Rob Klein is a Ph.D. candidate in Developmental Psychology at Cornell University. His research focuses on self-concept development during adolescence and young adulthood, with an emphasis on gender and sexual identity, psychological well-being, and the unfolding of identity processes over time. Rob conducts research using community-based participatory methods and is committed to producing work that is pragmatic and serves a wider community. In parallel with his academic training, he has maintained a meditation practice for 15 years, which informs his interest in mindfulness-based and identity-affirming approaches to supporting adolescent well-being. He is grateful to dedicate his work to serving humanity.
Dr. Jonathan Cerna received his B.S. in Dietetics from Iowa State University in 2018, followed by an M.S. in Nutritional Sciences (2021) and Ph.D. in Neuroscience (2025) from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He currently directs the Mind-body Integration & Neurophysiological Dynamics (MIND) Laboratory. His research takes a multidisciplinary approach to investigate the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying cognitive, motor, and emotional benefits of mind-body practices such as Tai Chi, yoga, and meditation, with particular focus on promoting healthy brain aging. Dr. Cerna integrates multimodal approaches—ranging from functional neuroimaging and computational modeling to wearable sensor analytics—to identify how these practices modulate brain network dynamics and support cognitive resilience across the lifespan. His work bridges basic neuroscience with translational applications, creating personalized and scalable interventions that optimize brain health and well-being in both healthy aging and clinical populations.
Nichol Bradford stands at the forefront of human potential and AI, accelerating human transformation through technology investments, research, and global thought leadership.
Currently, Nichol serves as Executive-in-Residence for AI + HI at The Society for Human Resource Management, shaping global thinking on human-AI collaboration. She is also Co-Founder and Partner of Niremia Collective, an early stage venture fund focused on human potential technologies, and she co-founded TransformativeTech.org, the largest global ecosystem of founders, investors and innovators building tech for human flourishing.
Previously, as a senior interactive entertainment executive, Nichol held strategy, operations, marketing and production roles at major brands including Epic Games, Activision-Blizzard, Vivendi Games and Disney. She led operations for World of Warcraft China and Blizzard properties in China, played a key role on the Vivendi team responsible for the landmark $18B Activision-Blizzard merger deal, and helped produce record-breaking events in the metaverse at Epic Games.
Nichol has an MBA from The Wharton School, is Faculty at Singularity University, a Trustee at CIIS, and has been a Lecturer and Adjunct Professor at Stanford University.
Moving forward, Nichol is focused on advancing human potential through ethical and empowering AI — catalyzing a global ecosystem of innovators to create technology for human thriving.
Geshe la is a Lharampa Geshe of Sera Jey Monastery born in Penpo, Tibet. He is one of the monastery’s main philosophy teachers, the Director of the Sera Jey Modern Education Department, and performs many other roles both in the monastery and in society.
Geshe Thabkhe is a graduate of the five-year ETSI pilot program and the Tenzin Gyatso Science Scholars Program at Emory University. He completed the two-year residency program at Emory in 2013.
He has attended and participated in numerous conferences and symposia, and served on the faculty of the 2025 Mind & Life Dialogue on “Minds, Artificial Intelligence, and Ethics.”
