Dr Aaron T. Beck, MD, is recognized as the founder of Cognitive Therapy, and one of the world's leading researchers in psychopathology. He has been credited with shaping the face of American psychiatry, and <em>The American Psychologist</em> has called him "one of the five most influential psychotherapists of all time."

Dr. Beck graduated from Brown University in 1942 and Yale Medical School in 1946. Originally trained as a psychoanalyst, his explorations into psychoanalytic concepts of depression while working as a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania led to his development of Cognitive Therapy, which has since been found to be effective in hundreds of clinical trials for many different disorders.

Dr. Beck has developed a number of scales to measure psychopathology which are used broadly throughout the world. He has participated on review panels of the National Institutes of Mental Health, served on the editorial boards of many journals and lectured around the world. He has been a visiting scientist of the Medical Research Council at Oxford and a visiting professor at Harvard, Yale and Columbia. He is a visiting fellow of Wolfson College. He is also the honorary president of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, a non-profit organization of more than 800 certified cognitive therapists and 100 general members worldwide.

Dr. Beck has published more than 600 articles and authored or co-authored 25 books. He is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2006 Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research and the Gustave O. Lienhard Award from the Institute of Medicine for “outstanding national achievement in improving personal health care services in the United States", and “America’s Nobel”, often considered America's Nobel Prize.

Mauro Galluccio received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the Free University of Brussels, Belgium, and his M.A. in “Psychology Applied to Institutional Contexts” from the Second University of Naples, Italy. He is a member of the Register of Psychologists of Italy and Belgium, and member of the SITTC and EABCT. He is the president of the European Association for Negotiation and Mediation (EANAM) based in Brussels. He is scientific adviser at the ULB, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, in Brussels, Belgium and visiting professor at the Pontifical University, San Bonaventura, Rome, Italy. He is trainer at the Council of Ministers of the European Union. Mauro Galluccio has been visiting scholar and Marie Curie Senior Research Fellow for two years at the “Conflict Management Centre” at Johns Hopkins University, SAIS (Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies) in Washington D.C., USA and at the Italian Research Council (CNR), Italy. He has been Cumbie Senior Fellow for two years at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (S-Car) at the George Mason University, Arlington, Virginia.

Dr. Galluccio is both political scientist and psychologist. He studied and was trained at the Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA; Washington Institute of Peace, Washington D.C.; the Beck’s Institute for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy, Philadelphia. He has given many speeches, presented numerous papers and symposia at international conferences and congresses on the subject of International relations and negotiation with a particular interest in the application of cognitive-behavioral psychology and psychotherapy principles to the field of political science, negotiation, mediation, and institutional contexts.

Dr. Galluccio has worked for many years within the European institutional framework as political analyst and adviser. He was coordinator of a special program on international development and communication officer at the Directorate-General of the European Commission for Development and Relations with African, Caribbean and Pacific States. Previously he was Spokesman to the President of COPA and coordinator of the Crisis Management Unit at the COPA-COGECA.

Among Dr. Galluccio’s research interests are those on applied cognitive and behavioural psychology; international relations and preventive diplomacy; conflict resolution and peace negotiations; interpersonal negotiations; tailored training for negotiators and politicians; the European Union internal negotiation processes and institutional external communication.
He is co-author of &lt;em&gt;Psychological processes in international negotiations: theoretical and practical perspectives&lt;/em&gt; (with F. Aquilar, Springer, New York, 2008) and co-editor of &lt;em&gt;Psychological and Political Strategies for Peace Negotiation. A Cognitive Approach&lt;/em&gt; (with F. Aquilar, Springer, New York, 2011).

