2023 Speakers for Chronicon

Alyson Stoner is a multi-disciplinary artist, author, and the founder of Movement Genius, an inclusive mental health platform providing psychoeducation and therapeutic tools to improve wellbeing. Committed to social impact, Alyson has created programming for the United Nations, World Economic Forum, World Health Organization, TED, LGBTQIA+ Centers, and many others. Alyson holds multiple certifications in the mind-body space, including trauma-informed movement facilitation under clinical trauma specialist Dr. Jamie Marich.

During their childhood years, Alyson performed in 200+ films, TV shows, and tours, including Disney Channel’s “Camp Rock” & “Phineas & Ferb” and film franchises “Step Up” & “Cheaper by the Dozen.” They remain active in the voiceover world and can be heard in “The Incredibles 2,” Amazon’s “Pete the Cat”, “Lego Batman”, WB’s “Young Justice”, Disney’s “Hamster & Gretel”, and Nickelodeon’s “Loud House”. Alyson’s op-ed for People, the “Toddler to Trainwreck Pipeline,” illustrates the psychological impact of child stardom and the need for mental health resources for young artists and families. Most recently, they released the e-book “Mind Body Movement: The 7-Step Guide to Heal Your Body and Improve Your Mental Health”, which helps you reconnect with your body to reduce stress and anxiety, improve relationships and communication, and uncover the habits that are keeping you stuck. Photo Credit – Nick Onken

Minaa B. is a writer, licensed mental health professional and founder of Minaa B. Consulting, a mental health consulting practice that gives organizations the tools they need to develop psychological safety. Minaa is passionate about teaching people the importance of self-advocacy and community-care, and she does this by sharing insights, tips and advice on her popular Instagram page @minaa_b. Minaa currently resides in NYC, to learn more about her work visit www.minaab.com

Dr. Darien Sutton-Ramsey is a Board Certified Emergency Medicine physician currently working in Los Angeles, California. He was born and raised in New York City, where he spent most of his clinical work up until July 2020. He is a graduate of NYU School of Medicine and NYU Stern School of Business. Aside from his clinical practice, Dr. Darien has special interests in public health education as well as the intersection of racial inequities and healthcare disparities. He started his career with ABCNEWS in 2017 as a Med Unit Intern. Since this time, he has been a regular on-air contributor for Good Morning America – discussing all things health, including COVID-19, chronic illness diabetes, heart disease, obesity, as well as current events and interpreting new data and research. Dr. Darien is also known as a “professor of TikTok Medical school,” amassing more than 1 million followers through his education tutorials of disease

Stacy London is one of America’s foremost style experts. She is best known as the co-host of TLC’s iconic show, “What Not to Wear.” Following that success, she hosted and executive produced 3 seasons of “Love Lust or Run.” Stacy has written two books, Dress Your Best, which was published to stellar reviews, and The Truth About Style, a New York Times bestseller. In 2020, she hosted a podcast discussing mental health, Could Be Better, tbh, in collaboration with the Crisis Text Line and The Jed Foundation (JED). In 2021, Stacy became the founder and  CEO of State of Menopause, a holistic product line for women which addresses the symptoms associated with menopause and perimenopause. In this new phase of her career, Stacy is doing what she has done her entire career as a stylist: help people from suffering silently, raise their confidence and self-esteem by alleviating external symptoms, and removing the shame that surrounds them.

Amina AITai (pronounced AH-MIN-UH) is a holistic leadership and mindset coach, proud
immigrant and chronic illness advocate. A leading coach to notable female leaders and
impact-driven celebrities-Amina’s mastery is in connecting us to our brilliance and teaching us to
live and lead from it each day. As a woman of color of Iraqi descent, she often works with
marginalized communities to help them realize possibilities in a way that honors their particular
lived experiences. She’s known for her work around Aligned Leadership and supporting clients
in pivoting from Role Models to Whole Models (TM).

Amina’s signature program is a 3-month coaching container, The Radical Uplevel, designed to
help entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs radically uplevel their work and their lives. She is also the
creator of The Nourishment Journal, a personal development workbook where you can unearth
blocks standing between you and your dreams.

As a graduate of NYU with a degree in marketing and economics, she started her career with
luxury brands and worked for companies such as Cartier, Dolce & Gabbana and Vera Wang
before starting her agency.

