HATCH Panama 2016 Attendees

Pradiip is an Astrophysicist and a Social Entrepreneur. He has served as Science Contributor at IQ Latino, World Humanitarian Summit Project Assistant at the United Nations, Co-Founder of the Ebola Challenge, and Host of TEDxFSU. As a finalist of the Rising Star Programme, Pradiip almost became the 1st Venezuelan Astronaut and one of the youngest persons to fly to outer space. He has been named the World’s 2nd Most Stylish Scientist, one of Venezuela’s 40 Most Successful People, and received an award by NASA for his keynote speech "The Power of Collaboration" at Kennedy Space Center.

Pamela is currently a Farm to Table Kalu Yala student. She is beginning a journey of exploration in the search for a sustainable food system. Pam loves conversations on making humanity thrive, exploration of the mind and anything wacky.

I am a 24 year old Panamanian photographer, writer, adventure enthusiast and cultural engineer. I was born and raised in Panama City and left at 16 to get the IB Diploma in Marymount International School of London.
In 2011, I came up with the word "PTYOLOGY" and started a blog about my perspective of Panama, which now has more than 8 thousand followers.
Graduated in 2013 from Loyola University New Orleans with a degree in Communications and a minor in Graphic Design.
In March 2016, I will begin working as a cultural engineer for EDIFYCA, an urbanism developer company in Panama.

Maria Teresa is the CEO of J Walter Thompson Company in Mexico, the controlling firm in Mexico of J. Walter Thompson, Colloquial and Mirum -the new global agency that brings together 11 digital agencies spanning 17 countries and 40 offices. She is responsible for the company’s business growth and the further development of the services offered by the Group.  Mariate, as commonly known, is the founder and CEO of Clarus, now Mirum, and one of the leading marketing companies in Mexico. She is a mentor at Endeavor, Wayra and StartUp Mexico and a major contributor to the online industry in Mexico.

Designer and graduating Architect for the University of Panama. Co-founder of ESTUDIO REMOTO, a collective that share the dream of bring design and construction on/for/with remote communities. Interested in social work and sub-urban and rural phenomena and beings.

Jim is Product Chief at Prezi, one of the world's most innovative visual communications products. Before that, Product Director for the 45 million member Clubcard loyalty programme for the world's second largest retailer, Tesco. Other past gigs include Product Director at Say.So and SpectrumDNA, and EVP for Warner Bros. Online.

Author of "Word of Mouse: The New Age of Networked Media" and "Addictionary: Brave New Words"

Recent graduate of Cambridge University's Sustainability Leadership Programme -- emphasis on innovating methods to translate corporate sustainability into customer loyalty.

Argentinian woman living in Panama for the last 5 years, with a master degree in Communications and Management for Social Entities.
She has developed her own brand as a communication and project management consultant, advising several companies and NGOs.
As a social entrepreneur, she co-founded an educational project to develop leadership skills in young students.
She participated and organized many leadership and social entrepreneurship conferences around the world.
She is the curator of the Global Shapers Panama Hub for this period.
Also a passionate traveler and emerging artist.

Tara Baswani is a singer-songwriter, performer and creator. A recipient of the Herald Angel Award (Edinburgh Fringe), her work as a Cirque Du Soleil artist|cowriter has been featured on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Night Show with Conan O'Brian and she continues to collaborate, perform and develop talent for them, globally. Her solo music project, Quest (2105) premiered on Aux TV, CBC, NPR, KEXP and she was recently acknowledged for her humanitarian efforts at COP 21,Paris. In 2013, Tara co founded LembasWorks as a hub for innovative artistic and human development.

Ocean lover, CMO and proudly part of a innovative entrepreneurs pack called Wolftrip, who are developing an amazing adventure travel app for those who share the same passion as us. Graphic Designer and marketing coordinator at Urbe Desarrollo y Construcción. Passionate about photography and illustration.

Forrest is Co-founder of Palo Alto Neuroscience, developing advanced neurotech services to maximize mental performance, flow, well-being, and emotional regulation. He has over 60 academic papers, a book, and 7 patents in machine learning. His commercial work includes a custom chip for molecular mechanics, and a pharmacokinetics simulator. Most recently he was at Twitter as an Engineering Manager, and before that VP of Engineering at a search engine startup acquired by Twitter. He has a BS in Applied Mathematics, and is a former Visiting Scholar at Stanford.

A content creator for inspiring projects. Floridian transplant in Panama, Alice Beth has spent the last 4 years living in & writing about the isthmus. She teams up with people and places she finds inspiring to create awesome content that makes an impact. (Personally, she's into non-fiction books, surfing, modern applications of Buddhism, and that feeling you get when you step into the sunlight.) (....she also finds writing in 3rd person kind of awkward.)

Sami is from Bozeman, Montana and will be attending Quest University this fall. Prior to graduating, she did humanitarian work in India and Nicaragua. These experiences opened her eyes to a new facet of the world and inspired her to continue to expand her horizons. Currently she's in South America participating in various projects including sustainable farming in Ecuador and assisting a medical team in underserved areas of Boliva. Sami hopes to combine her passions for photography, feminism and environmental awareness to affect sustainable, positive change. She's honored to be a part of HATCH.

I am a lifestyle artist, farmer and entrepreneur who harvested my successful Silicon Valley design practice to relocate to Panama in search of a simpler and more sustainable way of life. On my permaculture-inspired farm in Chiriqui, I am crafting the LYN (Love Yourself Now) Lifestyle platform, cultivating meaningful creative experiences through interdisciplinary retreats, residencies, farming opportunities and educational programs that encourage experimental learning, inspired playfulness, the delight of discovery and creative exchanges between individuals, communities, cultures and the world.

Johnny Bosche is the founder of Conecta, a voice services provider for Call Centers, and Co-founder of Chargello, a mobile-device charging platform to be used at venues across industries. Passionate about the interdisciplinary romance between technology and philanthropy, and also develops platforms geared towards social impact. Fervently believes it is possible to change the world with an idea, and that there is no better execution than one driven by human warmth. TEDx'er, kiter, story teller.

George Bradt has led the revolution in how people start new jobs. He progressed through sales, marketing, and general management roles literally around the world at companies including Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, and J.D. Power’s Power Information Network spin off as chief executive. Now he is a Principal of CEO Connection and Chairman of the executive onboarding group PrimeGenesis. He is a graduate of Harvard and Wharton (MBA), author of five books on onboarding including The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan, a weekly online column for Forbes, and seven musical plays (book, lyrics & music).

After graduating with an B.A. in Interdisciplinary Arts, Avery moved to Argentina to start a Lemonade business. Since then her focus on marketing, art, travel and taste buds has led her to South Florida as a Beverage consultant and Artist. A combination of love for fresh locally sourced ingredients, environmental awareness and creativity are out to reinvent hospitality one experience at time.

Mark Brand is is one of Vancouver’s most recognized social entrepreneurs. Successfully operating eight businesses in the downtown area, he has become a prominent example of a new generation of leadership. This social entrepreneur is determined to breathe new life into the struggling and disjointed communities. He’s doing this by finding a balance between sound business practices and social justice, and founded the SavOnMeats meal token for food program bridging people who want to give and people who need the support. Brand has been recruited to speak on issues of social inclusion including integrating diverse communities, unconventional solutions to social issues, zero food wastage mandates, collaboration and partnerships, and food security. It is through his philanthropic efforts and love for his community that Brand has found a unique balance, proving that you can be successful in business while contributing to the betterment of your community.

Christopher Brand is a Creative Director in the advertising/branding space working in the San Francisco Bay Area for 12+ years. He has done work for large agencies like AKQA, small independent clients of his own and everything in between. In addition he is a returning instructor in the advertising school at Academy of Art University. He also spends a fair amount of time with photography and designing furniture, and personal time off has been spent on extensive cycling tours, including the entire length of New Zealand and from Norway to Italy. His work can be seen at cbrandcreative.com

Graduated from Loyola University New Orleans with a Public Relations Major and a Sociology Minor. Aurora currently works at United Way Panama as the Affinity Group and Community Engagement Coordinator.
Aurora is also a 200 RYT Yoga Alliance Certified Yoga Instructor. She teaches classes at studios, privates, workshops, and retreats. And is currently studying to become a Health Coach
Aurora loves to travel and explore new places, learn new things, connect with new people, spend time in nature, and cook.

