Category: Experts

Doug Abrams is an author, editor, literary agent, and truth hunter who is committed to helping catalyze the next evolutionary stage of our global culture.

In addition to co-writing The Book of Joy with the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, he also worked with Stephen Hawking on his last book, the global bestseller Brief Answers to the Big Questions. He has had the privilege of working with other Nobel Laureates including Nelson Mandela, Jody Williams, and Elizabeth Blackburn. He has worked with many visionary scientists. He is also devoted to spreading the importance of conservation and fighting climate change. He is currently working with Christiana Figueres, the former UN Secretary on Climate, who led the Paris Climate Agreement, on The Future We Choose: Ending the Climate Crisis, and with plant ecologist Suzanne Simard on Finding the Mother Tree, about her work discovering the communication and network intelligence of trees and forests, and how cooperation is as important to survival as competition. Doug has also worked with Desmond Tutu as his coauthor, editor, and literary agent for almost two decades.

Doug is the Founder and President of Idea Architects, a creative book and media company helping visionaries to create a wiser, healthier, and more just world.

Dialogue is key to Doug’s work, and he believes that genius is a collaborative process. His goal is to bring people together in a cultural conversation through books and media that transform lives and ultimately the world.

Books and films he has developed have been credited with convincing then-President Bill Clinton to stop the genocide in Kosovo (THE BRIDGE BETRAYED), for launching the modern anti-slavery movement (DISPOSSIBLE PEOPLE), and for helping to expand a mass incarceration reform movement (JUST MERCY, a book and film starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Fox).
Throughout all of his wide-ranging projects, Doug aspires to help build a prism through which life-changing conversations and experiences can be created and nourished. He has had the privilege of interviewing global heroes and icons including Jimmy Carter, Bono, Carlos Santana, Richard Branson, and many others.

He was also on the founding team of JustGive.org, a philanthropy website that has pioneered new forms of giving and been responsible for giving over half a billion dollars to charity.

He has written two novels, The Lost Diary of Don Juan and Eye of the Whale, which together have been translated into over thirty languages.

He lives with his wife, Rachel, an integrative family physician, author, and lifelong conversation partner. He has three grown children, Jesse, Kayla, and Eliana.

Pedro is a valuable member of Tom Lennon’s family. Tom first met Pedro when emceeing a dog rescue event at the Best Friends Animal Society, a rescue nonprofit based in Utah. Pedro was a small, emaciated dog that, after being abandoned by his previous owners, was sitting in the 100-degree weather, looking for a family. If anyone knows what hopelessness feels like, it was Pedro at THAT VERY moment. 

But Pedro knew he couldn’t spiral. He had a goal to be adopted, and he used his hope skills to make himself SHINE. 

He managed his nervousness using his Stress Skills, stayed positive by using his Happiness Habit of wagging his tail enthusiastically and adorably, took inspired action by running up to meet Tom, creating a Nourishing Network for Hope by having his fellow dogs encourage him, and eliminated challenges by staying in the present moment and focusing on the things he could control, such as his personality and his all-so-amazing disposition. And it worked! Pedro immediately won Tom’s heart, and he soon found with Tom in Wisconsin, living a life better than he ever could have imagined. 

Pedro is our Poster Dog for Hope: He reminds us that no matter what challenges life brings or how down and out we may become, we can always use positive feelings and inspired actions to get from hopelessness to hope.

Steve Shell recently accepted his new role as the Vice President of the Stacie Mathewson Behavioral Health & Addiction Institute at Renown. Prior to his work at Renown, Steve worked for Signature Healthcare Services, where he served as the CEO of both Reno Behavioral Healthcare Hospital and Desert Parkway Behavioral Healthcare Hospital. 

Steve was awarded the Healthcare Administrator of the Year in 2019 by Nevada Business Magazine and the Best Joint Commission Survey in Company by Signature Healthcare Services in 2017. 

Steven C. Hayes is Nevada Foundation Professor in the Behavior Analysis program at the Department of Psychology at the University of Nevada.

An author of 46 books and nearly 650 scientific articles, his career has focused on an analysis of the nature of human language and cognition and the application of this to the understanding and alleviation of human suffering. He is the developer of Relational Frame Theory, an account of human higher cognition, and has guided its extension to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a popular evidence-based form of psychotherapy that uses mindfulness, acceptance, and values-based methods. Dr. Hayes has been President of Division 25 of the APA, of the American Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology, the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, and the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. He was the first Secretary-Treasurer of the Association for Psychological Science, which he helped form and has served a 5-year term on the National Advisory Council for Drug Abuse in the National Institutes of Health. In 1992 he was listed by the Institute for Scientific Information as the 30th “highest impact” psychologist in the world and Google Scholar data ranks him among the top ~1,350 most cited scholars in all areas of study, living and dead.

Dr. Hayes is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in addition to several other scientific societies. His work has been recognized by several awards including the Exemplary Contributions to Basic Behavioral Research and Its Applications from Division 25 of APA, the Impact of Science on Application award from the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy. 

Dr. Hayes is actively involved in bringing science information to the public, such as through his blog on the Psychology Today blog or Thrive Global websites. His TEDx talks on pain and purpose, or on quickly reining in the impact of unhelpful automatic thoughts, have been viewed nearly three-quarter of a million times and he appears regularly in major podcasts and on other media.

