Our Speakers
Amanda Clinton
Amanda Clinton, MEd, PhD is the Senior Director for the American Psychological Association’s Office of International Affairs. Before joining the APA, she was a professor of psychology at the University of Puerto Rico, where her work focused on culturally relevant programme adaptation, social-emotional learning, and neuropsychology, with particular expertise in bilingualism.
She is both a licensed clinical psychologist and a credentialed school psychologist, with professional experience spanning community clinics, paediatric hospitals, schools, academia, and public policy. Her scholarly contributions include the book Integrated Assessment of the Bilingual Child, alongside numerous peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and editorial roles in scientific journals.
Amanda has received multiple awards recognising her impact, among them a Fulbright Scholarship, the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience Educator of the Year Award, and an AAAS Congressional Fellowship in the office of Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), where she contributed to the drafting of the Mental Health Reform Act. She earned her master’s degree at the University of Washington and her doctorate at the University of Georgia.
Cátia Moreira de Carvalho
Cátia Moreira de Carvalho, PhD is a Marie Curie Fellow at Dublin City University’s School of Law and Government and an integrated researcher at the Portuguese Institute of International Relations (NOVA). She previously worked on the DRIVE project (Leiden University) and NEW ABC (University of Porto). She serves on the EU Knowledge Hub’s Foreign Fighters panel, ERCOR, and the board of IPDAL. Since 2024, she has been an expert on Portugal’s Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination. Cátia holds a PhD in Psychology (University of Porto), with research on violent extremism, radicalisation, and migration, and has held fellowships in Cambridge. She’s a metalheadbanger and an adrenaline junkie.
Michel Nawfal
Michel Nawfal, PhD, MD is a Mental Health Professional. He’s a Medical Doctor and a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. He resides and practices in Beirut, Lebanon.
Since 2005, He has been a professional member of the American Psychological Association (APA). He was a board member of the Lebanese Medical Association of Sexual Health (LebMASH) for 5 years, as well as a past Board member of the Middle-East Eating Disorders Association (MEEDA) for 2 years. He is currently the President of the Lebanese Psychological Association (LPA) and the Vice President of the Middle East Psychological Association (MEPA) since 2018. He was recently elected as a board member of the Arab Union of Psychological Science (AUPsyS). Dr. Nawfal is also a founding board member of the Lebanese Order of Psychologists (LOPsy). Dr. Nawfal has lectured and delivered workshops in multiple countries in the Middle-East and has a good understanding of the Arab culture and the Arab context in the field of mental health.
Przemysław Bąbel
Prof. Przemysław Bąbel, PhD, is a full professor of psychology and the vice-dean for
research at the Faculty of Philosophy at Jagiellonian University. He is also the chair of the Jagiellonian University Research Discipline Council for Psychology and the head of the Pain Research Group at Jagiellonian University. He is the president of the Polish Society of Behavioral Psychology, a member of the Steering Committee of the Society for Interdisciplinary Placebo Studies, and a member of the Committee on Psychological Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences. His work focuses on how learning shapes placebo and nocebo effects, how people remember pain, and which psychological factors influence pain perception. He has served as a principal investigator on several grants and co-authored over 140 scientific publications, including nine books and more than 100 popular science articles.
In 2008, he received the President of the Polish Academy of Sciences’ Golden Mind – Master in Knowledge Promotion Award for his contribution to the popularization of science, and in 2018 he was granted the Prime Minister’s Award for highly valued achievements, which formed the basis of his Doctor of Science habilitation. In 2019, Prof. Bąbel was elected Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science for his sustained, outstanding contributions to the science of psychology. In 2023, he was recognized in the Stanford-Elsevier ranking, placing among the world’s top 2% most-cited scholars.
Danuta Sowińska
Danuta Sowińska is a PhD student at the University of Gdańsk, certified suicidologist, crisis intervention specialist, and court mediator. Danuta is the founder and chairwoman of the DiversityPL Foundation, dedicated to combating discrimination and promoting diversity. She co-authored On Violence. Conversations with Shame and is an active member of the Polish Suicidology Society.
Her professional background includes advanced training in suicide prevention, social psychology, and psychological first aid from institutions such as Wesleyan University, Johns Hopkins University, Yale University, and the University of Pittsburgh. Danuta holds an ACSTH coaching certificate, specializes in anti-discrimination training, and is a member of the Anti-Discrimination Education Society.
She has produced social documentaries addressing senior mental health and youth crises. Her work is recognized by the Pomeranian “16 Equality Leaders” Award for outstanding contributions to equality and human rights.
Alfredo Padilla-López
Dr. Alfredo Padilla-López is a psychologist who studies the neuropsychological and psychophysiological bases of behavior, training, and the professional practice of psychology. He is currently a full-time professor-researcher in charge of the Psychophysiology Laboratory at the Faculty of Human Sciences of the Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC) and a member of the Mental Health, Profession, and Society Research Group at UABC. He has contributed to the design and development of projects for the main professional psychology organizations in Mexico (CNEIP; FENAPSIME; SMP; AMN; AMIPCO); he has also collaborated with psychology professors and researchers from several countries in Latin America, North America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia. He was a member of the Standing Committee on International Affairs of Division 29 (Society for Advances of Psychotherapy) of the American Psychological Association; a member of the BASW Advisory Board at Northern Arizona University; a member of the Advisory Committee of UNAD-Florida; and a former president of the International Council of Psychology Educators (ICOPE). A member and representative of Mexico in the Global Psychology Alliance (GPA), Dr. Padilla is also co-leader of the GPA’s Global Mental Health Working Group. He is also co-author of the Dictionary of Neuropsychology (Manual Moderno Publishing) and the book Teaching Psychology around the World (4th and 5th editions, Cambridge Scholars Publishing), as well as several book chapters and scientific articles. Dr. Padilla has also received the Instituto Tecnológico de Mexicali Award for his career in science and the APA Presidential Citation 2024 for his distinguished leadership in Mexican and global psychology.
Melanie Joy
Dr. Melanie Joy is an award-winning psychologist and the bestselling author of eight books, including Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows and Getting Relationships Right. She specializes in the psychology of social transformation, relationships, and communication. Her work has been featured in media outlets around the world, and she’s the eighth recipient of the Ahimsa Award – previously given to the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela – for her work on global nonviolence. She’s given talks and trainings in over 50 countries, and she’s also the founding president of the international NGO Beyond Carnism. She recently published her first novel, A Half-Hearted Death Wish, which blends psychological suspense and dark humor. You can learn more at melaniejoy.org.
John Francis Leader
Dr John Francis Leader (JFL) is a Psychologist & Cognitive Scientist who works across policy, research and practice on the topics of mental health and digitalisation.
JFL is Vice President of the European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations, Honorary Secretary of the Psychological Society of Ireland and is an Adjunct Research Fellow at University College Dublin’s School of Psychology.
JFL is an appointee to the European Commission Health Technology Assessment Stakeholder Network and to the World Health Organisation Pan-European Mental Health Coalition.”
JFL became a psychologist after starting out in filmmaking: it turns out that the combination of storytelling and the use of multimedia technology to help change how people feel has a lot to do with psychology.