Our People
Chude Jideonwo
Founder
Chude Jideonwo is the host of #WithChude – a network of media products across TV, Radio, Podcast, Newsletter and Blog telling stories that enable and strengthen the mind, the heart, and the spirit.
He is also co-founder of media group RED, and human flourishing company Joy, Inc. RED, one of Africa’s leading media, content and consulting companies, has worked on national elections and social movements in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Senegal, and Joy, Inc. has worked with organisations from the Ford Motor Company to the Lagos State Government on building safe, warm spaces across business, government, and culture.
He has been a Forbes 30 under 30 honouree, a CNBC Young Business Leader of the Year winner, an Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellow, and a World Fellow at Yale University. His writing and work have been featured on the New York Times, the Guardian, the BBC, CNN, Aljazeera, the Huffington Post and the Financial Times, and he is the author of two books, ‘Are We The Turning Point Generation?’ and ‘How to Win Elections in Africa: Parallels with Donald Trump’.
He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students at the Pan Atlantic University, and has been a board member at Microsoft 4Afrika, The Initiative for Equal Rights and the Oando Foundation.
Jideonwo’s work centers on storytelling from across disciplines, to inspire new, human-centered narratives about politics, markets, faith, identity, and society in Africa.
Jennifer Mairo
C.O.O
Jennifer Mairo is a multi-sector professional and leader with almost two decades of experience in project management, media,and film. She possesses a deep understanding of organizational transformation, leadership, and team productivity.
Before joining as the COO of Joy, Inc., She worked as Principal and Program Director at RAS Studios, partnering with Dallas Film School and other schools across the United States to mentor and train emerging filmmakers. At RAS, she designed and developed an educational module that was implemented across 20 states in the United States. Jennifer has graduated over 100 students under this program.
She founded The Pamela Erere Foundation, (PEF), a nonprofit organization in Dallas TX USA and ran the organization for 10 years. She is the author of two books, “Miss Independent, Misunderstood” and “Screw it, Go Ahead and Quit Cold Turkey”.
She holds a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Public Administration and Policy from the prestigious Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) She is certified in Organizational Development and Human Resource Management with extensive experience and knowledge in major HRIS Systems.
Passionate about enterprise transformation, she leads stand-ups, sprint planning, productions, and retrospectives to ensure alignment and collaboration.
Jennifer takes pride in her unique ability to transform even the most toxic work environments into warm, focused, and highly productive spaces where team members thrive.
Global Advisory Council
Craig S. Bailey
Craig S. Bailey
Craig S. Bailey, Ph.D., is an Associate Research Scientist and the Director of Early Childhood at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. Craig and his team facilitate professional development workshops for the RULER Approach with early childhood educators, develop content for practicing and teaching emotional intelligence, and conduct psychological, educational, and intervention research. He works closely with state and national organizations as well as school districts and networks tasked with integrating social and emotional learning into early childhood education. Craig’s research explores children’s social and emotional learning in early childhood classrooms with an emphasis on how teachers support and promote the development of empathy and emotion regulation. With experience as an early childhood educator, Craig is passionate about bridging the gap between research and practice. In addition to his work at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, Craig consults on many initiatives, most prominently as the Director of Measurement and Evaluation for Think Equal, a member of the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning Assessment Workgroup, and a Research Advisor for Sesame Workshop. He is also a proud father of two young children. Craig earned his B.S. in psychology from South Dakota State University and his doctorate in applied developmental psychology from George Mason University.
David Marcotte
David Marcotte
David Marcotte, S.J., Ph.D. is a Jesuit Priest and Clinical Psychologist, Clinical Assistant Professor and Associate Director of Clinical Training at Fordham University. His research interests focus on the psychology of well-being, including the role of internalized identity for health-related behaviour. He has developed Spiritual Self Schema Therapy, an empirically supported intervention to increase self-determination and reduce substance use for injection and non-injection drug users. Fr. Marcotte is also a member of the Psychology Coalition of NGOs at the United Nations where he represents the Institute for Multicultural Counselling and Educational Services and works on projects related to health and well-being.