For over 3 years Bennett has been in Nicaragua developing and implementing operational systems for the boutique hotel, Maderas Village. Having left his real estate career to seek out opportunities abroad, Maderas Village was a natural fit. Outside of day-to-day hotel life you can find him in a hammock overlooking the Pacific Ocean reading about the latest technologies and sketching out future ventures with friends. Currently, Bennett is Head of Operations and Special Projects at Maderas Village. He is also the Co-Founder of Maderas Labs, a technology company redefining hotel guest experience.

I fancy myself a visual story teller and I draw things for a living. I have been working in SF/Bay Area based video game companies for six years as an illustrator, animator and concept artist. I graduated LMU with a BA in Animation and a major in Classical Civilizations.

I like coffee, video games, bread loaf shaped animals, plants, crafting, Burning Man and my wonderful friends!

Designer and installer of Solar energy , Co -founder of TRUE SOURCE ENERGY INC . Responsible for the design , installation and development of solar energy projects and / or hybrid systems. Always it has in mind the development of self-sustaining for the present and future of our planet communities. ¡Be part of the solution!

Native Rhode Islander and University of Rhode Island Alum. Currently working in Panama as the systems planner for Kalu Yala Farms. Passionate about the outdoors as well as coaching youth lacrosse. Educated in environmental science, soil science, and GIS systems. Interested in how we can adapt to climate change and preserving our winters!

Virginia is a Social Entrepreneur passionate about economic empowerment of vulnerable communities in LAC. She has had work experience in the UN, Banking and in start-ups like KIVA. However, her goal remains to start the next big social enterprise so she is now focusing on launching 3 startups of her own: InnCube, Bank of Stuff and E-nable Panama.

Jake is in his second year as the Farm Manager at Kalu Yala. Since being there he has helped establish their young food forest that boasts 50+ different kinds of fruit. He is passionate about working with the land, growing the community, and living a life more aligned with nature rather than against it. Prior to coming to Kalu Yala, Jake was living on Oahu, HI where he got a B.S. in Environmental Studies from Chaminade University of Honolulu. He is originally from Cumberland, Rhode Island. -Go Pats!

Mexico City architect, and ecologist from Schumacher College, UK. My professional path has been to regenerate relationships to life and the systems we are immersed in. Founded Taller13 in 2001 to generate a dynamic transdisciplinary approach to process and project design. We develop architecture, design, urban and art projects that serve to inspire, inform and activate a better relationship to our living systems. Involved in lecturing and workshops all around, always looking for new potential life regenerating possibilities; water always at the crux of it all.

Marissa is a passionate and highly driven leader with over 12 years of experience in the field of finance. As Co-Founder of Capital Core Financial, Marissa helps her clients overcome their emotional limitations around money, and guides them towards a path to sustainable wealth. With a company goal to redirect one billion dollars from CRA towards the non-profit, Marissa is on a mission to help people implement charitable giving into their financial plan. Clean water projects in Ethiopia, and feeding the homeless in Vancouver are among the various projects that Marissa is personally involved in

Betty Chemier holds a BA in communication and an MA in International Studies from PKNU in South Korea. She has worked in various South American media outlets before moving to Asia, where her passion for anthropology led her to research social behaviours. She is a collaborator for Ethnographic Edge, a research project that uses big data to measure and predict geopolitic risks. She is also a Research Analyst for the global research platform Wikistrat. Betty is a co-founder of Wolftrip, a travel app focused on connecting adventure travelers with the same interests.

Min is a multicultural entrepreneur, software engineer, photography enthusiast and active volunteer. After working for many organizations and getting her Master of Software Engineering degree at Carnegie Mellon University, Min founded Alcenit Corporation in 2006 to provide IT advisory services to the leading companies and most influential government institutions in Panama. Since she became the chair of IEEE Women in Engineering Panama in 2014, this volunteer organization has received multiple worldwide awards for its work in promoting women in STEM fields.

Creative technology pioneer with a passion for human experience and technology. Over 20 years experience in software engineering, design, scaleable server technologies and business development. More recently he has turned his attention to multi-platform mobile, wearables, IoT and software. Tim and his team currently deliver world class design and technology to numerous startup and emerging companies as well as the Fortune 50 in a variety of industries.

Promoter of Entrepreneurship, by day. Cookie-Monster & Story- teller, by night.

Eliane is passionate about connection, nature, and personal growth. Born in Peru, moved to Miami at 16, Private Banker turned Traveler, renewable energy Business Developer in NYC, and today a Social Entrepreneur, Eliane has weaved a nurturing international network. Founder of Mingling Minds, a space to bring ideas to the surface. Co-Founder of Ecoaldeas Peru, implementing a model for sustainable rural development and productive rainforest conservation in the Amazon. Using ecotourism as a tool, intercultural exchange is facilitated in a space where locals and visitors connect, learn & grow.

I’m a free-spirited entrepreneur that focus on uncovering the functional, emotional and social circumstances that influence customers. Found that my most creativeness intersection is between my lifelong inspiring love for innovative technologies, psychology, music and aesthetics. Recently I joined an amazing team that in the making of creating a unique breed of hospitality product.

Cornell Coley, M.Ed. is a gifted, experienced drummer, dancer and teacher who draws upon the traditions of West and Central Africa, Cuba and Brazil. Also a trained HealthRHYTHMS drum circle facilitator, certified by the Drum Circle Facilitators Guild and active in arts education and in arts therapy. He teaches at the Hyde Square Task Force and Lesley University. Mr. Coley has won numerous local and national grants and awards. His solo interactive program "A Fascinating Rhythm” is popular throughout New England. He also directs his Afro-Latin jazz band "Afrika Gente."

1st American to have a one hour special on China's top entertainment network "Hunan TV".
1st Creative Director for Hunan TV, in association with one of the top producers for the country.
Vocal Coach on American Idol
Co-Star of E Television's television show 'Opening Act'
Chief Visionary of the Los Angeles based 'Vocal Corner Store', working with such artists as Jason Derulo, Zendaya, Aloe Blacc, David Duchovny, Omar Sy, America's Got Talent, X Factor, Jennifer Lopez, Terrence Howard, Jada Pinkett-Smith etc.
Nick is credited for vocal producing 4 hits for Nicki Minaj to arranging for Beyonce.

A builder who farms thoughts and advances conversations in the realm of experiential education. Originally from Floyds Knobs, Indiana, Max has been located in Panama for the last 5 years learning from thought leaders while developing the Kalu Yala Institute. Through experiential education we help to foster the dreams of people who come to learn from the process of building Kalu Yala's community. My proudest moments as a pioneer within the Kalu Yala community are centered around spearheading our move from Panama City to the Tres Brazos area and building relationships in the local community.

Having Founded the Valhalla Movement Foundation, Superhero Academy and WISDOM – Marc Angelo is a character dedicated to having an impact. Defining success in unconventional measures he has earned a living by applying the skills of entrepreneurship and marketing for a cause. Marc Angelo's thirst for exploring and the pursuit of new ideas and ways to growing the sustainability movement into a mainstream lifestyle is unquenchable.

Gloria Correa, DOM, world renowned Clairvoyant Healer and Medical Intuitive, gifted from birth, with the ability to see inside the body. Educated in holistic medicine with disciplines in Biotherapeutic homeopathy n drugless therapies. Focusing on individualized protocols she brings physical, spiritual and emotional healing from illness, hence restoring human beings to wholeness, shifting consciousness on a Global level.

Asturian emigrant in Panama. I own the PR firm Logos Comunicación.
I am part of several associations in Panama such as the Centro Asturiano de Panama, a place where Spanish emigrants from Asturies in Panama can come, join and share experiences and enjoy our culture, Panamanian Red Cross, and Peña Real Oviedo - Panamá, de first club of Real Oviedo supporters in the country.
In my 36 years of life I have had the luck of living in Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, Nicaragua and Panama, allowing me the opportunity to meet many people from very different cultures.
I love, as Nokia says, connecting people

Nigel Cummings is a New York born designer and student at Kalu Yala currently taking a break from his architectural studies at the Rhode Island School of Design. He is a firm believer that in order to truly innovate we must revisit and rethink our design principles and practices in order to allow ourselves to challenge the norms of society and design in order to truly allow ourselves to innovate.

Alex Cuthbert is the Sr. Director of User Experience at PicsArt, a global creative community with a powerful suite of mobile drawing, collage, photography, and camera apps. Previously he was the lead designer for Google Translate and worked on understanding and developing solutions for users in China, Japan, UK, India, & Brazil. He has a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley and degrees in Computer Science and Spanish from Dartmouth College.

