Billion Minds Institute Board

Gary Belkin is Chair of the Billion Minds Institute Board, Director of the Billion Minds Project at Columbia University, and Chair of COP². Formerly Deputy Health Commissioner for New York City, Gary founded the Billion Minds Institute to bring policy and practical attention and change for taking on the “social climate” crisis of the climate crisis. Dr. Belkin has implemented innovative approaches to mental health, especially those that integrate with and amplify other social and community capabilities, policies, and goals at scale. That included holding senior management positions in government and in large health and human service providers, advisory roles to US urban settings as well as national and local government partnerships globally, and work as a teacher and researcher.

Kate Hilton is Faculty at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), the American Health Care Association, and the Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity at George Washington University. For over fifteen years, Kate has taught and coached people around the globe to build individual and organizational capability to address the adaptive, human-side of change. 
Bringing an expertise in social movements, collaborative leadership and change management, Kate supports multi-year large-scale community and health system improvement initiatives on health equity, workforce wellbeing and quality improvement with partners such as the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the National Health Service of England. She serves as a keynote speaker, leadership trainer and author of white papers such as IHI's Psychology of Change Framework.

Kate earned an undergraduate degree at Dartmouth College, a Masters of Theological Studies at Harvard Divinity School, and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School. She lives in Hanover, New Hampshire, with her husband and two sons.

Alicia Johnson is a founding partner of the brand agency Johnson+Wolverton, an author, and a warrior of hope. Hope, as described by poet-laureate Seamus Heaney, is her throughline. “Hope is not optimism, which expects things to turn out well, but something rooted in the conviction that there is good worth working for.” She has been a guide for revealing global brands’ ‘good worth working for’ and then bringing that work to the world through marketing and communications campaigns for enterprises such as MoMA, FedEx, Comedy Central, BBCAmerica, Sundance, and Bloomberg. She is currently working on the book “Buried Treasure. A Field Guide to the Life-Changing Magic of Revealing Yourself.” It is memoir, science, and strategic action for what to do with trauma.

Kirsten Johnson is a filmmaker and documentary cinematographer who has filmed in over 80 countries. Her next project is a scripted feature film based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Susan Sontag. Her previous film, Dick Johnson is Dead premiered at Sundance 2020, where it won the Jury Prize for Innovation in Nonfiction Storytelling. The film won the Primetime Emmy for Directing and made the Oscar shortlist. Her previous film, Cameraperson, named on The New York Times ‘Top Ten Films of 2016’ was also shortlisted for the Academy Award.  Her Field of Vision short, The Above was nominated for the IDA’s ‘Best Short Award’ for 2016. Her camerawork appears in Academy Award winner Citizen Four, Academy nominated The Invisible War, and Cannes Winner Fahrenheit 9/11. She is one of the only 5% of women members of American Society of Cinematographers.

Jennifer Uchendu is an ecofeminist and sustainable development advocate based in Lagos. She is the founder of SustyVibes, a youth-led organisation making sustainability actionable and relatable to young people. Jennifer’s interests lie at the intersections of youth, women and climate action. Jennifer‘s collaboration with ONCA began while she was studying at the Institute of Development Studies where she researched on issues around climate justice, art, youth and eco-anxiety for her Masters programme.

Avra van der Zee is a climate entrepreneur and executive with extensive experience implementing and scaling proven climate solutions. She is the COO of Elemental Excelerator, a non-profit investor focused on climate solutions with deep community impact, the Board Chair of Made of Air, a Berlin-based biochar company, and an advisor to numerous impact organizations and ventures such as BlocPower, Story Ventures & Denizen. Previously, Avra served as GC, COO & CSO at JUMP from seed stage to an industry-leading growth phase and led JUMP’s strategic $200MM+ sale to Uber in 2018. 

Dr. Lise Van Susteren is a general and forensic psychiatrist in Washington, DC, and an expert on the physical and mental health effects of climate change. In 2011 she co-authored "The Psychological Effects of Global Warming on the U.S. - Why the US Mental Health System Is Not Prepared". In addition to community organizing on climate issues, Van Susteren serves on the Boards of Earth Day Network, Physicians for Social Responsibility, ecoAmerica, Climate Protection and Resilience Initiative She is a co-founder of "Climate Psychiatry Alliance," and of “Climate Psychology Alliance – North America” - groups dedicated to promoting awareness and action on climate from a mental health perspective. She is the expert witness on the psychological damages to young people from climate disruption in Juliana v United States, in Navahine v State of Hawaii and in the victorious Held v State of Montana. In 2006 Dr. Van Susteren sought the Democratic nomination to the US Senate from Maryland. She is a frequent contributor on television, radio and in the print media. Her book, “Emotional Inflammation – Discover Your Triggers and Reclaim Your Equilibrium During Anxious Times” was published in April 2020. She is the editor of the soon to be released book, “Climate and Your Mind’ and a founding member of “EcoPsy” at Ecopsychepedia.org.