She then went on to lead marketing for two wellnesscompanies-Spafinder Wellness and Bliss. After spending a decade grappling with a fast-paced career in marketing and two autoimmune diseases, Amina hit burnout. In hopes of healing her own life, she sought training in coaching, nutrition, fitness and mindfulness and her goal became
to teach others how to balance a thriving career, body and mind. She takes a holistic approach
to coaching examining any blocks in the mindset, in our bodies and in how we lead.
In addition to her business, Amina lead Coaching with Inspire Justice as their VP of Social
Impact Empowerment Coaching where she trained celebrities and media companies on how to
lead more equitably. She is also a Founding Guide for Chief, the largest and most prestigious
women’s leadership network in the country.

For her corporate work, Amina has partnered with progressive companies such as Deloitte,
Y&R, Outdoor Voices, NYU and HUGE. She’s an Entrepreneur Magazine expert-in-residence
and also contributes to Thrive Global and MindBodyGreen. Additionally, she’s been a featured
expert in Goop, Well+Good,New York Post, Yahoo, NBC, and more.

Dr. Gretchen Hawley is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and a Multiple Sclerosis Certified Specialist. Her work focuses on MS-specific exercises to help her clients improve strength, mobility, and independence. Dr. Gretchen shares her expertise in her online MS wellness program, The MSing Link, and uses social media to create more awareness around neuroplasticity exercises that can help individuals living with MS worldwide feel more confident & empowered.

Komal is a columnist for Fortune magazine and the founder of Karseva, a company focused on building individual, economic, and societal resilience through training programs, media production, and investing. She curates powerful experiences and conversations as an interviewer, business strategist, educator, investor, and champion for women globally, and for this work, was named to Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul 100 list.

Komal is the host of the talk show Lessons Learned, where she leverages her varied life and business experiences and background as a journalist to deeply connect with her guests and global audience on topics of resilience. A recent career highlight for Komal was interviewing former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama in front of an audience of 8,000 for Mrs. Obama’s Canadian stadium tour.

As a business strategist and resilience educator, Komal supports the leaders behind the brands, companies, and organizations you love to scale their revenue, impact, and protect their well-being as they work to transform the systems we live in.

Dr. Akilah Cadet is the Founder and CEO of Change Cadet, an organizational development consulting firm that offers services that support embedding anti-racism, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging into overall organizational identity and strategy.  As a Forbes Next 1000 Entrepreneur, her work is behind some of the biggest brands you use everyday. Dismantling white supremacy through storytelling is at the core of her work as a leader, speaker, creative director, producer, writer, editor, and author. She lives in Oakland, CA, literally has all the degrees, celebrates her disability, is a proud Beyoncé advocate, and has an incredible shoe game.

Deepak Penesetti, MD (DrDeepMD.com) is a Clio winning Child & Adult Psychiatrist and Producer on a mission to help those who don’t make it to his office. He is Chair for the American Psychiatric Association’s Division of Healthy Equity and from Mount Sinai Hospital’s Triple Board Program in NYC. 

He founded Imagine Health Films, now part of CultureHouse, producing film/tv for Netflix, Hulu, Disney+… He most recently has launched events with SoulHouse, the therapy of art.

He is a guest expert featured routinely on the News (i.e. NY1, Fox5…), Podcasts (i.e. James Altucher, iHeartMedia…), and Conferences (i.e. APA, NatCon…). 

As a Dyslexic, first-generation American, he has a passion for finding innovative ways to help marginalized communities. He was selected to be an NIH, National Institute of Health, Pre-doctoral Research Fellow at New York University’s Child Study Center and his work has been published in leading scientific journals including JAMA, Cerebral Cortex, and the American Association of Medical Colleges. 

He’s the recipient of the 2016 United States SAMHSA, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Award where he now heads the Fellowship Selection Committee. He was appointed to the American Psychiatric Association’s Council for Communication and most recently to the Scientific Program Committee.

Simmone Taitt is the CEO and Founder of Poppy Seed Health, a telehealth app transforming the way we care for pregnant and postpartum people with 24/7 text access to doulas, midwives and nurses. On a mission to democratize accessibility, emotional support and well-being for all birthing people, Taitt comes to this work through the highly personal experience of navigating her own pregnancy loss in an inequitable medical system. Prior to Poppy Seed Health, Taitt spent thirteen years working on go-to-market strategies with early-stage startups Gilt Groupe, SpaFinder, and KidPass. She is a deep believer that technology can and should leverage its power to connect us all with radical empathy. Her work has been covered by The New York Times, CBS Mornings with Gayle King, Vogue and many more. 

