OCTOBER 25 TO 29

Rosalinda Ballesteros Valdés is the director for the Institute for Wellbeing and Happiness at Universidad Tecmilenio, considered the first Positive University.

At Tecmilenio she previously had the position of Vice-president for High School Education, she designed the Positive Education Curriculum for 28 Tecmilenio High Schools (more than 15,000 students).

Dr. Ballesteros-Valdés holds a PhD in Humanistic Studies by Tecnológico de Monterrey in México and a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.

She has 20 years’ experience in education and curriculum design. Dr. Ballesteros-Valdés worked extensively in peace education programs, from Education for Peace International and Peace begins with children in México.  

Masaya Okamoto works as researcher and Mindfulness instructor at the Institute for Wellbeing and Happiness at Tecmilenio University.

Integrating his extensive teaching experiences across cultures in meditation and mindfulness with his past studies in Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of Manchester and the University of Hong Kong, he serves to contribute to research and education in mindfulness integrated with character strengths and virtues for an integral flourishing of the Earth community.

He started the practice of Meditation at the age of 3, Yoga at the age of 6, Qigong and Tai Chi at the age of 12. In the last 10 years, he has taught and led numerous courses, workshops, teacher trainings, and retreats of Meditation and Mindfulness as well as related disciplines in integral wellbeing, holistic education and health, and integral human development in various countries, notably in Japan, Hong Kong, the UK, France, Switzerland, Finland, India, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, the USA, and Mexico. In addition to daily meditation practices, he has completed numerous 12-day intensive Vipassana Meditation trainings and a 49-day intensive meditation training. In addition to Meditation and Mindfulness, he is also a teacher of Qigong, Tai Chi, and Yoga.

His life-long search on universal virtues as well as perennial and integral wisdom for the evolution of consciousness and culture led him to study MSc in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology at the University of East London to contribute better to Positive Mindfulness Education and to the world’s first Positive University (Tecmilenio University).

More recently he has been leading a massive train-the-trainer implementation of an 8-week program Mindfulness-Based Strength Practice (MBSP) and creating a new 16-week certificate program of Virtuous Mindfulness for Integral Wellbeing.

Founder and CEO of the Chilean Institute of Positive Psychology, since 2001, pioneer and leader in positive psychology in Chile and LATAM.

Organizational and Clinical Psychologist graduated from the University of Chile with the highest academic distinctions of his promotion.

Psychologist member of the Rescue Team of the 33 miners of the San José Mine.

Author of the book "Los 33 de Atacama y su Rescate. Psicología Positiva en Acción y algunas historias no contadas". Origo Ediciones, Santiago, Chile, 2010.

Author of the book "Nuestro Lado Luminoso. 12 Años de Psicología Positiva” published in 2011. It is the first book of

Positive Psychology in Chile and one of the first in Latin America.

Author of the book “De Pastores a Lobos. Aportes desde la Psicología Positiva a una Iglesia en crisis”, published in 2019.

Speaker at the World Congresses of Positive Psychology.

Creator and Academic Director of the first Masters specialized in positive psychology applied to coaching and positive psychology applied to psychotherapy.

Member of the Institute of Coaching, affiliated to Harvard Medical School.

Member of the Advisory Council of the Harvard Business Review.

Psychologist affiliated with the IPPA (International Positive Psychology Association) and the APPA (American Psychological Association).

Member of the advisory board of the Institute of Wellbeing and Happiness Sciences of the Universidad Tecmilenio and the Tecnológico de Monterrey.

Former Chairman of the Human Resources Committee of the Association of Banks and Financial Institutions in Chile.

He has been HR Manager in important national and multinational companies with operations in Chile.

He has been a professor of Emotional Intelligence and Positive Psychology in the most important universities in his country.

He is a consultant in executive coaching and positive leadership topics for management teams of national and multinational organizations, both in Chile and abroad.

Bachelor’s Degree in psychology and Master’s in education by Universidad Tecmilenio, institution in which has collaborated as social science professor with high school and university students, as mentor for high school students and National Leader of the Student Wellbeing and Development program.

Nowadays, he works as Instructional Designer at the Institute for Happiness and Wellbeing of Universidad Tecmilenio, in which has developed diverse educational experiences and interventions for the application of positive psychology in educational and organizational settings, promoting skills and tools that help people become their best self.

His life purpose is to design learning experiences with the objective of helping people in the development of academic and wellbeing skills that help them increase their levels of wellbeing.

Experience designer

Social entrepreneur, experience designer, storyteller, speaker and consultant. Founder and co-director of Tierra de Artistas, a social innovation agency that detonates Mexican artisan ventures based on collaborative social design. Co-founder of Merecido Mezcal, an artisanal mezcal project that generates work for 20 artisan families in Oaxaca. In addition, Frida has significant experience in Design Thinking methodology, social innovation, human development, global citizenship and peace education.

