Board: Advisory

Santwana is based in Basel, Switzerland and has lived in Africa, India and U.K before arriving in Switzerland; her life split between three counties and six cities. She speaks four languages. On a scholarship from India and the UK, she completed a Ph.D. at the Univerisity of Cambridge and a diploma in Business Management from London Business School. She published a paper from her PhD work that shed the first light on the working of tau protein, a major player in Alzheimer’s disease.

Sharon received her undergraduate degree in osteopathic medicine in London, England.  She holds master's degrees in adult education, community music, and a PhD in sociology with a special interest in the social determinants of health.  After working in clinical practice for a number of years, she entered the postsecondary education system to teach  undergraduate anatomy, physiology, pathology, lifespan development, social inclusion, and mental health.  Sharon is a classically trained musician, and a multi-instrumentalist.  As a community mus

Dr Bhuvan Awasthi is a cognitive neuroscientist, with research expertise in the science of human consciousness, emotions and decision making. Dr Bhuvan has degrees in consciousness studies, cognitive science and life sciences from Australian and Indian institutions, as well as yogic and spiritual training from the contemplative traditions of India.

Diya Chowdhury is a third year PhD Candidate from Bangladesh at the School of Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo, Canada. After completing her undergraduate degree in Health Studies, she fast-tracked to a Ph D in the field of Gerontology and Geriatric Healthcare. She works with marginalized populations with a specific focus on social and health equity. Diya is driven by her passion to explore ways through which humans can achieve their fullest and truest potentials, while also living a life that provides meaning for her and others.

Garima is the Executive Assistant and Special Policy Advisor to the Assistant Deputy Minister of Income Security and Pension Policy at the Ministry of Finance. Her main interests are in understanding how various sectors of society (government, civil society and private industry, for example) can work together to improve the well-being of populations worldwide. She holds a Masters of Public Health from the University of Toronto, and is also an avid reader, dancer, and foodie.

Distinguished Professor Emeritus and currently Director of the Centre for Dialogue & Spirituality in the World Religions at Renison University College/University of Waterloo, he was educated at Concordia College (BA Philosophy & Political Science), Harvard Divinity School (STB, Theology), and the Institute of Christian Thought, St. Michael’s University College (PhD, Special Religious Studies). He taught at Waterloo Lutheran University (now Wilfrid Laurier) 1967-69 and Renison College, University of Waterloo (1973-2007).