About Poppy Seed Health: There is no singular path to parenthood and Poppy Seed Health supports the multiplicity of that journey. As a 24/7 on-demand text app that connects birthing and postpartum people to doulas, midwives and nurses, Poppy Seed Health meets people exactly where they are. Leveraging the power of technology and real human connection, Poppy Seed Health makes emotional and wellbeing support accessible to all. The app and culture behind it is rooted in radical empathy to destigmatize the often shameful, unseen and unheard experiences of birthing people. In a safe and trusted space when people need support the most, Poppy Seed Health is navigating pregnancy and postpartum—together. 

Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six, Chelsea Clinton’s Metrodora, Christina Sass, Julia Cheek of Everly Health, Hannah Bronfman, Roxane Gay, Toyin Ajayi and Halle Tecco among others are all working with Poppy Seed Health on its mission as investors. 

Prasanna Ranganathan is a documentary producer, human rights lawyer, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) consultant, accessibility advisor, speaker, author, correspondent, writer and arts columnist. 

Prasanna served as the Head of Diversity and Belonging at Shopify and as a human rights lawyer with the Department of Justice Canada, Federal Judicial Affairs Canada, United Nations, Independent Street Checks Review, and Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission. He has over 16 years of experience in DEIB and accessibility, working in the legal profession, justice system, international development space, entertainment industry, and tech. He is a Consulting Producer on the 2021 docuseries Born for Business about entrepreneurs with disabilities (airing on NBC Peacock and Crave), an associate producer on the 2016 documentary film Dream, Girl about women entrepreneurs that premiered at the White House during the Obama administration, a social media correspondent at the Academy Awards red carpet (2019) and the Screen Actors Guild Awards red carpet (2014), a film and arts columnist with Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Radio, and the author of a cookbook – alongside his mother – called Made with Prema (with 100% of the profits going to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind). 

Proudly claiming his identity as a racialized, LGBTQ2+ person with a disability (blindness), Prasanna is a board member of the Disability Screen Office and a past board member of Inside Out (the largest LGBTQ2+ film festival in Canada). His published work has been cited by the Supreme Court of Canada and he is a seasoned speaker, providing the annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) inclusion and accessibility workshop, speaking at the TIFF Industry Conference, and serving as a Guest Lecturer at the University of Southern California Annenberg Inclusion Initiative on inclusive storytelling.

Julia Stephanides is a Berkeley Law graduate who practices labor & employment law. She has represented dozens of workers in discrimination and harassment cases, including disability discrimination and medical leave retaliation cases. For three years, she worked for the Writers Guild of America, advocating for screenwriters in disputes with studios. Julia currently serves as Senior Counsel at RED Law, where she represents employees and executives in high-stakes employment matters, with a particular emphasis on disability and protected leave cases.

After experiencing chronic illness, Julia became passionate about holistic health and realized just how much American norms like rugged individualism, lack of emotional attunement, and hard-driving work culture cause and perpetuate health issues. She is knowledgeable about attachment theory, somatic practices, mindfulness, and healthy communication. In January 2023, she founded a consulting practice called Legally Holistic, which combines legal information with psychology to empower workers dealing with burnout, disabilities, and health issues.

Julia loves the forest, healthy cooking (especially from Danielle Walker’s cookbooks), gardening, her book club, spiritual practice, writing, design, and dance parties with her nephews.

Ellen Vora, MD is a board-certified psychiatrist, acupuncturist, and yoga teacher, and she is the author of the bestselling book The Anatomy of Anxiety. She takes a functional medicine approach to mental health—considering the whole person and addressing imbalance at the root. Dr. Vora received her B.A. from Yale University and her M.D. from Columbia University.

Mira Mariah is an artist and the creator of the brand Girl Knew York. Her work represents all she holds dear: beauty, human connection, girl culture, motherhood, glamor, romance and art history. Girl Knew York encourages its fans to redefine beauty on their own terms, and bring it into each part of their life – to be surrounded in joy as armor for when life looks grim. Girl Knew York works to make sure this attitude is not limited to those who fit into mainstream culture, but also supports parents, the disabled, all body types, genders, and minority groups. Most recently Girl Knew York has partnered with brands such as MeUndies, Squarespace and Sebastian (coming soon) on various products and campaigns to tell stories and ignite excitement. Girl Knew York just opened a gallery, gift shop and clubhouse in the iconic Rockefeller Center to connect art to her audience in real life through exhibits, classes and merchandise.