Star of the unfiltered and satirical comedy TV show Reno 911!, Lt. Dangle is the highest ranking officer at the Sheriff’s department. Serving for over 10 years, Lt. Dangle fights crime alongside his team in his classic short-shorts and with an often-stolen police bike. Played by Tom Lennon, Lt. Dangle is comedy gold with slapstick humor and crass realism. 

One of the most important skills for hope is happiness, and one of the best ways to inspire happiness is through humor and laughter. Lt. Dangle enthusiastically reminds us to embrace Happiness Habits and find the joy, and by extension, the hope, in each and every day.

Tom Lennon is helping us bring humor to hope. With nearly 30 years as an actor, screenwriter, and author, Tom has surely touched all of our lives with hope through his extraordinary talent for comedy. Tom’s talents are impressive; he is a stand-up comedian, Lieutenant Dangle in Reno 911!, voice actor for such shows as Kim Possible and Bob’s Burgers, guest star in many beloved TV shows such as How I Met Your Mother, The League, and Friends as Joey Tribbiani’s “identical hand twin.”

A successful screenwriter, Tom has co-written with writing partner Robert Ben Garant, the Night at the Museum films, the 2005 Disney comedy The Pacifier, and Hell Baby which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.Tom has an extensive acting career in film, having appeared in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Transformers: Age of Extinction, 17 Again, I Love You, Man, The Dark Knight Rises and many more. 

A graduate of New York University and a New York Times Best-selling author for his young adult series Ronan Boyle and the Bridge of Riddles, Tom’s capacity for imparting happiness and laughter makes him an immense source of hope to us all.

Abigail Johnson holds a Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and a Master’s of Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh. With more than ten years of experience working as a public health practitioner for federal and local governments, non-profits, and academia, Abigail is a passionate mental health advocate and hope expert. Her company, Live Without Apologies, where she serves as Chief Unapologetic Coach, inspires everyone to live life unapologetically on their own terms. A champion of mental health justice, education, and community support; in 2018 Abigail received the HHS Secretary’s Award for Meritorious Service for her contribution to the Empowered Communities for a Healthier Nation Initiative team. She is heading the impending launch of the Unapologetically Naija Fund to seed Nigerian Mental Health Organizations doing incredible work in Nigeria. After battling depression and anxiety, Abigail resigned at her job to work on Live Without Apologies to promote a shift in mindsets on mental health and personal identity. As an Unapologetic Coach, Abigail is committed to supporting healthy living starting with being unapologetically yourself.

Dr. David Feldman is an author, speaker, and Professor of Counseling Psychology at Santa Clara University. Holding a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Kansas, in addition to a completed fellowship with the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, a medical center associated with Stanford University, David has been instrumental in developing Hope Therapy and delivering it to the public. He has authored numerous academic articles and book chapters, as well as presented nationally and internationally on these topics. In addition, Dr. Feldman writes regularly for Psychology Today and the Huffington Post; has appeared in such magazines as SELF, U.S. News & World Report, ‘O’:The Oprah Magazine, and Harvard Business Review; and has been interviewed for national television and radio. 

David runs the podcast Psychology in 10 Minutes and is the co-author of Supersurvivors: The Surprising Link Between Suffering and Success, where he delivers powerful stories of posttraumatic survival and growth. He has presented nationally and internationally to audiences in healthcare, technology, and education, and is considered among the top experts on hope in the field of psychology.

Ritu Riyat is a public health professional and founder of The Stress Detox specializing in helping individuals and organizations reduce stress and burnout through her highly effective 3D framework. Her speaking engagements and professional work has been with some of the world’s leading biotech, fintech, and start-up companies and cutting-edge Silicon Valley industry leaders.

Ritu has been featured in the New York Times and is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and has been named a Health Hero by USC Department of Preventive Medicine. Her top-rated course The Stress Detox: Reduce Stress and Burnout in the Workplace  on Udemy for Business has reached over 13,000 students worldwide. Ritu integrates her evolution in the science and spirituality of stress with over two decades of training as a certified yoga teacher and vipassana practitioner.

Ritu holds a Bachelor of Science in Genetics from UC Davis, a Master of Public Health Epidemiology from USC, and is a Board-Certified Health Education Specialist. 

“When you change the way you look at things. What you look at changes.” 

For more information visit: www.thestressdetox.com

Lian Zeitz is a global mental health and wellbeing expert working to make sure all people are supported with love and dignity.  Lian has worked with therapeutic programs for struggling youth in 15 states in the US to identify pathways for young people to play a greater role in their own care and the development of mental health programs. He has also worked internationally on areas such as suicide prevention, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse in Bhutan, Indonesia, and Zambia. He is passionate about young people’s experiences in therapeutic programs, trauma-focused community development, and pathways to successful transitions in life. He was previously the Global Director of Love and Compassion for citiesRISE, a global platform committed to transforming the state of mental health policy and practice in cities and beyond to meet the mental health needs of populations across the world. In this role Lian supported the design and scale-up of mental health programs across 5 international cities and built a network of youth leaders passionate about mental health across the world. Lian currently serves on a number of international boards and advisory groups while completing a Master of Divinity at Naropa University, studying contemplative wisdom, bioethics, youth mental health, and community healing. Lian earned a B.A. from Quest University Canada, where he focused on public mental health and literature, and a certificate for Leadership in Mental Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.