Lorna Sianen Pagaduan is a registered nurse by profession. Her mum belongs to the Kan-kanaey Tribe of Bontoc Mountain Province, in the Philippines, while her dad is an Ilocano descendant. She is the eldest of six siblings.

Lorna has struggled to accept that while she was once a hospital nurse, she now works in Hong Kong as a Migrant Domestic Worker which society tags as the lowest type of work. She uses her own experiences of winning battles, to empower women and inform migrant workers on their rights, benefits and entitlements.

Nearly deprived of education due to poverty, she’s always hungry for things to learn and lives by the principle of “Success is Sweet if you Sweat for it.”

Lorna is a Pathfinders Ambassador, President of Filipino Nurses Association Hong Kong since its establishment in 2006, founded her own charity “Lapis at Papel,” and volunteers at various organisations in Hong Kong.

Avnish Sharma is an accomplished banker with over 15 years of experience across various financial institutions in Singapore. She specializes in providing investment and advisory solutions to clients across South Asia.

Outside of work, Avnish currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Crohn’s & Colitis Society of Singapore and volunteers with the People’s Association in Singapore. She is a member of Toastmasters International and the Rotary Club of Raffles City.

Avnish is a diversity and inclusion enthusiast and is passionate about empowering women to achieve their life and career goals. In her spare time, she enjoys good music, listening to audiobooks, exploring new cities, and working out.

She is a firm believer in practising gratitude. She is of the opinion that learning to be grateful shifts the narrative of your life. It helps you to transition from a life of complaining to a life of appreciating all that you have.

Sahar G Madani is originally from Al Madinah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and spent her early childhood in the USA. She is one of six siblings.

She moved to Dubai, UAE in 2008 as a Diplomat with her family. She founded Women Empowerment Group (WE GROUP) in Dubai in 2009.

Sahar believes that all women are precious and are the foundation of every society. As a woman, wife, and daughter she believes all women deserve to become the best they can be, within themselves and for themselves.

Sahar studied Fine Arts and Graphic Design in the USA. She is a renowned fashion designer showcasing her trademark Abaya look.

She now lives in the UAE with her husband, a Diplomat, and her four amazing boys.

Julie Aswani was born with a rare physical condition called Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita (AMC) which affects one in 3000 live births around the world.

Despite being bullied, harassed and discriminated against, Julie has come a long way to become the leading spokesperson for AMC in Hong Kong.

Julie is a mental health counsellor in Hong Kong. She holds degrees in Psychology, Education and Counselling. She has worked with all age groups, from children to adolescents and adults. Currently, she is working as a high school teacher and also provides counseling services to her students. She dedicates her time to raising awareness on different mental and physical health issues using social media.

Kristy-Ann Waugh is passionate about growth and development and has been coined an “Education Junkie” and alumni of the “University of Life” (UOL)!

She has a multidisciplinary business background spanning over twenty years in both public and private enterprise. Kristy-Ann has worked across several industries – including Government, Defence, Finance, Recruitment, Consulting, Training, Education and Utilities – domestically and internationally.

 Kristy-Ann holds a Diploma of Business, is a student of Positive Psychology, a recognised Credentialed Advanced Practitioner of Coaching*, Certified Trainer, Consultant & Master Coach of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Certified Master Practitioner of TimeLine Therapy®, Certified Master Hypnotherapist (Clinical). She is an International Speaker and an Amazon #1 Best Selling Author.

She possesses an insatiable curiosity and unshakable optimism dedicated to ‘inspiring transformation’ and ‘empowering performance’ – moving clients from where they are to where they want to be in career, business and life. 

Tatiana Solomatina arrived in Northeast China at the age of 17, where she completed Bachelor and Master degrees in International Trade and Economics in Chinese. She then pursued her career path in Southern China and Hong Kong.

For the last decade, she has worked in the field of International Trade, mastering skills in product development, consumer goods manufacturing, sales, and marketing.

Today she is a Founder of Marketing & Business Consulting agency DoUnico.

Tatiana loves to create synergies in business, connect talented people, and promote others through marketing and branding services. She is passionate about helping women and firmly believes that each woman needs a mentor, and that is why she created a Women Experts Community.

Through DoUnico’s ideology, Tatiana fulfills her mission, which is to empower women to embrace their uniqueness, motivate them to do what they love without self-doubt and fear, and show them the roadmap to success.

Jasmeet Arora holds an MBA in Finance, is a Counsellor, an Entrepreneur, a social activist, and founder of Hi 5 Child Development Center. She previously worked internationally as an ERP consultant, but gave that up to run a Center for Children with Special Needs in 2011, helping children with therapies, and training professionals in various methodologies.

Her inspiration is her niece who was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. She advocates for the rights of children and families of children with special needs.

Jasmeet is the Founder and Trustee of the International Teachers Guild Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to empowering teachers. She is also head of her family’s Engineering business.

Awards
2020 – India Glorious Achievers Award for outstanding service to children with special needs.
2021 – Global Choice Award, Certificate for Excellence – Woman Icon of the Year.
2021 – Education Excellence Award as Best Teachers Training Institute of the Year – Hi 5 Child Development Centre.

Nivedita Ramanujam is a psychotherapist based in Hong Kong who is highly regarded for her work in treating trauma. She is also a hypnotherapist, mindfulness and meditation facilitator, and registered clinical supervisor with a global client base.

Nivedita has worked with global CEOs, prison inmates, executives, homemakers, teachers, celebrities, cancer, and critically ill patients and adolescents.

She has worked with premium medical clinics in Hong Kong, such as OT&P MindWorx, and is currently a consultant psychotherapist and Head of Corporate Psychology with The London Medical Clinic. She is the founder of Inner Compass Psychotherapy.

