Leadership & team
Executive leadership and specialist advisors advancing prevention, social prescribing, and health innovation worldwide.
Core team
Executive leadership
Founder, chair, and Global Social Prescribing Alliance leadership setting WHIS strategy and delivery.
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Gareth Presch
Founder & CEO, World Health Innovation Summit (WHIS)
CEO, Global Social Prescribing Alliance (GSPA)
Globally recognized healthcare strategist and international infrastructure architect with over 25 years of experience leading systemic health innovation. Founder/CEO of WHIS; Co-Founder/CEO of GSPA (formally launched in 2021 by the UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care alongside international partners including WHO); Founder of the US-based World Health Service (501c3); Chair of the Norwegian Social Prescribing Group. Pioneers scalable joint-venture frameworks bridging grassroots implementation and statutory systems.
“Technology alone does not transform health. People do — when they are equipped with the right tools, supported by trusted frameworks, and empowered within their communities.”
- Global policy & appointments: Appointed by Pope Francis to the Vatican COVID-19 Commission (Group 2). Former Chief Officer of the National Haemophilia Council of Ireland, former Leadership Fellow at Windsor Castle (St George's House), and member of the Radical Health Festival Organizing Committee (Finland).
- World Expos & SDG implementation: Senior Strategic Advisor to Mark Ritchie for the US World’s Fairs (EXPO) Bid Consortium and World's Fair Fund. Helped secure unanimous Congressional consent and bipartisan support (Obama and Trump administrations) for the U.S. to re-join the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). Served on the Paris leadership delegation for EXPO 2027 (Healthy People, Healthy Planet), applying BIE framework insight toward the EXPO 2031 Minnesota strategy to advance UN SDG 3.
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Dr. Amir Hannan MBE
Chairman, World Health Innovation Summit (WHIS)
GP, Haughton Thornley Medical Centres · Greater Manchester, UK
Full-time NHS General Practitioner at Haughton Thornley Medical Centres. Recognized pioneer in digital health and patient empowerment, championing patient access to electronic health records.
- Honours & roles: Appointed MBE in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to primary care. Chair of the West Pennine LMC and Chair of the Association of Greater Manchester Local Medical Committees.
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Patricia Welch Saleeby, PhD, MSSA
Chair, Global Social Prescribing Alliance (GSPA)
Professor & Social Work Program Director, Bradley University
WHO Co-Chair, Functioning and Disability Reference Group (FDRG). UN NGO Representative, International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW).
Network
Specialist leads & advisory board
Clinical, academic, chapter, and programme leads supporting WHIS, the Global Social Prescribing Alliance (GSPA), and global delivery.
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Dr. Ron Daniels BEM
Global Clinical Lead, WHIS
NHS Consultant in Intensive Care, University Hospitals Birmingham
Founder & CMO, UK Sepsis Trust; Vice-President, Global Sepsis Alliance. Developer of the world-renowned Sepsis 6 treatment bundle.
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Richard S. Serbin, Esq.
Legal & Corporate Development Advisor
FDA regulatory and patent attorney · 40+ years in life sciences
Former Head of Global Corporate Development at CURE Pharmaceutical; former President of Corporate Development and In-House Legal Counsel at Life Science Institute, LLC; Founder of Radius Scientific Corporation. Senior legal/executive roles at Johnson & Johnson, Schering-Plough, and Revlon. Senior Advisor to the Swedish American Life Science Summit. B.S. & B. Pharmacy (Rutgers), J.D. (Seton Hall), Master’s in Trade Regulations & Law (NYU Law).
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James Sanderson
Former Chair, Global Social Prescribing Alliance (GSPA)
Co-author, Link Worker Education Framework
Former National Director of Community Health Services and Personalised Care at NHS England; Founding CEO of the National Academy for Social Prescribing.
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Dr. Libby Sallnow
Associate Professor & Head of Department
Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Department, UCL
Palliative Medicine Physician (NHS); Guest Professor, Vrije Universiteit Brussel; First Author, The Lancet Commission on the Value of Death.
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Dr. John Naslund
Senior Research Scientist, Global Health and Social Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Co-Director, Mental Health for All Lab, Harvard Medical School — academic partner supporting global mental health and social prescribing curricula integration.
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Ben Wilkins
Chair, MSK Expert Group for WHIS
CEO, Good Boost · Versus Arthritis
MSK Clinical Champion for Versus Arthritis; Member of the WHO World Rehabilitation Alliance.
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Professor Elena Antonacopoulou
Impact Measurement & Academic Leadership Lead
GNOSIS Institute
25+ years shaping global conversations on organizational learning, leadership development, and systemic change across academia, policy, and industry.
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Nikki B. West, MPH
Program Director, Health Care Education Fund Management
Kaiser Permanente Nurse Scholars Academy
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Manuela Boyle
Integrative Oncology Researcher & Functional Medicine Practitioner
Co-Chair, Health Literacy & Health Behaviour Subcommittee (IHLA)
Co-Editor, Health Literacy and Communication Open.
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Maurizio Morini
Italian Representative, WHIS
Lead on Social Impact Bonds (SIB) pilot projects, Emilia-Romagna
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Mark Ritchie
Senior Advisor, US World's Fairs Consortium
Former Minnesota Secretary of State
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Dr. Cristina Vaz de Almeida
President & Founder
Portuguese Society of Health Literacy (SPLS)
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Robert Browning, PhD (h.c.)
Director of Healthcare and Organizational Division, HeartMath
WHO Expert Consultant
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Sheva Carr, MA, L.Ac., RPP, BCPP, RPE
Founding CEO
Heart Ambassadors® & The Fyera Foundation
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Sandra Solano, M.D., M.S.
Physician & Healthcare Strategist
Founder, Integro, LLC
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Sebastian (Sebby) Raspanti
Executive Advisor, Affinity Healthcare Advocates
FDNY Firefighter (Ret.) & 9/11 First Responder
National advocate and speaker for first responder PTSD and traumatic brain injury (TBI).
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David John Kerr
WHIS Ireland & EU Chapter Lead
Founder, DJK Global
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Rini Laskar
WHIS HiYA Lead
Owner, Doctors Hub Polyclinic (Est. 1984)
Former Director at UBS and Citibank (managed $1B+ portfolios). Former Head of Transformation & Governance in Technology at RAKBANK and Business Transformation at Dubai World Trade Centre. Recognized in Brummell Magazine (2019), Yahoo Finance Top 100 Ethnic Minority Leaders (2020), and Top Power Woman in Data, Analytics and AI in Dubai (2025).
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Noora Sultan Saqer Al Suwaidi
GCC WHIS Lead (HiYA)
American University of Sharjah
Strategist spanning diplomacy, enterprise, education, and culture. Former leadership roles at the UAE Prime Minister’s Office, Dubai Chambers of Commerce (Regional Director for Europe and Americas), NASDAQ Dubai, DEWA, American University of Sharjah, Graff, and Van Cleef & Arpels/L’ÉCOLE. Currently directs international exchange at AUS, leading alliances with MIT, HEC Paris, and Harvard University.