurgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and completed fellowships in pediatric neurosurgery at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia (CHOP) and in neuroelectrophysiology focused on the use of evoked potentials to assess the integrity of neurological function. His more recent research interests have focused on the development of technologies using focused beams of radiation in conjunction with robotics and image-guidance techniques to treat solid tumors and other pathologies in the brain and spinal cord. He spent 9 years on active duty service in the U.S. Army Medical Corp.

As director of CCARE, Dr. Doty has collaborated on a number of research projects focused on compassion and altruism including the use of neuro-economic models to assess altruism, use of the CCARE-developed compassion cultivation training in individuals and its effect, assessment of compassionate and altruistic judgment utilizing implanted brain electrodes and the use of optogenetic techniques to assess nurturing pathways in rodents. Presently, he is developing collaborative research projects to assess the effect of compassion training on immunologic and other physiologic determinates of health, the use of mentoring as a method of instilling compassion in students and the use of compassion training to decrease pain.

Dr. Doty is also an inventor, entrepreneur and philanthropist having given support to a number of charitable organizations including Children as the Peacemakers, Global Healing, the Pachamama Alliance and Family & Children Services of Silicon Valley. These charities support a variety of programs throughout the world including those for HIV/AIDS support, blood banks, medical care in third world countries and peace initiatives. Additionally, he has endowed chairs at major universities including Stanford University and his alma mater, Tulane University. He is on the Board of Directors of a number of non-profit foundations including the Dalai Lama Foundation, of which he is chairman and the Charter for Compassion International of which he is vice-chair. He is also on the International Advisory Board of the Council for the Parliament of the World’s Religions.

Dr. Doty also writes for The Huffington Post. He is the author of Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart (Penguin, 2016).

Dr. Bryce is the Associate Dean of Student Affairs and associate professor of medical education for the School of Medicine at the University of Texas at Tyler. Dr. Bryce has worked with multiple community partners in integrating hope in their organizations by helping to implement survey and data collection guided by the needs of those partners. She has extensive experience conducting and publishing research that focuses on individual and contextual factors that influence well-being, hope, and academic outcomes, and advanced statistical approaches to examining salivary biomarkers.

Myron is Professor of Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry, Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, and Senior Associate in Psychiatry at the Children’s Hospital of Boston. Dr. Belfer is a child and adolescent psychiatrist. He is on the Affiliated Faculty of the Harvard Center for the Developing Child.

He received an MPA from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He served as Special Assistant to the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, US Department of Health and Welfare. Dr. Belfer is former Senior Adviser in the Department of Mental Disorders and Substance Abuse at the World Health Organization in Geneva where he led the child mental health program from 2000 to 2005. In that capacity he was instrumental in supporting a number of global child mental health initiatives.

He is past-President of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP). He co-directs the Children’s Hospital Boston Global Child Mental Health Observership Program and directed for the Harvard Center on the Developing Child a comprehensive child mental health needs assessment in schools in Shanghai with Chinese colleagues. He was a consultant to the Temasek Foundation (Singapore) project on child mental health capacity building for disaster response in Indonesia.

His current interests are in global child mental health policy and building school mental health capacity. As a clinician he worked closely with plastic and reconstructive surgeons on understanding the development of body image in children.