Eero Ailio works since 2000 at the European Commission where he is currently Deputy Head of Unit,&quot; Internal Market: Retail Markets Coal and Oil&quot; at the Directorate-General Energy. The unit leads on retail energy market issues, offshore oil and gas safety policy, smart grid and metering initiatives in the Commission. Having coordinated hydrocarbon and solid fuel policies in DG Energy he concluded negotiations on the Directive on the safety of offshore oil and gas operations (2013/30/EU), he is now developing policies for retail energy markets and related consumer, smart technology topics. He represents the European Commission in the Energy Working Party of the Council and chairs the Vulnerable Consumers Working Group under Citizens Energy Forum.

Prior to DG Energy he worked on space policy and Trans-European Transport Networks within the Commission. This involved in particular creating and coordinating an external relations policy for the Galileo satellite navigation programme and resolving related technology, security and trade issues. He was Deputy Negotiator in talks leading to international agreements with the United States, People's Republic of China, Russia and Norway on satellite navigation.

In the nineties he served as a career diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Helsinki and in Brussels focusing on multilateral security, humanitarian aid and refugee policy issues in NATO, WEU and UNHCR. He was member of a taskforce assisting President Martti Ahtisaari, who mediated peace in Kosovo in 1999.

In the eighties he held various positions in corporate finance, media, energy retail and city administration in Finland, Sweden and Germany.

Professor Andrea Bartoli is the Dean of the School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University. He works primarily on peacemaking and genocide prevention.  He is a Senior Fellow at the S-CAR Center for Peacemaking Practice (CPP) and a faculty member at the Center on Peace and Conflict Studies at Seton Hall University. He is the founding director of Columbia University’s Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR), a Senior Research Scholar at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), as an Affiliate at the Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies. Previously, Bartoli has chaired the Columbia University Seminar on Conflict Resolution.  He was a Teaching Fellow at Georgetown University and at the University of Siena.  He was also the Cumbie Chair and Director of the Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution (ICAR) and the Dean of the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University. Dr. Bartoli is also a member of the Dynamical Systems and Conflict Team and a Board member of Search for Common Ground. 

Dr. Bartoli has also been involved in many conflict resolution activities as a member of the Community of Sant’Egidio.  Bartoli has served as Associate Director of the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies at Columbia University, as a lecturer at the University of Rome-Tor Vergata, and as director of the Center for the Study of Social Programs. He was president of Unita Sanitaria Locale 7 and a consultant to Consiglio Nazionale dell’Economia e del Lavoro.  Bartoli is from Rome, Italy.

Among his publications Negotiating Peace: The Role of Non-Governmental Organizations (2013); he co-edited Peacemaking: From Practice to Theory (2011) and is one of the authors of Attracted to Conflict (2013).

Bartoli received an Italian dottorato di ricerca (Ph.D. equivalent) at the University of Milan and a laurea (B.A./M.A. equivalent) at the University of Rome.

Frank M. Dattilio is one of the world leading figures in the areas of Cognitive-Behavioral therapy, and clinical and forensic psychology. He maintains faculty appointments within the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He is a licensed psychologist in the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Delaware, and is listed in the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology.

Dr. Dattilio is board certified in both clinical psychology and behavioral psychology through the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) and received a Certificate of Training in Forensic Psychiatry (Psychology) through the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is also a founding Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy (ACT) and is a Fellow in the division of clinical psychology with the American Psychological Association. Dr. Dattilio has been a visiting faculty member at many major universities and medical schools throughout the world.

Dr. Dattilio’s active areas of research involve selected topics in Cognitive-Behavioral therapy, clinical and forensic psychology, and case-based investigations. He is featured in “Harvard Science” and is also a participant with the “Scholars in Medicine” program at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Dattilio has over 280 professional publications and 19 books in the areas of anxiety disorders, forensic and clinical psychology, and marital and family discord.

E. Thomas Dowd is currently Senior Psychologist with Rainier Associates in Tacoma, Washington and Professor Emeritus at Kent State University in Ohio. He is a member of the international faculty at Babes Bolyai University in Romania. He was previously associated with Western Reserve Psychological Associates in Ohio and has taught at Florida State University and the University of Nebraska prior to Kent State University. He is well-known for his work in paradoxical interventions, social influence processes, tacit knowledge structures in human cognition, and cognitive hypnotherapy, and has taught and lectured around the world.