Mira Mariah’s following grew after debuting her single-line signature tattoo style which came from her training as a fashion illustrator at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). This unique look inspired a following of thousands from across the world that seek out her work for tattoos, art and merchandise. She still treasures tattooing as an intimate way to connect with her fans and explore art and the body. She is an artist, influencer, tattooist, advocate and mother living in Brooklyn and working out of Girl Knew York headquarters in Tribeca.

Melisse Gelula is the cofounder of Well+Good, a leading health and wellness digital media company for which she was named one of 9 Most Creative Entrepreneurs by Inc Magazine and one of 10 Writers and Editors Who Are Changing the National Conversation by Adweek. With a career that spans digital, magazines, and book publishing (Random House), she’s written for dozens of lifestyle outlets and has shared her expertise with Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, the New York Times, WSJ, Fast Company, and more.

Previously, Melisse worked in mental health as a psychoanalytic therapist and crisis counselor. She is a Global Wellness Institute Board Advisor and recently contributed to the organization’s pandemic white paper “Mental Resilience in a Time of Stress and Trauma.”

Having grown Well+Good to a successful acquisition in 2018, Melisse is currently writing a mother-daughter memoir about being raised by a child psychologist who starts to hear voices. You can follow her on Instagram @MelisseJoy

Dr. Rani Banik is America’s Integrative Eye Doctor. She is a board-certified ophthalmologist and fellowship-trained neuro-ophthalmologist with additional training in Integrative and Functional Medicine. Dr. Rani focuses on the root cause of eye diseases and uses integrative strategies for conditions such as dry eye, thyroid eye disease, macular degeneration, cataract, glaucoma, and other autoimmune diseases of the visual system. She also has a special interest in migraine with visual symptoms, multiple sclerosis, and eye stroke. Her treatments are based on nutrition, botanicals, lifestyle modification, essential oils, and supplements.

Dr. Rani runs a private practice based in New York City and is also Associate Professor of Mount Sinai in NYC, where she serves as an educator and researcher. As Principal Investigator of several clinical trials in diseases of the optic nerve, Dr. Rani uses cutting-edge approaches such as nanotechnology and gene therapy. Dr. Rani is frequently featured as an expert in the media and has been interviewed on Good Morning America, CBS, NBC, ABC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Fox, amongst many others. Dr. Rani has been voted as Castle Connolly Top Doctor and New York Magazine’s Best Doctor in Ophthalmology every year since 2017. Dr. Rani’s first book, “Beyond Carrots – Best Foods For Eye Health A to Z’ has won high praise from medical professionals in both the fields of ophthalmology and integrative medicine. “Beyond Carrots” focuses on the 30+ nutrients and 40 foods that best provide complete nutrition for your eyes. Dr. Rani has a companion cookbook as well, “The Beyond Carrots Cookbook”, which includes over 160 delicious and nutritious recipes that will be a feast for your eyes! Both are available via Amazon and Kindle in print and eBook versions.

Amy Keller Laird is the founder of Mental, the first mental health lifestyle platform for women. She is the former Editor-in-Chief of Women’s Health, EVP/Brand & Audience Development at Remedy Health Media (where she oversaw eight digital brands for people with chronic health conditions), and Beauty Director of Allure. Amy is a thought leader in health, mental health, wellness, and beauty, and has appeared as an expert on Today, Good Morning America, The Doctors, CNN’s HLN, and Entertainment Tonight. She has OCD, and has been named a Friend of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) for her journalistic work in mental health.

Karolina Kristina Chorvath is a Czechoslovak-American journalist, blogger and chronic illness advocate who has lived and reported in many countries. She is a lifelong “Spoonie,” and uses her platform to fight for access and inclusion for folks living with chronic illnesses and disabilities. Karolina is the author of “Self-Care for Spoonies: A Guide to Thriving with Chronic Illness.” Karolina is an Aquarius and former workaholic who loves all things fashion and beauty, as well as meditation and slow living.

Tina was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at 29, just as she was obtaining her Master’s degree and moving up in her career. She ultimately realized her current path was no longer supportive of her health and understood that her goals were now going to look different. Tina is learning what it means to thrive on her own terms by leaning into community and finding ways to work with her body instead of against it. She has been a Chronicon member since 2020 and leads the Career collective, where she creates content and hosts virtual events for members to find the support they need to navigate work while living with a chronic illness. In her free time, Tina enjoys reading, spending time with her husband and 5-year-old puppy, and finding the best coffee NYC has to offer.

