Team
All the hardworking people on World Love Forum. The World Love Forum has experts in many fields contributing to our efforts.
Founder and Team Lead
Dr SD Shanti, (Switzerland/USA) is a public health practitioner, behavioral scientist, and social innovator committed to advancing love and preventing violence, depression, and psychological distress through the translation and dissemination of research-based information. She has over 25 years of multidisciplinary research and practice experience and her projects have been funded by UNICEF, NIH, CDC, the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), and foundations in Switzerland and the United States. In addition to having held various academic appointments in both countries, she has also led the public side of a public-private partnership to promote behavior change across 28 countries.
Entertainment-Education
Dr. Arvind Singhal (USA) is a globally recognized expert in behavior change communication and the strategic use of media for social impact. A distinguished professor, award-winning scholar, and author of 14 books, his research and consulting have shaped public health, human rights, and sustainable development initiatives worldwide. His work, supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, and other leading institutions, has influenced policies and programs in many countries. Singhal has served as an advisor to the World Bank, UNICEF, UNDP, WHO, U.S. State Department, and major global organizations, helping to advance positive change across sectors.
Meskarem Bekele Negash (Ethiopia) is a practitioner of entertainment education with over 20 years of experience as a producer of radio programs for positive social change that have been funded by Ethiopian and international agencies: she and has also more recently expanded into script writing. Her commitment to advancing prevention and emotional well-being inspired her to earn a master's in developmental psychology, so she could expand her impact to child development and violence prevention. By bridging media, story-telling and psychology, she creates meaningful content that promotes individual well-being and positive social change.
Noel Thomas Kazungu, (Kenya) is a broadcast professional with over forty years of experience and is one of the world’s leading experts in the production and implementation of entertainment education, especially serial dramas. In addition to his work in Kenya, which has been funded by major international donors and has partnered with Johns Hopkins University, he has trained other producers, script writers and actors in Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Zambia, Namibia, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Nepal. He trained directly under Miguel Sabido at Televisa in Mexico. (Sabido is a pioneer in behavior change communication through the use of serial dramas or telenovelas as they are called in Spanish, and the Sabido methodology is backed by research and used in numerous countries to promote women’s empowerment, access to family planning and adult literacy.)
Management & Operations
Adrienne Clarke (Canada) is an expert in technology platforms and content curation. She has over five years of experience working with hundreds of clients globally, and specializes in setting up and refining digital platforms for comprehensibility, visual appeal and ease of use. Her work bridges technology, writing, graphics and audio-visual communication.
Ankita Bhimgade (India) is an engineer with a deep commitment to advancing compassion and love-informed actions in the world. She is dedicated to promoting kindness, meaningful connection, and a more caring society.
Paul Mastromatteo (Canada) is an accounting and finance professional with over twenty years of experience in government, industry and non-profit grants at educational institutions including Stanford University, the University of Toronto and Carnegie Mellon University. His areas of specialty include reporting, compliance, proposals and project management.
Heinz Waech (Switzerland) is a finance and management professional with over 30 years experience in the Swiss banking and non-profit sectors. He is the founder and director of the Arco Foundation, a Swiss non-profit organization under the which the WLF operates in Switzerland. The Arco Foundation was founded in 2005 and serves as a “Dachstiftung (roof foundation)” or fiscal sponsor (as it is called in the United States) and offers professional oversight and regulatory compliance.
Media Producers
Beckett Johnson (USA) is a film and multimedia producer with over 17 years of experience, having contributed to films like The Patriot, Shallow Hal, and Ya Ya Sisterhood. His work spans documentaries, including one that influenced legislative funding for the homelessness in the US, and brand event marketing for Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Busch, and Nintendo. Beckett specializes in storytelling and creating immersive narratives that help people understand a range of human experiences and support insight, empathy and understanding of people’s situations.
Diego Mera (Uruguay) is an animator and director specializing in stop motion and cartoon animation with twenty years of experience. He has done work for BBC, DreamWorks, and Yahoo TV. He founded AnimaticaStudio in 2005 and has created content for companies and organizations in France, Germany, the UK and the US.
Subject Matter Experts & Advisors
Anne Varellas (USA) is an expert in influencer marketing and community building, and has experience working with brands including Notion, Curology, and Corporate Natalie which have large numbers of followers. She specializes in developing brand partnerships, ambassador programs, and social media strategies to promote engagement and growth.
Dr. Joshua Berrett (USA) is a musicologist, musician, music teacher and professor emeritus of music with over forty years of experience. In addition to his scholarship on the sociology of music, his research explores the relationship between music and brain health, emphasizing how mindful listening enhances focus, attention, and overall well-being. He is also the co-founder of the Ageless Mind Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to lifelong learning and emotional well-being, and has authored two books on the famous American musician Louis Armstrong.
Dr. Julia Phelan (USA) is an expert in learning science with over 15 years of experience, and has worked at the University of California at Los Angeles as a research scientist. She is the co-founder of To Eleven, a company which focuses on improving training design, implementation, and learning outcomes. She bridges the worlds of the science and practice of learning.
Lynne Berrett (USA) is a psychotherapist, coach and social worker whose background encompasses the humanities, humanistic psychotherapy, positive psychology-based life coaching, and brain science. She has over 40 years of experience in working with people from all walks of life to help them achieve their fullest potential. She is also the co-founder of the Ageless Mind Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to lifelong learning, brain health, positive emotions and emotional well-being.
Artist-in-Residence
Carla Keaton (USA)
Carla Keaton (USA) is an artist, illustrator, and muralist specializing in art with social meaning. She has over 20 years of experience and is also an art teacher at large for children and adults. Her work has been featured on PBS in Arizona, Anthropology News (published by the American Anthropological Association), and Sapiens Magazine. As an illustrator, her artwork has been used in international health education projects to support comprehension of health information.
Im Memorium
Professors Bandura and Zimbardo were two renowned psychologists, and were Dr. Shanti’s sponsor when she was a Visiting Scholar at in the Psychology Department at Stanford University where she incubated her work. They continue to be among her most important scientific influences in this work.