Robert L. Gallucci, PhD in politics, served in a variety of government positions, focusing on international security ; as Ambassador-at-Large and Special Envoy for the U.S. Department of State, he dealt with the threats posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction. He was chief U.S. negotiator during the North Korean nuclear crisis of 1994, and served as Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs and as Deputy Executive Chairman of the UN Special Commission overseeing the disarmament of Iraq following the first Gulf War.

Ambassador Gallucci served at Dean of the School of Foreign Service for 13 years until he left in 2009, to become president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. He led in the creation of the School of Foreign Service in Qatar, and helped raise Georgetown University's Masters programs in international affairs to number one ranking as reported by Foreign Policy magazine.

Paul Gilbert (BA, MSc, PhD, Dip Clin Psych, FBPsS OBE) is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Derby and Consultant Psychologist at Derbyshire Mental Health Services NHS Trust. He has degrees in both Economics and Psychology. He has been a Fellow of the British Psychological Society since 1993. He has authored over 200 academic papers and book chapters, and authored / edited 18 books. He has developed an integrative multi-modal approach to therapy called Compassion Focused Therapy. In March 2011 he was awarded an OBE by the Queen for his work in mental health.

Cameron Hume served as U.S. ambassador to Algeria, to South Africa, and to Indonesia. He has published three books and numerous articles on the subject of negotiations and foreign policy. He now works as an independent business consultant with a special emphasis on environmental matters.

Louis Kriesberg is Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Maxwell Professor Emeritus of Social Conflict Studies and founding director of the Program on the Analysis and Resolution of Conflicts (1986-1994), all at Syracuse University. In addition to over 160 articles and book chapters, his published books include, most recently in 2012, the 4th edition of Constructive Conflicts, co-authored with Bruce W. Dayton. They also co-edited, in 2009, Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding. His current research focuses on alternative contemporary American foreign policies.

Robert L. Leahy, PhD, has authored and edited 23 books on cognitive therapy and psychological processes and he has been particularly interested in the application of cognitive therapy to understand therapeutic relationship, personality, and anxiety. He is the Past-President of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy (ABCT), Past-President of the International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy, Past-President of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and Clinical Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at Weill-Cornell Medical School. He is the Director of the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy in New York City.

Alfred L. McAlister, Ph.D., received his doctorate in Applied Behavioral Sciences from Stanford University in 1976. Since 1984 he has served on the faculty at the University of Texas School of Public Health as professor. Alfred has extensive international experience in public health research for action in Finland, Texas and many U.S. populations—documenting successful, theory-based efforts to prevent chronic disease mortality and HIV infection risk in diverse populations. In 1999 he began efforts with Albert Bandura to apply his experience and training to the prevention of war and has conducted several notable studies on this topic.

Donald Meichenbaum, PhD, is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and currently Research Director of the Melissa Institute for Violence Prevention and Treatment of Victims, in Miami, Florida. The Melissa Institute is designed to bridge the gap between research findings and clinical and educational practices and public policy.

Dr. Meichenbaum is one of the founders of Cognitive–Behavioral therapy, and his book <em>Cognitive– Behaviour Modification: An Integrative Approach</em> is considered a classic in the field. He has also authored and coauthored several other books, and he was one of the founders of the <em>Journal of Cognitive Therapy and Research</em> and served as its associate editor, as well as being on the editorial boards of a dozen other journals.

In a survey reported in the American Psychologist, North American clinicians voted Dr. Meichenbaum "one of the ten most influential psychotherapists of the twentieth century". He has consulted and presented in many countries and his work on stress inoculation training and resiliency building is now focused on work with service members and their families. He recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Clinical Division of the American Psychological Association.