Tim has been an actor for more than 30 years, playing myriad roles in TV, films, and theater. He is the recipient of Theatre World, Golden Satellite, GLAAD, Gracie, and Peabody Awards, and has been nominated for Emmy and SAG awards. He is perhaps best known for his roles in WINGS, PRIVATE PRACTICE, and THE SOPRANOS, and as the voice of Superman for the animated series. He is currently starring in MADAM SECRETARY on CBS and the YouTube web series THE DALY SHOW.

Tim is an activist in various political and social causes and uses his voice and stature to promote issues of public importance, s

Born in Costa Rica, raised in the US and educated in Europe, Stefani's diverse upbringing and ethnic background have led her to believe we are a product of where we have been, what we have seen but foremost by what we have learned. She has spent her life on the road, a global nomad, adventurer & avid collector of all things intriguing. It is this globetrotting wisdom & studies in art, architecture, fashion & industrial design which led her to build and create goods where functionality and sustainability meet attractive design.

In 2003, Jaime founded Net People International, the Latin American leader in the commercialization and development of Mobile App services.

Co-founder of EDIFYCA, a leading development company that creates communities to transform the quality of life of their residents/users, through cultural, social and economic activities.

Currently, Jaime is President of the Congress of New Urbanism of Panama, an NGO dedicated to the lobbying of positive changes in Panama's cities, through legislation, urban planning and sustainable development.

He is a 2-time Ironman and 17-time Ironman 70.3 finisher.

As an award-winning idea-maker, Chris is currently the Director of Ignition Factory at OMD, a group responsible for innovation across many of the agency's fortune 50 clients. His leadership and creativity have been leveraged for large and small organizations from Africa to Italy to his hometown of Detroit. Chris also hosts the Innovation Crush podcast series with over 700,000 subscribers around the globe; featuring the world's top innovators at the cross section of business and culture. Chris lives in LA, and is generally a pretty awesome guy.

Financial Planner. HATCH Executive Board.

Brigitte has been working with Kalu Yala for over 4 years now. She is extremely passionate about food, and started the Farm-to-Table Culinary Arts Program for the Kalu Yala Institute. She has recently transitioned from the Director position to an Executive Chef position, in hope to expand upon the culinary possibilities for Kalu Yala.

I´m an architect and planner, born and raised in Gamboa, where the Chagres River flows into the Panama Canal. After studying, living and working abroad for nearly 25 years, I returned to Panama to work in civil construction before starting my architectural practice- ENSITU. I am also VP of el Colegio de la Tierra, director of Junglewood Design, and co- founder of Estudio Remoto, focused on tropical architecture typically in, with and ultimately for remote communities. I currently live in Panama City with my wife Zoila and our two kids Lucia and Wilson.

Namibia is a strategic thought partner for conscious creatives. Born in Panama, based in NYC, she connects people, art, education, social justice. As facilitator and coach, she leads people on journeys of self un-covery. With over 11 years experience building capacity among leaders in politics, art and education, she co-founder ARTIS Love + Action, which supports trans-disciplinary collaboration and strengthens networks of dreamers and doers. She also coaches visionaries who want to turn their passions into a lifestyle through her company Libelula Visions LLC.

Yehuda Duenyas (also known as xxxy) is an experience designer, and is the Founder and CCO of Mindride LLC, an artist-driven company specializing in next-generation experiential entertainment. Bridging the gap between the physical and the virtual, Duenyas is a visionary artist who creates immersive encounters and interactive events, playful environments that sensuously evoke the mythic, the intimate, the ridiculous, and the sublime. His techniques emerge from his passion and experience working in the arenas of immersive theater, interactive technology, ride design, reality television, large-sca

I'm the Kalu Yala Agriculture Director. I am a permaculturalist, farmer, writer, and hotspitter who strives to inspire individuals and organize community. I believe that true community creates environment for people to discover their creative niches towards benefit to the greater community and the planet. Lets build!

A Los Angeles based VR filmmaker, with a background in theatre and film. Virtual reality has become my bridge between the two as well as a creative playground. I love all things regarding storytelling and am always ready to talk about: Game of Thrones, stories, and virtual reality.

In addition to independent VR content creation, I also do virtual reality at RYOT, write for UploadVR, and am co-founder of Women in Virtual Reality.

11 years of experience in social entrepreneurship. Executive Director of the Haime Foundation. Funding Curator & WEF Global Shaper, Cartagena HUB. Founder of ESCALA a Harvard Innovation Lab start-up that aims to provide accessible college education to low-income families in LATAM. International Studies Degree, University of Miami ‘05. Masters in Social Economy, Universidad de Barcelona ’12. MBA from Babson College Summa Cum Laude ‘14. VP & Board Member of Serena del Mar Foundation. Board Member of Bienal Internacional de Arte Cartagena. Involved in Macrolab - organic cosmetics family business.

Kea is an Outdoor Recreation student at the Kalu Yala institute and a recent graduate from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Creative Writing and Gender, Sexuality & Women's Studies. She is passionate about feminism, storytelling and the great outdoors, and is hoping to find creative ways to combine some of those interests. She is honored to be a part of the HATCH experience and excited to meet everyone!

Spanish architect, Master degree in Architecture and sustainable cities. After one-year scholarship in Venice, moved to Barcelona for two-year work experience and then to Seville where collaborated at international recognized offices. Established own office in 2003 combining research, teaching and professional practice. Has been awarded for some of her built projects and invited to hold conferences and workshops by different Universities in Spain, Italy, Portugal and Brazil. Has been in charge of curatorships at international architecture competitions, photography exhibitions and publications.

Anaximena is a journalist for one of the top selling newspapers in Panama, La Prensa.
She enjoys writting about entrepreneurs, innovators, artists, creators of their own destiny and basically anyone from different fields and backgrounds that feel very passionate about what they're doing. She believes its her mission in life to tell other people's stories, to make a change for good and have fun while you're at it.
She has a thirst for life and is a strong believer that memories and experience help shape a person.

I am currently a student at the Kalu Yala Institute in San Miguel, Panama, living in a community of impassioned young people who want to make a positive impact on our planet. Back home I am a student at the University of Oregon where I study the intersection of race, activism, and education. I have a passion for transformational school systems that challenge conventional notions of what it means to be "educated", and hope to found a Think Tank in the U.S. that creates holistic policy change grounded in social justice. Other passions include Lauryn Hill, fresh mangoes, and goats

Elysa has over 10 years of experience inventing toys, designing products, leading projects, and being an educator. Now specializing in creativity, arts, and innovation in education, she currently focuses on The Creative Nomad Project, where she partners with global organizations to foster creativity: work ranges from transforming Peruvian artisans into entrepreneurs to visioning the future of K12 education in rural Panama. Alongside that, she is designer-in-residence at Google where she helps teams establish human-centered processes and spearheads projects bridging Google’s technical skills with social impact organizations. Previously, she worked at IDEO where she developed the Design Thinking for Educators platform (www.designthinkingforeducators.com). Elysa teaches courses at the Stanford d.school and works with Catapult Ideas bringing design and entreprenuership to high schoolers. She is a creative ninja by day, artist by night: check out her current projects @ goodguild.com and thecreativenomadproject.com

Capoeira master, physical education teacher and master student in neuroscience of exercise, researches on physical exercise and learning. He is a Alumni of the Latin American School for Education, Cognitive and Neural Sciences (LASchool). He has taught Capoeira for over twenty years. In 2005, founded the Capoeira Cidadã, a NGO that utilizes this Brazilian art-form as a tool for education and social inclusion, in the community of Cidade de Deus in Rio de Janeiro. His work for social inclusion, education and safeguard of Brazilian intangible heritage, received several national and state awards.

Sergio Fernandez de Cordova, Co-founder and visionary behind P3 Global Management, P3GM & PVBLIC Foundation. For P3GM he leads the global development and policy work behind structuring Public Private Partnerships (PPP) around smart infrastructure with local, state and federal governments. As acting Chairman of PVBLIC he leads the foundations engagement with the White House, United Nations and hosts the Media For Social Impact Summit in partnership with UNOP, where C-Level executives convene to inspire each other on how media can change the world one campaign at a time.

