Gitanjali Rao
Innovator, Changemaker, Author, STEM Promoter
Gitanjali Rao is an inventor, an aspiring scientist, author, speaker and an active promoter of STEM around the world. She was recognized as America’s Top Young Scientist and was a recipient of an EPA Presidential award for her patented invention of an innovative lead contamination detection tool. Gitanjali is also the inventor of “Epione”—a device for early diagnosis of prescription opioid addiction using genetic engineering, and “Kindly”—an anti-cyberbullying service using AI and Natural Language processing.
She was honored as Forbes “30 Under 30 in Science” in 2019 and TIME’s “Top Young Innovator” and “TIME Kid of the Year” for her innovations and STEM workshops she conducts globally, which has inspired over 71,000 students in the last three years across six continents and 43 countries.
John Gerzema
CEO, The Harris Poll
John is a pioneer in using data to identify social change and help leaders and organizations anticipate new trends and demands. A New York Times best-selling author, pollster, social scientist, and consultant, his research and speaking include two TED talks and plenaries at The World Economic Forum, The Milken Institute Global Conference, and speeches around the world.
Jamie Metzl
Leading Technology and Healthcare Futurist, WHO Advisor
Jamie Metzl is a leading technology and healthcare futurist, geopolitical expert, novelist, entrepreneur, and media commentator, founder of the global social movement OneShared.World, and an Atlantic Council Senior Fellow and Singularity University faculty member. In 2019, he was appointed to the World Health Organization expert advisory committee on human genome editing. Jamie previously served in the U.S. National Security Council, State Department, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and as a Human Rights Officer for the United Nations in Cambodia. Described by some as “the original COVID-19 whistleblower,” he was among first to call for a full investigation into pandemic origins in early 2020. Jamie speaks frequently to corporate, nonprofit, and academic audiences around the world.
Ayesha Z. Sherzai MD, MAS
Co-Director, Brain Health and Alzheimer’s Prevention Program, Loma Linda University Health
Dr. Ayesha Sherzai is a neurologist and co-director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program at Loma Linda University, where she leads the Lifestyle Program for the Prevention of Neurological Diseases. She completed a dual training in Preventative Medicine and Neurology at Loma Linda University, and a fellowship in Vascular Neurology and Epidemiology at Columbia University. She is also a trained plant-based culinary artist.
Dean Sherzai, MD, PhD, MPH, MAS
Co-Director, Brain Health and Alzheimer’s Prevention Program, Loma Linda University Health
Dr. Dean Sherzai is a Behavioral neurologist/neuroscientist and co-director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program at Loma Linda University. Dean trained in Neurology at Georgetown University School of Medicine, and completed fellowships in neurodegenerative diseases and dementia at the National Institutes of Health and UC San Diego. He also holds a PhD in Healthcare Leadership with a focus on community health from Andrews University.
Dexter Shurney, MD, MBA, MPH, FACLM, DipABLM
President, Blue Zones Well-Being Institute
Dr. Dexter Shurney is President of the Blue Zones Wellbeing Institute, a 501c3 subsidiary of Adventist Health, that focuses on applied population health research including social determinants, payment reform, in addition to helping advise health care executives on value-based strategy and operations.
Dr. Shurney’s unique business expertise comes from varied roles he has performed over his career as a senior healthcare executive. Most recently he served as the Chief Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer for Adventist Health, a multi-state hospital system that operates in CA, OR, WA, and HI. He is also the co-author of the book Integrating Wellness into Your Disease Management Programs a “how-to” strategic guide for employers that wish to innovate their approach to chronic condition management.
Dr. Shurney received his BS from Loma Linda University and his MD from Howard University College of Medicine. He also has an MBA and MPH from the University of Detroit/Mercy and the Medical College of Wisconsin, respectively. A licensed physician, he is board certified in both preventive medicine and in lifestyle medicine, and is a Fellow in the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.
