Anna Akbari, Ph.D., is a sociologist, entrepreneur, and writer. She taught in the department of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University and at Parsons The New School for Design. Her research focuses on visual and virtual self-presentation, technology/human intersects, dating and inter-personal relationships, and happiness and well-being. She is the founder ofSociology of Style, which takes an intelligent look at image and culture-related issues and offers holistic image consulting and life coaching services. She also created the Sociology of TV, which offers videos and white papers on the social significance of television media in public spaces. She is an experienced consultant, expert, and qualitative researcher for agencies and brands, including Cisco, Samsung, DIRECTV, Converse, Avon, Coca-Cola, Lenovo, Tata Communications, SABMiller, and Pepsi. A prominent thought leader, she is a frequent presenter and writer for such outlets as CNN, Bulletproof Executive,The Atlantic, The Huffington Post, eHow, and the Financial Times. Watch her TED talk on “Digital Happiness”; read and hear more here; follow her on Twitter. She currently works and lives between San Francisco and New York City.

You can read more about Anna here.

Robin Rice is the creator of the Stop the Beauty Madness Campaign(www.StopTheBeautyMadness.com) campaign and President of the campaign’s sponsoring company, Be Who You Are Productions, Inc.

She is also the founder of the 50,000+ member Awesome Women And The Body Beautiful page on Facebook. In 2010-11, they collectively completed a music video tour titled “What the World Needs NEXT.” The positive music videos were shared around the world, and the weekends creating them explored emerging models of generosity-based commerce and new online community. She also created www.YourHolidayMom.com, which offers letters to LGBT youth who do not have a mother’s love and support over the holidays.

Robin is an internationally published author and a mentor to world-level leaders thorough Rainmaker Consulting, “changing the lives of people who are changing the world.” She teaches a yearly online apprenticeship in soul mentoring atwww.HealingWithPresenceAndBeauty.com and offers a small business mentorship program at www.WorkAsASoulPath.com.

Robin has traveled the world to study indigenous leadership from a wide variety of traditions and these themes are the background for all of her work. A self-proclaimed Social Change Artist, offering a social change project for free each year.

She has appeared on Huffington Post Live and the Today show and her work has been featured in media from the world.

You can read more about Robin here.