Michelle Finizio is a founding member of XRC Labs, a NYC-based retail tech and consumer product startup accelerator. Prior to XRC Labs, Michelle was a marketer at Deloitte for Fortune 500 consumer product brands while consulting with various startups within the NYC entrepreneurial community. When she is not doing hobbies like snowboarding and waterskiing or volunteering for Experience Camps, a camp for grieving children, Michelle is working on her newest project, FUSE, a network of industry leaders designed to help member navigate through challenges using the collective intelligence of others.

Director of Government Coordination at Kalu Yala. Former Deputy Director at United Nations Regional Development Programme Regional Facility for Policy Advice based in Panama City. University teacher in Environmental Economy. Entrepreneur in Panama.

Esteban Gast is a comedian, teacher, and entrepreneur living in Chicago, Illinois. He is Colombian, grew up in Puerto Rico and for years lived in Central Illinois (and loved it). He teaches creativity at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he helped write two books on creativity and is currently developing an online class. He travels as a stand up comedian, is a TEDx speaker, speaks at colleges and high schools and makes short films. He's passionate about social businesses and is looking for ways to apply a social consciousness lens to the media we create.

Story-teller. Technology fanatic. Award-winning editor. Filmmaker. With over 15 years of experience in post-production, I’m well seasoned in dozens of software platforms. I’ve long had a fascination for moving images, and started my first production company at the age of 16. The stories that have a tangible effect on a community are those that I'm most proud of. Traveling to new places, meeting new and interesting people continues to keep me inspired.

Drawn to industrial and conceptual thinking, Mark pursued vehicle and environment design with a futuristic mindset. He has contributed concept development for New Line Cinema, Disney, Fox, Rhythm and Hues, BMW/Designworks, Intel, Toyota, Honda and the High Roller in Las Vegas.  Concept illustration for: “Minority Report”, “Constantine”,“X-men 2”, “Superman”, “Iron Man 2", “Thor”, "Fantastic Voyage", "Avitar" and "Battle Angel Alita”. His new studio centers around innovative products, and inspirational visions of spaces not yet known.

Marketing Consultant, Entrepreneur, Microbiologist
Born in Panama, Janett graduated with a degree in Microbiology later working at the Smithsonian Institute before turning her focus to Marketing. She honed her skills as the Latin American Marketing Director for Kenneth Cole before stepping into her entrepreneur shoes. As Co-Founder of Project Marketing, she helps bring creativity and passion to small and medium businesses looking to break away from the norm. Janett also serves on the board of Panago, a Chilean clinical nutritional company. Mother of 3, passioned by travels and good food.

Strongly identifying as an explorer in all aspects of life, Natalie came to Kalu Yala as a Design Thinking intern through a circumstance of luck, adventure, and a desire to escape the cold. As a Junior at Ithaca College, Natalie created her own major in Social Systemic Design, an interdisciplinary approach to organizational culture and design. As a lifelong explorer, the future will be full of doing what she loves in a variety of mediums- making connections, helping communities, and connecting humans to their surroundings.

Journalist, lawyer, economic analyst. Seven years experience in investment and banking law, three years in economic journalism. Founder and co-editor of Nueva Nación, a news brief for executives and people-on-the-go, and Tabulario, an online digital data archive for Panama. Always in for a good conversation.

'75 Spielberg. '80 Lucas. '88 Morris. '94 Tarantino. '05 Nolan. '13 Jonze. '14 Inarritu.

Audrey Hall’s bond with cameras began when she traded in her mechanical eraser from an architectural drafting desk. Her work of fine art, commercial, documentary and editorial projects have appeared in a variety of media across the globe. In the past 25 years she’s been tackling assignments with verve be it chasing cyclist Greg LeMond around the Alps or following Pulitzer journalist Nicholas Kristof cover injustices faced by women. She’s captured a number of public figures including Tom Brokaw and Michael Keaton, her favorite caped superhero. Curiosity and chance best guide her "what's next?"

Miranda is currently a business development intern at Kalu Yala. She has a degree in marketing and graphic design but is passionate about activating the minds of the youth and being a positive role model in the community. She also loves to travel and seeks experiences that will challenge and expand her knowledge in order to turn her passions into a chance to positively impact the world and lives of others.

Dixie has a masters degree in social work. She is passionate about social justice, anti-racism, and community engagement. She currently works at Kalu Yala as the director of the Health and Wellness program in the community of San Miguel.

Elizabeth holds a B.A. in International Affairs and Latin American Studies from GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY and a Juris Doctor from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF LAW, Chicago, Illinois. She is a partner and head of the corporate law group at LOVILL LATAMLEX, Attorneys at Law. She serves in private corporate boards and is active in the nonprofit sector promoting the arts, education, empowerment of women and reproductive health. Elizabeth is a Fellow of the Central American Leadership Initiative (CALI) Class X and is a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Bran is an American born traveler/craft distiller with an affinity for diverse drinking cultures. He has moved around the world brewing in many countries learning traditional fermentation and distilling techniques of each particular region. In 2014 he moved to Brooklyn from South Korea to take the head brewer and craft distiller position at Van Brunt Stillhouse Whiskey. This year he launched his own spirit brand, Tokki Soju. Tokki is the first small batch traditional rice soju outside of Asia.

Matthew is a Panamanian architect and founder of EcoStudio Association, a non-profit that is activating Fabrication Laboratories across the country. He is working with the US based e-NABLE community to bring complimentary 3D printed prostheses to disabled people in Panama; in addition, he is concurrently working with the government of Panama to create training and job opportunities for the disabled. Matthew is passionate about the biodiversity Panama has to offer and would ultimately like to incorporate into EcoStudio a program to replicate natural systems for germinating and studying flora.

www.gozques.org
GOZQUES BEHIND THE SCENES PART 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xemiRTfib_s
Gozques is a non profit company which voices against animal cruelty and aims for their protection by feeding them, giving them medical attention and generating adoption. Gozques was created in 2011 and to date it has fed thousands of homeless dogs with “public food dispensers” all over Colombia. To date there are close to 400 food dispensers installed all over Colombia and Mexico.They have been able to feed more than 5,000 dogs, neuter and spay more than 600 dogs and more than a 1,000 have been adopted

Principal and Lead Strategist for Spur Studio; a small but mighty marketing firm based in Montana. Lover of big adventures, calculated risks, and the soul expansion that comes with both.
Heartfelt writing, closed loop systems and regenerative agriculture light my fire.

A chef at heart, an analyst in nature, pursuing to further sustainable food management and overall sustainable development, Spencer Hunter is the Director of the Farm-to-Table Culinary Arts program at Kalu Yala Institute. With a background in Sustainable Tourism Development & Management from Arizona State University, Hunter has gained experience in the hospitality and tourism industry from working in restaurants & hotels to special event management, catering, fine dining, and cooking as a private chef. Born and raised in San Diego, California, Hunter currently resides in Kalu Yala, Panama.

Susan founded Climate Creatives & ENP to engage, educate and empower people to act on climate change. She uses art because data alone doesn’t do it: behavioral change begins with an emotional commitment. Susan creates participatory public art installations, sustainability leadership workshops, campus programs, STEAM exercises, group shows, and her own artwork for businesses, non-profits, communities and schools. A LEED accredited architect, she practiced in her own firms for over 20 years, attended Harvard College, Harvard Graduate School of Design, BMFA art school, and has hatched 3 kids.

Amber lives a storied life at the end of a road near the top of a mountain in Montana where she carves trees in a “luminous gesture of love toward nature and humankind.” TEDx speaker, writer and adventurer, she creates healing sanctuaries for hospitals. Declared by WOOD magazine as one of “America’s Woodworking Greats,” Amber has been featured on the “Wood Sculpting” TV series produced by DIY, the Oxygen Network “Pure Oxygen” show and a documentary series filmed by Nestbox Collective. Her healing art sculpture installation was voted “Top 25” out of 1500 artists from 53 countries at Art Prize.

An intellectual property attorney based out of Denver, Colorado with a serious love for the outdoors and the worlds best dog. Specializes in helping all clients, big and small, secure their assets while protecting and growing their business.

Bert has a decade of experience building and running successful organizations and initiatives across academia, the private sector and the federal government. He recently served as Senior Advisor in the Office of Secretary Penny Pritzker at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he helps lead the Secretary's overall strategic engagement with the business community domestically and internationally. There, he built the the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) initiative to deploy some of America's most respected entrepreneurs across the country and around the world.