Nivedita combines Western and Eastern psychotherapeutic techniques to address the specific challenges any client faces. Her work has been featured in international newspapers and magazines.

She regularly conducts clinical supervision for other mental health providers and trainees. She actively conducts training seminars and workshops in multinational corporations and is a Global Honorary Member of the Della Leaders Club (DLC) Health and Wellness Committee.

Having lived and worked in Asia for three decades, and with extensive knowledge of business cultures in both Europe and Asia, Susanne Schutz felt that Chinese Metaphysics was missing something.

In 2014, she founded Suzhong Consulting. The company was born out of her awareness of the need for a more professionally based Chinese Metaphysics consulting service.

Susanne is uniquely positioned in her level of both business experience and Chinese Metaphysics mastery, having studied with Grandmaster Dato Joey Yap and holds four Masters Degrees in Chinese Metaphysics – Classical Feng Shui, Bazi Astrology, Chinese Date Selection, Qimen Dunjia.

Susanne bridges the gap between local Chinese Metaphysics Masters who rarely explain their practices and procedures and cosmopolitan clients who require a more modern and adaptive approach, a deeper understanding and rationale for the solutions presented.

Nomaxesibe Yolanda Mzuzu-Madikizela is the Founder and Managing Director of Kumyolz Investments (Pty) Ltd, a company founded in 2013 which is 100% black female-owned. She is the only young black female in the revenue enhancement space that is a 100% shareholder in the company.

Yolanda has worked in the ICT industry for local and international companies acquiring vast experience in the industry. She has also worked as an Operations Director in an accounting firm, where she acquired extensive financial experience.

Yolanda is sustained by her uncompromising adherence to her strong moral and ethical principles and values. She believes that in ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness of one’s actions.

She can be summarised as:
God-fearing | Authentic Leader | Game changer | Diverse | Driven | Woman of Force & Empowerment.

Michelle Harris is the founder of Michelle Harris International and has been guiding women and children to empower themselves for 24 years. A mum, natural counsellor, intuitive energy healing specialist, empowerment mentor and guide, Michelle offers emotional healing, mental health shifts, soul mentoring, energy tools and effective life solutions to those seeking peace, growth and transformation. She is also a channel and the founder of a crystal healing system she developed in 2000 and has extensive experience in healing.

Well known for her impactful, deep work to overcome lifelong issues and trauma, Michelle draws upon her inspiring personal journey and shares her discoveries and wisdom in authentic teachings. Her signature individual and group sessions (online and in-person) ignite clients to live their magnificence – personally, spiritually and professionally.

Michelle has featured in various media and publications and has received awards in recognition for her work. She is also a speaker and author of Tools & Tricks for Tweens & Teens.

Ivana Fertitta is an Italian psychologist, facilitator, coach, emcee and speaker with over 20 years of experience.
She is passionate about helping people be happier, more balanced and fulfilled at work and in life. Leveraging on her core expertise in Positive Psychology, she has helped many corporate clients be more engaged at work, manage stress, develop resilience and face change positively.

She works with Megamind, a boutique consultancy firm in Singapore, building and delivering customised training programmes in leadership development, positive communication, and wellbeing.

Ivana has a warm and energetic personality, and she connects with her audience in an authentic, engaging and fun way.
In her spare time, Ivana leads a highly sought-after Keynote Public Speaking Training Programme, and she is committed to the mission of bringing more equality to stages around the world.

She has also mentored domestic helpers to develop communication and leadership skills with Aidha (a Non-Profit organization in Singapore).

Emily Pearson has travelled the world to discover her inner world and how it ticks. Accessing her Higher Self has become Emily’s passion and so has her desire to share this with others so that they too can discover their own internal guidance system and inner wisdom.

Emily has trained in psychology, energy healing, and meditation and uses her background in business to work with large organisations, governments, and non-for-profits helping to solve their most complex problems.

Emily currently lives in Sydney with herself and her Higher Self for company in lockdown.

Anna Von Zinner is an author, editor, and writing mentor.

She grew up in Sydney, Australia, and studied a Bachelor of Business Communication at the Queensland University of Technology.

Anna has worked for The University of Melbourne and La Trobe University, proofreading and editing high-level research and business agreements, student handbooks, web pages, and many other documents. She also worked at Oxford University Press as a book editor.

For more than 35 years, Anna has edited for many corporate clients, and governments as a freelance editor.

In March 2013, Anna suffered a stroke that changed the way that she reads.

In just 18 months, Anna has worked closely with over 70 authors to create their written legacies. In doing so, she has come to understand the power of leaving a written legacy.

Her work is supervised (constantly) by two bossy cats.

Sandra McGivern is a mother and Nana, author, and speaker, but she’s also been a hairstylist, a hypnotherapist, an event organiser, and a media voice in the advocacy of drug overdose awareness.

Doing her best writing on aeroplanes, she has seen the northern lights in Iceland, the temples of Angkor Wat, lived in an ashram and climbed a mountain in India on a pilgrimage one Easter. She gave birth in a jungle in Borneo and travelled 52 hours into the interior and had tea with the tribal headmen in the longhouses of Sarawak amongst many other travels.

She has had the seeds of compassion planted in her heart by the Dalai Lama, walked over fire, meditated for six days, and screamed primordially from the top of a mountain after ten days in the wilderness to renew mind, body and spirit.

Sandra has written many blogs. She writes scripts and presents training videos and sidelines as a Guest Hair Expert on the Shopping Channel. She is currently studying with The Speakers Institute. She lives between Sydney and the Gold Coast.