Stacey Ballard is a dynamic, courageous, and passionate artist, utilizing her talents as a teacher, collaborator, and mentor. Art is Stacey’s passion. She educates and fosters self-expression in people living with chronic illness, building confidence and inspiring continued creativity in their lives. She has learned to use the creative process to support her well-being during her own treatment and healing.

As an organ transplant recipient living with chronic illness, she was once told by doctors that she may not survive. Stacey used art and the science of creativity to save her own life.  She uses her knowledge of art, health, and meditation in her healing workshops for chronically ill adults and children allowing one’s inner artist to emerge.

Her lifelong love of art is evident in her workbook “The Fine Art of Waiting – Wellness through creativity.” This workbook was created to help you gain more insight into yourself, decrease your stress, and change your relationship to your illness and pain into one of transformation, possibility, and hope.

Nikita Williams is an award-winning mindset business coach, certified professional essential oils specialist, speaker, and host of the top-ranking global podcast, She’s Crafted to Thrive. She’s been featured on Rising Tide, The Jasmine Star Show, and The Simplifiers Podcast. She was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2009 and fibromyalgia in 2010. These diagnoses inspired her to use her previous entrepreneur and corporate experience to jump-start her career as a business coach. She aims to help all creative women—especially those with chronic illnesses— share their stories and empower them to use their stories as fuel so they can be successful, create the life they deserve, and, most importantly, thrive.

Co-founder of Woops!, Actress, and Mental Health Advocate

I was born and raised in New Jersey and then attended the Pace University Lubin School of Business in NYC, where I studied Marketing and Finance. This is also where I met my husband 🙂  After working in advertising post-college, I quickly realized that the corporate world wasn’t for me. Soon thereafter, my husband and I, along with a few of our friends, started Woops!, a gifting company that specializes in french macarons! I also started a career in acting, which has always been my first passion.  

Being diagnosed with OCD, an anxiety disorder, at the age of 13, I have had my share of mental health struggles. I am so thankful for my family and the support system I have today and am confident that with the right therapist, resources, and knowledge, healing and thriving are possible. I am grateful for Chronicon and for the wonderful community, it brings to us and the generations to come. 

Nina Grae is a California-native, singer-songwriter, producer, vocal coach, and creative group facilitator using music as a tool to amplify the spirit of love. Grae’s music has struck a chord with listeners worldwide, and she has previously opening up events for luminaries such as Marianne Williamson, Michael Beckwith and Jane Goodall. Themes of unity, mindfulness and compassion and justice weave throughout her original works, igniting a deep remembrance in the heart of listeners. In addition to helping vocal students activate their authentic voice, Nina is currently working on her 2nd full-length studio album release, slated for Spiring of 2024. If Nina wants you to remember one thing it is this: YOU ARE NO ACCIDENT — YOU CAME HERE ON PURPOSE WITH A SPECIFIC GIFT TO GIVE!! To learn more, visit Nina’s website: www.ninagrae.com

Nitika Chopra is the founder of Chronicon, a media and events company, dedicated to elevating the lives of those living with a chronic illness. Nitika was diagnosed with psoriasis at the age of 10 and psoriatic arthritis at the age of 19 and lived over 17 years of her life being defined by her conditions. In 2010 she decided to take all of the lessons her health journey had taught her and use it to help others. Since the start of her entrepreneurial journey Nitika has hosted her own TV talk show on Z Living called Naturally Beautiful, hosted over 40 events with hundreds of guests in attendance and has created dynamic partnerships with over 150 brands in the wellness space. 

After 10 years in event creation, Nitika launched Chronicon in the fall of 2019, focused on those living with a chronic illness. The event sold out, had over 2,000 livestream viewers, high-level brand sponsors and has been growing ever since.

Since its launch, Chronicon has expanded online and you can now download the Chronicon app right to your phone and access it any time. This community is an accessible online space with inspiration, advocacy, and empowerment for chronically ill folks across the globe. You can also join Chronicon for its first live event since the pandemic, taking place on May 19th, in Brooklyn New York which can be streamed anywhere in the world. 

Nitika is also the host of the podcast “Thriving Together” which is available wherever you enjoy your podcasts.

The Resistance Revival Chorus (RRC) is a collective of more than 60 women, and non-binary singers, who join together to breathe joy and song into the resistance, and to uplift and center women’s voices. Chorus members are touring musicians, film and television actors, Broadway performers, solo recording artists, gospel singers, political activists, educators, filmmakers, artists, and more, representing a multitude of identities, professions, creative backgrounds, and activist causes. The RRC centers women in music, and addresses how historically marginalized women have been in the music industry.