I am a botany student from Denver, Colorado who is currently studying at the Kalu Yala Institute in Panama for the Spring 2016 semester. I have a deep passion for plants, positivity, and permaculture ethics. I hope to someday harmoniously integrate the deep wisdom that plants and ecosystems have to offer within our modern-day societies. When I’m not exploring the forest, you can find me tearing up the dance floor.

Author of Favelization, book published by the Cooper Hewitt Museum about the use of references to Brazilian slums to brand luxury items. Pro-active design entrepreneur, digital product manager, curator, and writer. Experience with complex analogue and digital projects, exhibit design, digital research, and creative placemaking. Able to apply drafting skills developed as a corporate lawyer to cultural, real estate and tech-related projects. Fluent in Portuguese, English and Italian. Passionate about furniture design, arts policy, digital culture, and transnational project management.

Yarrow Kraner is Founder of HATCH, a Director at Virgin Produced, an Aspen Institute Fellow, and also named 2015 top 100 creatives in the U.S. by Origins Magazine. He is also featured in the recently released book Talent for Humanity. Yarrow’s ideas and work have been recognized internationally, and he is currently packaging a feature film, Wind in the Fire, based on the story of Bobbi Gibb. Yarrow was also the Founder of Superdudes / Supernation, one of the pioneer social networking sites, founded in 1999, sold to Fox in 2004. Yarrow's current focus is on growing the global HATCH network.

I am focused making the world work for 100% of humanity, using the power of cleantech to create a healthier, more just, prosperous and safer world. Climate change is a lever - let's use it to create maximum good.

I work with Energy Excelerator, a non-profit cleantech incubator funded by the Navy, Department of Defense, Department Of Energy, and others. We fund 15 companies a year, up to $1m per company and use Hawaii as a test-bed to scale renewable energy (solar energy, wind power and more) water tech, sustainable agriculture etc.

Work hard, play hard.

Sam is Managing Director and Rainforest Capital's Senior Resource Economist. Before joining ranks with Rainforest Capital, he was Founder and CEO of Ceiba Forestry, LLC. Prior to his work in the conservation and agroforestry space, Sam helped launch Sylvatex, a successful biofuel technology company, where he spearheaded business development, patent licensing and financial modeling, as well as analysis on the firm’s carbon life-cycle and GHG emissions credits.
Early in his career, Sam worked on environmental impact analysis and agroforestry microfinance with Geovic Mining Group in Cameroon.

Born and raised in Montana, brought up by a realist artist, studied architecture and engineering before pursuing his passion for photography. Now living in Los Angeles when not traveling and using his background and unique style to document the world around him.

Duly was born in Korea, grew up in Latin America and educated in the US. With his background in Urban Design (B.A.) and Architecture Design (M.Arch.), he offers a heuristic approach to community building and cultural planning with social and environmental agendas to his projects.

Duly is creator of Festival Abierto, owner of Laser Cutting shop, and co-founder of True Source Energy. He is also an Ashtangi who owns a Yoga Studio + Juicería with his yogi wife in Panama.

In his freer time, he finds himself lost in his art studio or in the jungle hopping islands adventure searching.

Remi Lemieux is a Technical Director, Operations Strategist, Executive Producer, Innovative Catalyst and environmentalist at heart. This business / law student spent the last 18 years learning the working dimensions of the global entertainment industry with the Cirque Du Soleil, In 2013, he co founded LembasWorks, an artistic / technical consulting firm...to create transformative and immersive conceptual experiences for artists, performance venues and entertainment events alike, while innovating with traditional modes of production to introduce sustainable solutions for ecological resources.

"What the Panama Canal does to boost global commerce, we can also do it for startups around the globe."

5 years of experience developing a culture and a solid ecosystem in Panama around entrepreneurship and innovation as well as designing and executing country-level programs for startups with resources such as mentoring with the MIT Venture Mentoring Service, seed funding, infrastructure and alliances with corporate and multinational services and resources. "We need, more than ever, to go back to the roots of how startups work and how resources are profoundly designed for this companies."

Alan Macy is the R&D Director, past president and a founder of BIOPAC Systems, Inc. He designs data analysis systems that help identify signals produced by life processes. He is currently focusing on psychophysiology, emotional/motivational state measurements, magnetic resonance imaging and virtual reality implementations. His recent research and artistic efforts explore ideas of human nervous system extension and the associated impacts upon perception. As an applied science artist, he specializes in the creation of cybernated art, interactive sculpture and environments.

I'm a student, software developer, entrepreneur and Sivananda yoga teacher who's lived a fair while in Zen Buddhist Monasteries. Perhaps the result of being raised by a Wall Street broker and a sincere Yogi for parents, I'm constantly striving to close the gap in life between spirituality, mindfulness, technology, and business. Currently, I've been developing a series of iOS applications merging neuroscience and deceptively-simple, immersive gameplay to teach complex topics to a wider-reaching demographic. Think flappy-bird and duolingo combined -- to teach how the brain works!

Strategian and tactician with an aptitud for liaisonship. Experienced builder of castles in the sky. Background in project management in construction, real estate, marketing, new business development, and entrepreneur. Explorer of everything fascinating. Founder of TEDxPuntaPaitilla in Panama City, Panama where exceptional people with positions of authority in modern society to present a picture of contemporary thought.

Founder and Owner of Headframe Spirits and Headframe Spirits Manufacturing. I distill hooch....basically I do my best to provide you with something that assists with getting the conversation started....whiskey. I'm also the inventor of the only continuous flow distillation system available for micro-distillers, based upon my background in the invention of a novel biodiesel distillation system.
By mostly....I love rivers and floating on them as often as possible.

Courtney is the CEO and co-founder of Headframe Spirits and Headframe Spirits Manufacturing in Butte, Montana. Courtney believes in improving and inspiring the communities she's passionate about including the communities of place, of industry and of entrepreneurs. Courtney knows that the better each of us does, the better we all do, together and she gives her time, energy and material resources to support those who share that mission.

Giovanna Mingarelli is an international entrepreneur who’s appeared in dozens of publications ranging from Harvard Business Review, the Huffington Post and The Globe and Mail. From Arviat, Nunavut in Northern Canada to the White House in Washington D.C. She is an avid contributor to international activities relating to digital democracy, Millennial leadership, open innovation, crowdsourcing social engagement and the gamification of politics and business. In 2015 she was named one of Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the WXN.

Born and raised in Berkeley California, Joseph was struck with a passion for social justice due to the rich diversity of his environment, and also enamored with the natural world. Studying Economics at UC Santa Cruz, he recognized that many of our current systems are set up to create social inequality and are simultaneously destroying the natural world. Rather than pursue a career in the current systems, he spent his years after graduating traveling and looking for organizations passionate about change, which lead him to Kalu Yala Research Institute, Where he is currently a biology Intern.

Melissa Monge is a passionate dreamer and doer. Co-Founder
and Executive Director of Ideas en Acción, NGO and donor-advised fund that identifies, executes and spreads social innovation projects with high potential of replicability and international relevance for sustainable development. She studied Communications and since then has worked developing and facilitating Social Responsibility strategies, co-organizing the TEDxPuraVidaJoven event in Costa Rica. She believes in the power of collaboration and aspires to generate true social impact at a large scale.

EMMY winning TV host & producer, actress & social media influencer, Pili has made a name for herself as the "go to" host in the bilingual entertainment world. Always immersed in the world of music, Pili has built a solid reputation as a music reporter in the fast growing alternative music scene. Pili created, produces & hosts the EMMY winning music show ‘Té Para Tres con Pili Montilla’ where she spends a day in the life of Latin musicians as they share their stories and music. Through her interviewing skills & connection with the artist she gives her audience an inside look into their lives.

Originally from Northern Minnesota, Lou Morris studied broadcasting at Northland College. After a career on the airwaves, he transitioned into the print/publishing industry.

Morris and his family have enjoyed living in Montana for over 20 years where he continues to provide his clients with business solutions through paper, ink and technology. Lou has had the privilege of being part of the HATCH family since its inception in 2004. He has had the opportunity to assist as a Coordinator in many areas of HATCH currently serving as one of the Ground Breaker Coordinators.