David C. Tate
David C. Tate
David C. Tate is a licensed clinical psychologist and an Assistant Clinical Professor in Psychiatry at Yale University. His areas of practice in organizational consulting include coaching and leadership development, conflict resolution, team-building, succession planning and promoting healthy organizational development. In his clinical practice, he sees individuals, families and groups around issues concerning health, relationships, and dealing effectively with life transitions. Dr. Tate is a co-author of Sink or Swim: How Lessons from the Titanic Can Save Your Family Business. He earned a certificate in family business advising from the Family Firm Institute, and serves as the facilitator for the National Association of Corporate Directors Connecticut Chapter’s Family Business Roundtable. He also is the co-founder of the Connecticut Consulting Psychology Group. He received his B.S. at Cornell University, his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Virginia and completed pre- and post-doctoral fellowships at Yale University before joining the faculty at the University.
Gbonjubola Babalola-Abiri
Gbonjubola Babalola-Abiri
Gbonjubola Babalola-Abiri is a medical doctor, Consultant Psychiatrist, Managerial Psychologist, and the M.D /C.E.O of Redi-Med Consulting Services, a Medical Consultancy firm. She is a graduate of Medicine from the College of Medicine, University of Ilorin (M.B.B.S) and holds a Master’s degree in Managerial Psychology (MMP) from the University of Lagos. She has received trainings from the King’s College London, the University of Washington and the prestigious Harvard University, Boston USA. Passionate about research in adolescent and women’s mental health as well as occupational mental health, Gbonjubola is a Mental Health advocate who is driven by the holistic view to health, and as such is a regular voice on various print and electronic media. She also uses her knowledge in Psychiatry and Psychology to influence and maximize effectiveness and productivity in the workplace. She volunteers with the Pastor Bimbo Odukoya (PBO) Foundation, the Adorable Foundation International (an NGO against drug abuse), the Live-well Initiative and functions with the Centre for Mental Health Research and Initiative (CEMHRI) as a Project Coordinator.
Dr. Zainab Imam
Dr. Zainab Imam
Dr. Zainab Imam obtained her medical degree in 1991 from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, following which she trained at the University College Hospital in Ibadan and worked at The National Hospital, Abuja in General Practice before moving to the United Kingdom (UK) where she retrained as a General Adult Psychiatrist with endorsement in Rehabilitation and Subspecialty interests in Early Intervention in Psychosis and Perinatal Psychiatry; she has worked in Psychiatry for over 10 years and she is currently a Consultant in Women’s Mental Health at Sidra Medicine in Qatar. She is a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and she holds a One Year Intermediate Certificate of the University of Plymouth in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. Prior to moving to Qatar, Dr Imam was an Honorary University Fellow of Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry. She was also the Module Lead for the General Adult Module of the Southwest Peninsula Deanery’s MRCPsych Course and she was an approved clinical and educational supervisor and trainer for core psychiatry trainees in the Southwest Peninsula Deanery in the UK. She was also a Trustee and Director of Plymouth Centre for Faiths and Cultural Diversity.
Dr Imam is a member of the Public Education Engagement Board of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, she is a Partner in Psychiatry-UK LLP, the only NHS and CQC approved provider of Tele-psychiatry services in the UK and she is a Faculty member of a United Nation’s Population Fund (UNFPA) Supported joint MANSAG and IDP Diaspora Support Group Trauma Counselling Training Program in Nigeria. She is also a founding trustee of Foundation for Refugees Economic Empowerment (FREE); a Registered Charity in both UK and Nigeria that works closely with Internally Displaced Persons in the North East of Nigeria. Dr Imam is a Muslim; she is married to Ibrahim and they are blessed with 4 children
Dr. Jonathan Brakarsh
Dr. Jonathan Brakarsh
Dr. Jonathan Brakarsh is a psychologist living in Zimbabwe who consults internationally on issues related to emotional and physical pain. He is the author of four books which have been translated into several languages. His most recent book is “Singing to the Lions- A guide to overcoming fear and violence in our lives (Catholic Relief Services, 2017). He is the Director of the Say and Play Therapy Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe and the Co-founder of the Integrated Pain Management Group, a consortium of health and counselling professionals devising innovative treatments for chronic pain.
