Dr. Adu-Krow is the former Guyana Resident Representative of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). Having served in PAHO/WHO leadership positions internationally, he has a demonstrated history of working in governmental affairs and is skilled in non-profit organizations, program evaluation, strategic planning, and strategy development. He is a much-admired and trusted professional at both clinical and programmatic levels with a MBChB (Family Practice) from the University of Science and Technology, School of Medical Science, Ghana, as well as an MPH (Family Health) and a DrPH (Survey Research) from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Adu- Krow is the Project Director and a Co-Investigator of the Guyana Well-Being Study and the Co-Investigator/Faculty on the Columbia University-University of Guyana Research in Injury and Trauma Training (GRITT) Program.

Dr. Brian Ahmedani received his PhD and MSW degrees from Michigan State University (MSU). He is a fully licensed clinical and macro masters-level social worker in the State of Michigan. Dr. Ahmedani also completed a NIH / NIDA-funded fellowship program in Drug Dependence Epidemiology. He joined the Center for Health Policy and Health Services Research at Henry Ford Health System (Henry Ford Health) in 2010, and was appointed Director of the Center (September 2018).

His research interests are in the area of health services and interventions for individuals with mental health and substance use conditions, with particular expertise in suicide prevention. Currently, he is the Henry Ford Health Site-PI for the NIMH-funded Mental Health Research Network and the Health Systems Node of the NIDA Clinical Trials Network. He is PI/Co-PI for two large multi-site studies on suicide prevention – the first investigating healthcare use patterns before suicide and the second evaluating implementation of the Zero Suicide Model across health systems. He is also Co-PI for the Trans-America Consortium of the NIH All of Us Research Program, and serves as Co-I on several other projects.

Dr. Ahmedani has been appointed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Suicide Prevention Commission for a term commencing April 3, 2020 and expiring April 2, 2024. The Commission works with state departments and agencies and nonprofit organizations to research the causes and possible underlying factors of suicide in Michigan.

Research Interests:
His research interests are in the area of health services and interventions for individuals with mental health and substance use conditions, with particular expertise in suicide prevention.

Mr. Irfan Akhtar is the UNICEF Deputy Representative for Guyana and Suriname. He has over 20 years’ experience working with international organizations, including 10 years with UNICEF, and has worked in the Middle East, Asia and the Caribbean. Prior to Guyana and Suriname, he served in Lao PDR, DPR Korea, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Yemen and India. As the Deputy Representative, he leads the current country programme, which has four priority areas: safety-justice, lifelong learning, social inclusion-child rights monitoring and emergency preparedness and response. He is responsible for overall programme planning, partnerships, coordination, strategic direction, providing policy support, advocacy, monitoring, quality assurance and reporting.

Ms. Priyanka Algu is a medical student in her final year at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell in New York. She is a proud Guyanese American, with an interest in psychiatry shaped by experiences with mental illnesses not only in the clinical setting but also in her own Guyanese community. As a future psychiatrist, she hopes to be an involved provider in the Guyanese community, working towards improving quality of life and accessibility to care for patients suffering from often stigmatized psychiatric illnesses.

Mr. Ali is the Chief Operating Officer of the IDRF. With a remarkable track record of managing complex international development and humanitarian projects in over 30 countries, Mr. Ali brings a wealth of experience and expertise to IDRF. His profound commitment to supporting remote communities in conflicted regions and his significant contributions to empowering youth in Canada have made him a standout leader in the field. During his tenure as Sr. Director of Programs and Operations at IDRF, Mr. Ali successfully aligned development priorities with strategic objectives, leading the Finance, Marketing, Human Resources, and Fundraising teams to implement improvements that enhanced operational efficiency. With support of Global Affairs Canada, he also designed a 5-year non-clinical resilience-focused national mental health intervention program in Guyana, the country’s first, that launched in 2022. His strategic vision and expertise enabled IDRF to implement over 100 sustainable development and humanitarian projects annually, positively impacting nearly 1.89 million people worldwide last year.

Dr. Amsel graduated from Columbia University, in mathematics, and completed his medical training at Yale University. He joined the faculty of Columbia University in 1992 as a clinical and research psychiatrist, and subsequently obtained an MPH. After 9/11, Dr. Amsel joined the Trauma Studies and Services division at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and was co-director of their program for treating victims of 9/11, and training community clinicians in treatments for PTSD. Dr. Amsel is now at the Global Psychiatric Epidemiology Group (GPEG) at Columbia, where he serves as Associate Director and is involved with multiple federally funded studies of children and adolescents who have faced trauma , including 9/11 exposure. Dr. Amsel was one of the early champions of the application of Mathematical Modeling based on Decision Science, Game Theory and Behavioral Economics to psychiatric research. This included modeling suicidal behavior, OCD, Prolonged Grief Disorder, and Anorexia. Dr. Amsel is also a Co-Investigator on the Guyana Well-Being projects and also trains Primary Care physicians throughout the United States to recognize and treat people with mental health problems.

Miss Renika Anand is a 17-year-old Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) student at Marian Academy, and a member of the Young Influencers Cohort 2023. She is currently studying to attain an Associate’s degree in Natural Sciences. She is passionate about the areas of writing, Science and research. She currently writes a weekly column for the Stabroek Newspaper entitled ‘Growing Perspectives’. Her background in research stems from her participation in the 15th and 17th Annual Caribbean Child Research Conference, where Ms. Anand secured second position at both sessions in the best research category. She also won a Best Oral Presenter Prize at the 17th annual conference. Ms. Anand has also represented her school and won prizes at different events such as IDEAthon 2023, and various Science Fairs conducted by the Guyanese Government. In the future, she hopes to invest her interest and energy towards research projects that can help to develop the country.

Dr. John Anderson has an MSc Internal Medicine, MBBS, ASc Pharmacy, BTh The Centre For Healthcare Excellence Inc., Georgetown, Guyana. He is an Internal Medicine Specialist who practices out of the Medical Clinic GPHC. Dr. Anderson is an entrepreneur, founder and CEO of The Centre For Healthcare Excellence Inc.. The Centre is a local healthcare company providing home-care and conventional doctor office consultations to the Guyanese population. He earned a Master of Science from the University of Edinburgh UK. MBBS, and Associate of Science Degree Pharmacy, University of Guyana, as well as a Bachelors of Theology, Wesleyan Bible College. Apart from the practice of Medicine, Dr. Anderson is a Guyanese patriot who believes in giving back to his community and is a member of the Region four (4) road safety council, where he works closely with law enforcement to ensure safer roads and the preservation of life and limb.

Since Hon. Dr. Anthony, MD, MPH, MP, was appointed Minister of Health for Guyana in August 2020 he has consistently focused on improving mental health services, with a special emphasis on reducing the high rate of suicide within the country. Minister Anthony received his MD from the People’s Friendship University in Russia and his MPH from the Hebrew University, Israel. He has also previously served as the Executive Director of the Health Sector Development Unit, an elected member of the Guyana Medical Council and was previously the Guyana Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport. Additionally, he previously served as an Adjunct Professor of Public Health at the University of Guyana.

Professor Apter is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, educator, and world-renowned suicidologist, working internationally with psychiatrists and primary care providers, including nurses, psychologists and social workers, to develop suicide prevention and intervention programs. He has served as a Visiting Professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine, the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Yale School of Medicine, and Columbia University Medical Center. He has also recently joined the faculty at Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology at Reichman University in Herzliya, Israel. He is known for helping to build mental health capacity, especially suicide prevention activities, through research and by training health professionals. Professor Apter is a Consultant on the Guyana Well-Being Projects.