Cornelia E. Nauen holds a PhD in marine ecology / fisheries science from Kiel University, Germany. She worked in FAO's starting in the late 1970s in relation to biodiversity and consumer safety levels in and advisories. Between 1986 and 2012, she served in the European Commission in development cooperation and in international science cooperation. She critically engaged science to support policy and action for social inclusion and living and being in sustainable ways were a major focus. Since 2010 she heads the international non-profit association Mundus maris – Sciences and Arts for Sustainability.

Dean G. Pruitt is Distinguished Scholar in Residence in the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University and SUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychology at the University at Buffalo: State University of New York. He has a 1952 AB from Oberlin College and a 1957 PhD from Yale University, both in psychology. He has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association for Conflict Management, the Harold D. Lasswell Award for Distinguished Scientific Contribution to Political Psychology from the International Society of Political Psychology, and the Ralph K. White Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict and Violence. He is author or co-author of Social Conflict: Escalation, Stalemate, and Settlement (3 editions), Negotiation in Social Conflict, and Negotiation Behavior and co-editor of Mediation Behavior and Theory and Research on the Causes of War.

Dr. Carolyn Saarni received her Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, specializing in developmental psychology. She began her academic career at New York University, and her post-doctoral training in clinical psychology was acquired in New York as well. In 1980 she joined the Graduate Department of Counseling at Sonoma State University (California) where she trained prospective marriage and family therapists and school counselors. Currently she is Professor Emerita.
Professor Saarni's research has focused on children’s emotional development. Her co-edited volumes include Lying and Deception in Everyday Life, The Socialization of Emotion, and Children's Understanding of Emotion. Her book, The Development of Emotional Competence (Guilford Press), describes the development of specific skills of emotional competence that are contextualized by cultural values, beliefs about emotion, and assumptions about the nature of the relationship between the individual and the larger society.
Her work has been published in many periodicals and edited volumes (e.g., Handbook of child psychology, Handbook of emotions, Psychological and Political Strategies for Peace Negotiation, Multiple Facets of Anger: Getting Mad or Restoring Justice), and she has written additional chapters for several other edited books on emotional intelligence.

Jeremy D. Safran, PhD, is Chair & Professor of Psychology at the New School for Social Research in New York, and former Director or Clinical Training. He is also Co-Founder & Co-Chair of the New School Ferenczi Center along with Lewis Aron & Adrienne Harris. In addition, Dr. Safran is on faculty at the New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, and Past-President of the International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis & Psychotherapy.

His ongoing research program on negotiation of impasses in the therapeutic relationship has received funding from a number of foundations and agencies including the National Institute for Mental Health. He has published over 150 articles and chapters, and several books, including Emotion in Psychotherapy; Interpersonal Process in Cognitive Therapy; Negotiating the Therapeutic Alliance: A relational treatment Guide; Psychoanalysis and Buddhism: An Unfolding Dialogue - and most recently Psychoanalysis & Psychoanalytic Therapies, for which he received the 2013 Gradiva Award.

Dr Nicholas Wright is an Associate in the Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC. He applies insights from neuroscience and psychology to decision-making in international confrontations. Prior to joining Carnegie, he examined decision-making using functional brain imaging at University College London and in the Department of Government at the London School of Economics. He has published academically (e.g. Proceedings of the Royal Society), in general publications such as the Atlantic, and with the Joint Staff at the Pentagon (see www.nicholasdwright.com/publications). He has briefed multiple times at the Pentagon, at the UK MoD and elsewhere, and appeared on the BBC and CNN.

Felicity de Zulueta , Bsc MA (Cantab), MBChB, FRCPsych MRCPsyc is an Emeritus Consultant Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist who developed and headed the Traumatic Stress Service in the Maudsley Hospital in the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Trust. She is also an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Traumatic Studies at Kings College London and a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and of the Royal Society of Medicine, UK. She is author of numerous papers on Attachment, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and on the origins of violence. She has acted as advisor to the Department of Health, the WHO and the IOM and has trained military staff in Singapore. One of her interests is facilitating the restoration of social harmony in disorganised societies.