Filmmaker, speaker, and social entrepreneur. Nirvan directed Caine's Arcade, founded the Imagination Foundation, and was Creative Director for the #EarthToParis campaign for GOOD and the UN Foundation. He lives in LA, serves on the Board of CicLAvia, and is working on several documentary projects. www.nirvan.com

Rafael has over fifteen years of experience in international real estate development, and is the co-founder of Dekel Development and Selina Hostels. The Dekel Group is making places for today’s lifestyles and tomorrow’s generation, and Selina is re-imagining the modern day hostel by converging co-work and co-play spaces for digital nomads. Selina is only a year old, and is quickly growing from 2 locations to 10 by the end of 2016, and over 90 locations within the next 4 years.

Butterscotch, the retro-futuristic, voice percussionist virtuosa, is a force to be reckoned with in today’s music scene. Being the world’s first female beatboxing champion, she has created a unique style. While she beatboxes, she sings and plays either guitar or piano, performing her own compositions and jazz standards. Butterscotch is heavily influenced by Jazz, Classical, Hip Hop and R&B, ranging from Frederick Chopin to Billie Holiday to Stevie Wonder. She will be releasing the "Scotch Tapes Vol. 1-3" (a series of EPs) starting the end of February 2016.

Founder of Keyhubs and Neighborhood Forest.

I love people – meeting and reconnecting with deep souls. I live for meaningful connection and conversation.

I love trees.

I am passionate about purpose-driven entrepreneurship, our interconnectedness and the human Spirit. I enjoy writing about these topics (and more) at www.keyhubs.com/blog.

Oregonian by birth, Panamanian and Persian by breed. I've lived and studied in Panama, Austin (TX), Boston (MA), El Salvador, and Isfahan (Iran). My academic background describes me as a dietitian with a master's in food policy and applied nutrition, but these days I call myself a storyteller, with an insatiable curiosity to explore or create new ways of telling them.

Born and raised in Mexico City. Concerned for Mexico´s security problems I founded Reinserta Un Mexicano, a nonprofit organization that works inside the prison system to create social reintegration programs. Our aim is to achieve substantial changes in rehabilitation of women, children and juvenile delinquents. I also worked as Director of Prison Liaison at the National Anti-Kidnapping Coordination within the Federal Government, and currently represent society in creating, with the federal government, a way to evaluate Mexican’s prison system.

Nicko Nogues has a recognised international career, which stand out because of his vision and creativity, where he has created many worldwide projects with a great social commitment and leading the Creative Activism movement among his generation. In December 2013, Nogués founds MIRACLE, the first Kindness company, 100% focused in using creativity to empower companies, governments and people to raise their consciousnes, finding a purpose and making real good actions to improve our context.

Dr. Mike North, host of Discovery shows “Prototype This!," "In The Making,” “ The Potentialists” and Science Show “Outrageous Acts of Science,” is an undaunted, anything-but-mild engineer, maker, and science advocate. Fusing science with media, he opens doors to awe-inspiring experiences and radical paradigm shifts. Dr. North has taught innovation at UC Berkeley, founded the ReAllocate to create an equitable planet, co-founded the positive climate initiative SaveTheIce.org, and his own design/engineering consultancy North Design Labs, with clients ranging from Tesla to Intel to USAID.

Raised in Argentina where I completed my medical school education and residency in internal medicine at the University of Buenos Aires. I moved to NYC in 1998 and joined NYU School of Medicine where I specialized in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. I currently run the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at the Manhattan VA Hospital. My research is on the cardio-pulmonary consequences of obesity and I teach 2nd year students respiratory physiology and bedside diagnostic skills. l started a company which focuses on improving the resuscitation efforts delivered during cardiac arrest scenarios

Nicole's passion lies in unleashing the potential at the intersection of business solutions and social impact. This has taken her to work in projects in the private and non-profit sectors in the U.S., India and Latin America.

She currently combines her global experience and cross-sector knowledge as Corporate Citizenship Manager at Samsung, developing regional social impact strategies in education and technology.

She also co-founded Atómica to offer consulting services in organizational capacity building, efficiency and impact optimization for Nonprofits, start-ups and SMEs in Panama.

Natalia,managing partner of Inprovider S.A, a consulting company for business process management (BPM) and information technology.With a focus on processes,Inprovider has developed innovative management models by designing and building simple and value-added technology platforms.I try to fill each project I participate in with the values and ideals that guide my life and personal development. As a manager, concepts such as Unity, Cooperation and Flexibility are key in my daily work facing challenges.I’m passionate about learning, researching, discovering new paths and new ways of doing things.

Adriana Pavon is a Mexican entrepreneur, fashion designer and artist advocate. Her ingenuity in fashion began by the age of 13. Today, she is the founder of The Detroit Fashion District, an entrepreneurial ecosystem that helps designers grow their independent labels into successful businesses. She is also actively involve in empowering indigenous artists in Mexico; recently, Adriana Pavon launched the Mexico Culture & Pride initiative, to empower consumers to own sustainable fashion accessories that help create jobs for indigenous artists around the world.

An environmental engineer turned business enthusiast, Megan has grown with Kalu Yala in Panama over the last 3 years striving to help develop the community's sustainable business development model. Her desire to try anything once has led to some interesting career moves, including her current shift to launch Kalu Yala's hospitality business, The Camp.

Entrepreneur Latam business consultant for several years. Co founder & CEO Farmaentrega.com an 2 year start up, on line pharmacy build to be a innovation solution for patients with chronic diseases on central america. Co Founder Atomica Consulting, innovation consulting focused on helping multinational health companies to change their way of management, their view of what the real latam world and social needs are, implementing innovation culture on their board, start up techniques as a way of changing their way of giving value to society and their local stakeholder. Generating social impact.

A real sound traveler who never stops touring the world. While exploring nature and cultures, he incorporates
local flavors into his electronic music. His recent track “Trip To Cuba” recorded in Havana made him the winner
of the contest by the legendary Ninja Tune Records and the prestigious music school Dubspot New York.

Aaron Prairie is an ecologist who focuses on insects and tropical soil ecosystems. After acquiring a BS in Biology and BS in Chemistry from the University of New Mexico he became the Biology Director for the Kalu Yala Institute in the province of Panamá, Panama. With the Institute, he is working to create a sustainable community and continue to build the ecological knowledge base of the Tres Brazos valley.

Instigator. Agitator. Geek.

Steve is the CEO of Noodle Analytics. His company offer services & platforms in the field of advanced analytics & artificial intelligence. Using Math to improve the world.

Before Noodle, Steve was the global leader of Watson for IBM Global Services. (think Jeopardy!).

Previously, Steve was the Founder & CEO of Infosys Consulting. He is an alumnus of Deloitte Consulting and Booz, Allen. He twice was voted a top management consultant in the world.

For fun he competes in tennis, sailboat racing, and formerly rugby.

David, who holds a Ph.D. in hydrology, leads the US Water Group within the Stockholm Environment Institute where he works to improve the management of this vital resource. By integrating cutting edge analysis within the very human process of people deciding how to allocate water between economic uses and ecosystem conservation, David strives to present information about complex water systems to stakeholders in a non-complicated manner so that they can stop arguing about facts and start negotiating around their particular values related to water. Much of his work takes place in Latin America.

Erica is a formative researcher who loves to test TV shows and games with preschoolers. Erica resides in NYC and serves as the research analyst for Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Erica is also a Program Associate at the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and researcher for Sesame Street. Erica is aspires to apply her knowledge of child development and research methodology to the educational media industry. When she isn’t testing preschool shows, Erica loves to perform soul, pop/R&B, jazz, and soft rock.

From an early age, Julia was able to identify people's gifts and felt compelled to help them flourish. This birthed a series of projects grown from connection. From raising tuition funds for an Indonesian nursing student, to starting an afterschool dance and mentorship program in her community, her passion projects are always varied and heart-led.
Her career started when she met Prince as a college student and became his manager at 21, taking the ultimate crash course in music and life. She's now using what she's learned to help other artists find and share their gifts.

Heather is a Partner at Deloitte and serves as the US Technology Sector Leader for Deloitte. Heather is known as a highly visible leader, passionate about helping emerging companies expand boundaries while maintaining crucial elements of company culture. Heather is an energetic supporter of a non-profit, Cancer Commons, an organization dedicated to uniting patients, oncologists, and scientists in creating a rapid learning platform for the delivery of personalized cancer care. Heather is a frequent public speaker and a strong supporter of the arts.

