Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas, Ph.D., is the Science Director of the Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) at the University of California, Berkeley. Emiliana is a leading expert on the neuroscience and psychology of compassion, generosity, gratitude, and other prosocial experiences and behaviors that promote human happiness. She runs key research initiatives like Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude; Making the Science of Character Virtue More Practical, Engaging, and Impactful; and the National Network for Emotional Well-Being: Science, Practice, and Measurement. She provides an expert scientific voice on the links between social connections that are strong, supportive, and meaningful, and lifelong physical health and psychological well-being to audiences worldwide. Today, Emiliana's work rigorously examines the impact of learning about what happiness means, which factors reliably contribute to sustained happiness, why happiness matters and is worthwhile to pursue both personally and professionally, and how to practice evidence-based strategies for improving happiness - taking into consideration individual factors like age, culture, and life circumstances. She is the lead instructor for the Science and Art of Happiness Certificate Course, co-offered by GGSC and Tsz Shan Institute, Tsz Shan Monastery. Alongside her numerous academic and popular writings, Emiliana served as an editor for the Oxford Handbook of Compassion Science, a transdisciplinary compendium of articles from world-class researchers. Emiliana's core goal is to help people strengthen their sense of shared humanity, belonging, and benevolence, and prioritize meaningful activities and experiences to measurably improve happiness personally, collectively, and globally.

Eve Ekman, Ph.D., MSW, is a Senior Fellow at the Greater Good Science Center (GGSC), UC Berkeley. An experienced speaker, researcher, and group facilitator, she brings a unique background ideally suited to training individuals and organizations in the science of happiness, resilience, compassion, mindfulness, and emotional awareness.

Eve creates dynamic trainings adapted specifically for the needs of her participants, drawing upon her deep scientific knowledge, direct clinical work, and experiences in a range of institutional and organizational settings, particularly within the health care field. She worked for years as a social worker in health care, criminal justice, and social welfare systems, which inspired her to earn her master’s and Ph.D. at UC Berkeley and complete her postdoctoral training at UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. She then took on the roles of Director of Training for GGSC; Wellbeing Lead in the Health team at Apple, Inc.; and contemplative curriculum specialist at the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. 

Professor Samuel Wong is a clinician with training and experience in both Family Medicine and Public Health.  Professor Wong serves as the Director of the School of Public Health and Primary Care at CUHK, and the Thomas Jing Centre for Mindfulness Research and Training. Since July 2019, he has held the position of Associate Dean (Education) at the Faculty of Medicine at CUHK.

Professor Wong has published over 370 peer-reviewed papers in international peer-reviewed papers with his research interests focused on the evaluation and development of mindfulness-based mental health interventions. He has served the Hong Kong SAR Government in various capacities, including as a member of the Steering Committee of the Primary Care Development and other advisory councils and committees related to health and environmental hygiene. In addition to his academic and research responsibilities, Professor Wong provides clinical services in Family Medicine for the Hospital Authority as an Honorary Consultant in Family Medicine.

Dr. Nick Zhang is committed to transdisciplinary research and education, and actively participates in international and local cross-sector collaborations. He is currently Assistant Professor in the School of Communication at Hong Kong Baptist University, Honorary Research Fellow at the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Associate Editor of Media Asia. His research interests include computer-mediated communication, digital cultural participations, computational social science and social indicators research. His work has appeared in international academic journals and edited volumes, and he has received several top paper awards in international conferences.