Social entrepreneur

MBA, industrial and experience designer, teacher, lecturer and consultant. She is passionate for sustainable development and permaculture. Co-founder and Co-director of Tierra de Artistas, social innovation agency that detonates Mexican artisan ventures based on collaborative social design. Co-founder of Merecido Mezcal, an artisanal mezcal project that generates work for 20 artisan families in Oaxaca.

Anne is Principal of Ravenswood School for Girls in Sydney and Chair Elect of the Positive Education Schools Association (PESA).

Anne holds Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Laws (with honours) degrees, as well as a Graduate Diploma of Education and a Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) degree from the University of Pennsylvania, in which she achieved a distinguished capstone (thesis) award, under the supervision of Professor Martin Seligman. Anne is currently completing a PhD on applying positive psychology principles in education under the supervision of Professor Lea Waters and Aaron Jarden, through the University of Melbourne Graduate School of Education.

Anne is one of the pioneers of positive education having commenced work in this area as a recipient of a Churchill Fellowship in 2004, during which she conducted research while based at Cambridge University on how to foster resilience in learning. Anne has since led the implementation of Positive Education in three schools - as Deputy Headmistress of St Catherine's in Sydney, Principal of Seymour College in Adelaide and now as Principal of Ravenswood in Sydney.

This year, Anne was one of just five educators globally (including Sir Anthony Seldon, Simon Murray, Stephen Meek and Steve Pilch), as well as the only female recipient, awarded for her pioneering work and internationally recognised leadership in the field of positive education.

In 2018, Anne was awarded the prestigious Australian Speech and Communication Association Award for Excellence, and as a young teacher, was awarded The Teachers' Guild of NSW Award for Excellence in The Early Years of Teaching (2003).

Director of the Center for Emerging Leadership of Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey

Santiago holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Santiago de Compostela; a sociologist, economist and graduate in political science from the Complutense University of Madrid, as well as a PDD by the IESE of the University of Navarra.

After more than twenty-five years working in the field of leadership and the management of people in Spain, Dominican Republic, the Philippines and now in Mexico, we has Director of Personas de R, the Galician cable telecommunications company, where he developed a people management model aimed at generating higher levels of happiness in the work of employees by implementing positive psychology. The model has been a case study for the Instituto de Empresa and the European Occupational Safety and Health Agency, OSHA; additionally, the company was included in the list of the 50 best places to work in Europe in 2013.

He is the author of La felicidad en el trabajo… y en la vida.

With a clear life purpose of contributing to the creation of more human organizations, Santiago now collaborates with the Tec de Monterrey to give life to the Emerging Leadership Center where he has developed a leadership model oriented to human flourishing.

Member of the royal family of Jordan.

I passionately advocate for Emotional Wellbeing and actively pursue its implementation in educational programs and parenting styles. Understanding our emotions allows us to embrace our humanity and connect to others from a common ground, bringing us together in magical ways. I believe every individual has innate strengths and great value to share in the world that can be discovered through conscious living; in pursuit of their Kyan - their Essence.

Member of the royal family of Jordan.

Self-actualization is the birthright of every human being and is the key to living a fulfilling life and contributing positively to our world. My life's mission is to play a catalyzing role in the global movement supporting the development of authentic and self-aware leaders, who are co-creating a shared vision for the betterment of society and our collective evolution.

Founder and CEO of Family Bonds, The Positive Parenting Institute.
Lorena has a Master in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and a bachelor’s degree in marketing and psychology from the same institution, she has a specialization in cognitive & emotional development of children, with a special interest in epigenetics, neuroscience and interpersonal neurobiology applied to families. She has advised first time mothers for more than 10 years and was the first instructor of the Positive Psychology Certificate of the Institute for Wellbeing and Happiness in Mexico City. She is the author of an innovative positive parenting program based on science, with the purpose of helping families be happier, loving, compassionate, grateful, resilient, and connected. This ambitious program gives parents resources to be used in each of the developmental stages of their children while providing them with effective tools to increase their wellbeing and that of their families.

Pioneer in studying and applying positive parenting in Latin America, Lorena currently develops and teaches positive parenting programs for parents, schools, and organizations in México. She created the first diploma course in positive parenting in Mexico with the objective of empowering parents to have a flourishing life. 

Lorena is a firm believer that we have to “be the change we want to see in the world”, starting in our homes and that through sowing seeds of love, compassion and kindness in families we could create a positive ripple effect that could benefit our society and hopefully the world.