Amanda Joy Ravenhill is the Executive Director and Co-founder of Project Drawdown, a global organization conducting groundbreaking data-driven research on 100 of the most impactful climate solutions and making that research widely available through an international book, open-source database and interactive platform. Prior to Project Drawdown, Amanda was a Professor of Sustainable Business at Presidio Graduate School, co-founder of The Hero Hatchery, Head of Business Partnerships at 350.org, Executive Director of Ananay and held an Americorp Fellowship. She is inspired by Buckminster Fuller.

Marc Robillard is a Canadian born, Los Angeles based songwriter and producer. After years of writing and producing music for film and television and releasing three albums and multiple singles, Robillard is now expanding his musical wings and venturing into uncharted waters with his new. The music will be a mash up of everything under the sun, from guitars, to synths, to experimental sounds and everything else in between, while all the while still maintaining a strong sense of infectious indie pop sound behind it.

I am Adriana, I am a personal CrossFit Trainer, work for CrossFit HQ. Love being a wife and a mother.

Carolina Russ is an energetic and vibrant South Florida native and a Lululemon Ambassador. A leader in her community, Carolina is an ERYT-200 and Reiki Master. She has been teaching yoga and meditation since 2010. Carolina uses her intuitive guidance to guide each practitioner through an experience of their self. She pulls from her background as a dancer and her knowledge of yoga and meditation to craft unique sequences that will shake out the body and kindle the heart. You can expect a playful and challenging class with lots of verbal cues and hands on adjustments to help you dive deeper int

Marilu is a passionate educator that has worked for more than 20 years to improve education in the region. She has been a professor, director, trainer and mentor; but the role that she has always enjoyed the most is of teacher.
Currently, Marilu is the national director for basic education at the Ministry of Education in Panama. She is in charge of innovative programs in the areas of reading comprehension, mathematical problem-solving and scientific inquiry to improve teaching methodology and student learning. She is a Fellow of the Central American Leadership Initiative (CALI) class XI.

Stephen grew up in Alaska with a love for music, art, and design. After attending university in Alaska and Montana (go Cats!), he received Mechanical Engineering degree and now co-owns a creative product design company, Salient Technologies, Inc., with David Yakos. Focused on drawing from both hemispheres of the brain, STI has designed thousands of products, from award-winning pet toys to NASA-acclaimed space valves. Stephen has a passion for physical user experience design and ergonomics, and his contributions to the invention of active pediatric seating helps young people every day.

Carly Schwartz is the media director at Kalu Yala, where she's building the journalism school of the future on their 600-acre sustainable community in the Panamanian jungle.

Carly spent the past year as a Kiva Fellow in Mexico working on a number of sustainable development projects. Before moving to Latin America, she founded and ran The Huffington Post's San Francisco bureau and later served as the company's Deputy National Editor in New York. She writes regularly for The Huffington Post and Quartz about issues ranging from microfinance to marijuana policy.

Internationally-recognized visual artist, Aithan’s PhD research in creative process extracts the roots of art-making that he has since planted into tech, business, finance & education strategy, prototyping on innovation teams, organizational structure and culture. From living with Aboriginal Australians over 3 years researching innovation in cultures of survival to TEDx, MIT’s Hacking Arts, Summit Series, and workshopping toolkits at MIT Sloan, Aithan is co-founder of limeSHIFT and the Global Institute for the Arts & Leadership. He lives in Boston with his wife, their baby daughter & old dog.

Ricardo Soares consults, advises and trains High Performance entrepreneurs and sportsmen all over the world. He is the Mentor and founder of the DeRose Method school in TriBeCa. His focus lies in entrepreneurship, conflict management, relationships and overcoming limits as a path to self-knowledge!
Ric has been working with the DeRose methodology for the last 15 years and helping clients that need to be functioning at peak performance levels. His students include olympic athletes, professional racecar drivers, CEOs, and leaders from around the world.

Cristina Sosa is the founder of Peace for a Nation, a movement that co-creates awareness and encourages creative minds to become agents of change, and Membership Manager of Soho Beach House, a private members’ club for people in the creative industries. Former professional performer, who's line of work consists of Ricky Martin and Pitbull. Cristina is a believer in the “divine flow” of things, how what one puts out into the world is reciprocated on every level. Therefore, there can only be peace in a place where the inhabitants are contributing to the harmony.

Artist and founder / creative director of Estudio Nuboso - a platform for art and human ecology in Panama and beyond. A performer by training, with a degree in Cinema and Photography and a passion for ecology, landscapes and bookbinding. A connector by nature, I facilitate multi-disciplinary projects to raise awareness about the natural and cultural value and potential of places. I am also a founding member of Estudio Remoto - essential architecture in the Panamanian tropics.

PeaceLove Co-founder Jeff Sparr is a man on an audacious mission – a mission to make mental illness cool. Not cool to have, but cool to support. A family man, mental health advocate, teacher and self-taught artist, Jeff is above all a survivor, battling Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) much of his life. Inspired by a simple, powerful image signifying “peace of mind and love for yourself,” Sparr set out to build the first symbol and movement for the mental health community to rally behind.

Jeff has shared his story with diverse communities including NBC Nightly News, The Discovery Channel, NPR, Hallmark, Zappos, LIVESTRONG, TEDx, Social Venture Network, and Ohio State University.

Eiden Spilker is a passionate 19-year-old, currently participating in a 12-week agriculture program at Kalu Yala as part of a gap year between high school and college. Interested in positively impacting the community around him and in turn the world at large, he is continually looking for inspiration and skills that will help him narrow this broad goal and progress him along this path.

Russell Spurlock has toured with live bands, played music festivals, and studio gigs and now composes for film and television and runs the production music library, Whatnot Industries. Though primarily a guitarist, Russell also plays sax and a bit of flute, banjo, drums, piano... whatever needs playin'
Russell has scored and composed the Title Themes for many reality shows and game shows including the Emmy Award winning Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (ABC).

Raised in real estate and educated in marketing before falling in love with the art of town building.

A creative free spirit, bouncing between Atlanta and New York, Kristy's touched a diverse landscape of projects in the world of art, music, and design. Arriving in Panama last year, she became Art Director for Media and Branding at Kalu Yala. Themes of communication, messaging and symbolism are ever present in her evolving scope of work.

Entrepreneur | Collaborator | Integrator | Facilitator. Pete has co-created seven restaurant concepts, and co-founded energy efficiency and angel investing companies. He is a Certified Integral Facilitator, Adjunct Professor at MSU’s College of Business, TEDx Speaker, and is a Licensed clinical professional counselor with a Masters in human development. Loves playing Hockey & Tennis, Parenting, Songwriting , Integral Theory, and Zen Meditation.

Javier Teruel is a business person with 15 years of experience working in both the private and public sector. He started his career as a CPA with PwC and has worked in finance and M&A. In the public sector, Javier was the Deputy Administrator for a public corporation in Puerto Rico. He completed an MBA at the University of Michigan. Javier is also a serial entrepreneur with a passion for writing and storytelling. He is currently developing an online television network to produce and distribute short-form series. Javier speaks four languages: Spanish, English, Portuguese, and French.

Dr. Michelle Thaller is a NASA astrophysicist and the host of Discovery Science Channel's How the Universe Works and NPR's Orbital Path podcast series. She has been a featured guest at Doctor Who conventions and has given two TEDx talks. She had serious geek cred before it was cool.

Tanya Thompson is passionate about changing the world through PLAY. She is the Head of Global Product Sourcing and Development for Mastermind Toys, the largest specialty toy chain in North America. She scours the globe looking for the best products that delight children. She is on the boards of HATCH – a community of creative thought leaders HATCHing a better world, the Chicago Toy and Game Group – a community of creatives and professionals from the toy and game industry, and SNAP Mathematics Foundation - an education initiative that inspires children in math using games and puzzles.

Ondi's a filmmaker. She won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival twice - for DIG! (2004) about the collision of art & commerce through the star-crossed rivalry between two bands & WE LIVE IN PUBLIC (2009) about Internet visionary Josh Harris. Both films were acquired by MoMA NY. Her other award-winning features are The Nature of the Beast (1994), Join Us (2007), COOL IT (2010) & BRAND: A Second Coming (2015). In 2016 Ondi will produce & direct a scripted film she wrote called MAPPLETHORPE. She hosts/produces the only doc talk show BYOD & is the Founder/CEA of ATOTALDISRUPTION.COM

Will Travis is a leader of infectious passion, drive and tremendous insight. In business he is the USA CEO of International communications agency SidLee, servicing seven of the worlds top 10 most innovative companies. Prior to joining Sid Lee, Will was CEO of Dentsu America and prior the USA founder and global president of international design agency ATTIK. Outside work he loves exploration, traveling through all continents, climbing several of the worlds highest summits, motorbiking with The Paris Dakar and traversing 18,000ft in the Himalayas on a Royal Enfield Bullet.

Lauren is Co-Executive Director of Kiss the Ground, a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring people to become stewards of the land and take action toward a regenerative future. She is a mother and is passionate about inspiring communities to action. Previous projects include turning a city block into a garden for the community and helping start the nonprofit Green Light New Orleans. Lauren has studied permaculture design, biodynamic farming, and earned a B.A. in International Studies and Psychology from American University.

Lauren is a singer-songwriter, creative consultant, and project manager with a masters in political science and two bachelors in communications and business. Her work has been published by Forbes, Fast Company, GOOD and Life Hacker. She is a two time TEDx speaker, a guest teacher at the Art Center College of Design & an advisor to the LA Clean Tech Incubator. Select consulting projects include the Milken Global Conference, the BET awards, and EarthToParis for the United Nations Foundation. Early 2016, Lauren's first studio album is scheduled to release worldwide.

An intrepid adventurer, a grateful teacher, & an avid student. I graduated from the University of Richmond in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics. Though having an initial inclination to transition into engineering, I found a deeper connection through physical movement. Exploration on & off my Yoga mat has led me to the belief that our minds & bodies are merely tools of expression for the soul. Through sharing, I have found synchronicity to be a powerful tool in accepting contentment & moving with the natural order of things.

Also, I love to smile at strangers!

Diwi is an indigenous Guna from Panama, social entrepreneur, co-founder of Bodhi Hostels and Wolftrip App and holds a B. Intl Biz & Tourism Management from Cesar Ritz Colleges, Switzerland.

At the One Young World Summit in Dublin, 2014, he was the first Guna to talk about the problems his people face because of climate change.

He has conducted workshops in 5 Latin American Countries, sharing his experience on how to overcome social and personal challenges to become a ‘better' project manager.

He works for the Ministry of Economy and Finance auditing big companies on transfer pricing issues.

Arch. Hildegard Vasquez leads Hache Uve, a firm concentrated on preservation and renovation of historic sites and heads Fundacion Calicanto, an NGO focused on empowerment and development.
She has a BA/BFA from RISD and a MA in Historic Restoration from the Polytechnic University of Madrid. She was a finalist for Avon Woman of the Year 2011, Hero for Panama 2011, Light in the Community 2011, 2012 finalist for the McNulty Prize, winner of the 2013 Latin America FT/Citibank Urban Ingenuity Award, and 2014 RISD Professional Achievement Award. She is a Fellow of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Born in French Guyana, Cayenne in 1992.
Thanks to my artistic parents we have not stopped traveling the world ever since, from the Micronesian islands all the way to Panama living in over 30 different countries.
I am currently residing in Panama city for over 10 years now but studied a couple of years in barcelona. I now own a film production company in Panama City working on all sorts of commercials, documentaries, short films etc. Very much involved in humanitarian and volunteer work. A huge believer into briging higher education and working together with people that believes so.

Founding partner of López, Villanueva & Heurtematte – Lovill LatamLex, where she heads the real estate law department and provides legal advice to local and international companies developing real estate projects in Panama. Patricia is passionate about New Urbanism, and is a founding member of the Council of New Urbanism Panama.
She also seats on the board of Vital Voices Panama where she overlooks the female entrepreneur Mentorship Program. She is also a licensed real estate broker and translator. Mom to Vicky and Gaby.

People say I'm crazy and I say "The crazies and the genuises can change the world" Co-founder, CEO of Wolftrip.com Startup for adventure travelers, which is not just an App is a community for people who want new experiences and share them with travelers who have the wild same interests.
I am also founder of "One smile can change the world" Movenment focused on empowering young people all over Latin America, and Co-founder of "Emocionarte" at NGO that helps childrens at socials risk in Panama City to be leaders for their communities. I think what makes us different is what makes us special.

Raquel Villarreal is a proactive and innovative content strategist with more than 7 years of experience designing and executing editorial production. She honed her editorial skills in bilingual and bicultural environments, launching web properties such as eHow en Español and Livestrong.com en Español, nurturing them to surpass 50 million unique users per month. Prior to that, she developed content strategies for publishers such as National Geographic, USA Today, Hearst newspapers. You can find her practicing yoga and juicing on her free time.

Born and raised under the big sky of Montana, 26 years old spending the last eight pursuing a career in film and skiing as a professional (ammature) athlete, I am eager to extend my skill sets and continue to learn in new places. After graduating college with a film degree from the university of Montana in 2014 I started working for Bomb Snow magazine as their cinematographer / editor / and director of online content and still hold the position today.

A social activist to the core, Amy Westberg is a passionate advocate for those who have been marginalized, experiencing homelessness, and at risk youth. At the young age of 17 she asked herself, "How do we end the cycle of poverty?" This question has driven her to find best practices in alternative sustainable housing, experiential education, and local food security.
Amy currently resides in Panama as an Agriculture Intern for the Kalu Yala Research Institute. While here, she hopes to understand how to build empowering communities which inspire individuals to be their creative selves.

Hugo Wood is a Panamanian lawyer and a master in Law and International Development from Tulane University. He was the founder and first president of the organization United Youth for Dialogue (JUD) and was recently appointed as the Coordinator of the IV Youth Forum of the Americas in the framework of the VII Summit of Heads of State and Government.

Awarded as an Outstanding Young Person by Junior Chamber International he is currently a Global Shaper and works as Private Secretary and Adviser to the Vice-President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Panama.

David is a mad scientist, full-time inventor, designer and co-owner of Salient Technologies. If he isn’t working with brands, designing indestructible dog toys or working on valves for NASA he can be found giving tractor rides, building forts, or down on the floor making up new games with the kids. In the pursuit of innovation, he has developed hundreds of products that can be found around the world, from kids toys that inspire engineering like Maker Studio, #BecauseofHATCH, to household items we use every day.

Grew up in New York and worked in event production and then finance. Got tired of the hustle and decided to move to Costa Rica to create a sustainable community And wellness retreat center called Puerta a la Vida.

Studied interactive communications in Herzliya, Israel. Simon now runs Tomorrow Digital Project in Panama City, the country´s unique innovation agency. Its part of the DDB agency network and handles important accounts such as Nike, Mcdonalds, Energizer , Banistmo (Bancolombia) and many local retail chains.
Simon specializes in Viral and Innovation Marketing, he es trying to redefine the way marketers think in Panama and shifting the scope from Media to content marketing.
Simon is also founding partner at Workings, a pioneer Coworking space in the region.
Hobbys: Reggae singer and Space Exp.

Oz is a 27 Years old multi-media craftsman from TEL-AVIV Israel, based in Panama since 2014. He started to work with his hands at a young age, when he was 15 yrs old became a classic car collector, moved to professional racing and served for 3 years in IDF. He was working in designing aspects of the night life scene of TEL AVIV for 4 years and became known the TEL AVIV art scene, as one of the most unique artists in ISRAEL. Oz was then recruited to Panama City by Dekel Development, to be the Creative Director for Selina Hostels, which is re-imagining a hostel by converging co-work and co-play spaces for digital nomads. The world is your office.

Now as Creative Director for Selina, Oz is leading all creative and design efforts as Industrial designer, interior designer, carpenter, artist, architectural installations, and more. He's also leading the efforts in hand-crafting all furniture art, and fixtures by up-cycling found trash, rubble, and debris and giving second life to previously consumed resources. Selina is only a year old, and is quickly growing from 2 locations to 10 by the end of 2016, and over 90 premiere locations within the next 4 years. To accomplish scaling at this rate with such artisan craftsmanship, Oz has been training ex-gang members to be carpenters, builders, and welders. Oz never studied in any college/university, always believed in his own way of learning and doing, and now he's mentoring,

Mike Zuckerman, [freespace]
Mike Zuckerman is a Culture Hacker and co-founder of [ freespace ] that started in San Francisco in 2013 and has opened physical spaces in 10 cities around the world with the goal of improving civic life. Mike is a Research Affiliate at the think tank Institute for the Future where his researching the commons, future governance and reimagining protests. Mike’s other projects include a sustainable nightclub and post disaster work in Haiti, Philippines and Nepal.