2026 Keynote Speaker Lineup
Lewis R. Gordon is Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Global Affairs at the University of Connecticut, Distinguished Scholar at The Most Honourable PJ Patterson Centre for Africa-Caribbean Advocacy at The University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica, and Honorary President of the Global Center for Advanced Studies. He is the author of many book, including, over the past decade, What Fanon Said: A Philosophical Introduction to His Life and Thought (Fordham UP, Hurst, and Wits UP, 2015; with translations in Chinese and Swedish); Freedom, Justice, and Decolonization (Routledge, 2021); Fear of Black Consciousness (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux and Penguin Books, 2022; with translations in German and Portuguese); and Black Existentialism and Decolonizing Knowledge: Writings of Lewis R. Gordon (Bloomsbury, 2023). The thirtieth-anniversary edition of his first book, Bad Faith and Antiblack Racism, is published by Bloomsbury with a foreword by the South African existential Philosopher Mabogo P. More and afterwords by the Antiguan philosopher and sociologist Paget Henry and the Chicana communicologist, phenomenologist, and queer theorist Jacqueline M. Martinez. Gordon is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Myrtle Heery,PhD, a former student and co-teacher of Dr. James Bugental for three decades, founded the International Institute for Humanistic Studies, in 2000 and has continued to serve as its director. She has conducted over 25 basic trainings, Unearthing the Moment, which consists of 4 to 5 trainings in both the U.S. and Canada, as well as many ongoing advanced trainings. She continues to instruct advance trainings on Zoom and in person. She is a trusted adviser to mental health professionals seeking confidential support for creating new meanings in their professional and personal lives, and offers ongoing consultation groups for psychotherapists. She is the first woman recipient of the Rollo May Award (2017) and established Tonglen Press (2013), where she published four books, including her memoir, Tracking Kindness: A Memoir of Life’s Teachings in Kindness (2025). She lived and worked in Amsterdam, Holland and led workshops in Europe, Mexico and Russia. She lives in Petaluma, CA where she gardens and loves being “grammie”.
Louis Hoffman, PhD, is the Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Humanistic Counseling and Psychological Association and a psychologist in private practice. He is a recipient of the Rollo May Award from the Society for Humanistic Psychology and has been recognized as a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and six of its divisions (1, 10, 32, 36, 48, 52) for his contributions to professional psychology. An avid writer, Dr. Hoffman has published over 20 books, including Becoming an Existential-Humanistic Therapist (with Julia Falk), Existential Psychology East-West (Vols 1 & 2; with Mark Yang et al.), and Eros & Psyche: Existential Perspectives on Sexuality (Vols 1 & 2; with Stephen Simpson, Melissa Racho, & Brent Robbins). He is also the editor of the forthcoming APA Handbook of Humanistic and Existential Psychology (anticipated 2025) and The Evidence-Based Foundations of Existential-Humanistic Psychotherapy. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology (Senior International Editor), The Humanistic Psychologist, and the Journal of Constructivist Psychology. Dr. Hoffman teaches at the University of Denver and Saybrook University.
Kirk J. Schneider, PhD, is a leading spokesperson for existential-humanistic and existential-integrative psychology, an adjunct faculty member at Saybrook University and formerly Teachers College, Columbia University, and a cofounder and current president of the award-winning Existential-Humanistic Institute. He was also a 2022 candidate for president-elect of the American Psychological Association (APA). Dr. Schneider has authored/coauthored 15 books including The Polarized Mind, The Depolarizing of America, and his latest book: Life-Enhancing Anxiety: Key to a Sane World.
Mark Yang, PsyD is an American licensed clinical psychologist and is actively involved in the training and supervision of psychology students from the Existential-Humanistic Perspective throughout Asia. Dr. Yang was an Adjunct Lecturer at Saybrook University and the Director of Clinical Training at the California School of Professional Psychology’s Hong Kong Campus. His professional interests include: Existential Psychology, Individual and Group Psychotherapy, Grief and Bereavement Counseling, Legal and Ethical Issues in Clinical Practice, and Cross-Cultural Psychology. Dr. Yang is the author of the book Lighting the Candle: Taoist Principles in Supervision Conducted from an Existential-Humanistic Perspective. He is also the editor of the book Existential Psychology and the Way of the Tao: Meditations on the Writings of Zhuangzi and the co-editor of the books Existential Psychology: East-West Volumes 1 & 2. Dr. Yang was born in Taiwan and immigrated to the United States when he was nine years old. He is also a dog and cat lover.
One wonders if the current polarization that is sweeping the globe is an unavoidable element of existence. At the same time, existentialists remind us that loneliness and isolation are indeed part of the human condition and necessary conditions for personal growth. Whether it’s polarization, isolation or loneliness, the antidote is community and human connection. The various pockets of the Global Existential Tribe are spread out over the continents. As members of this tribe, let us come together to build community, create new connections, and take a stand against the polarization that is enveloping us all.
Dr. Yaqui Andrés Martínez-Robles, PhD, PsyD, is an existential-phenomenological therapist. Founder of CIREX: Circle of Studies in Existential Therapy (Círculo de Estudios en Terapia Existencial) in Mexico and Colombia, where he offers training in existential therapy since 2002. Yaqui is clinical psychologist with MA and PhD in psychotherapy. He has been trained in Gestalt therapy, Group therapy, Narrative therapy, and Music therapy. He is a certified practitioner in Holotropic breathwork and Transpersonal Psychology by the Grof Transpersonal Training Association. Certification as Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Provider by the IPI (Intregrative Psychiatry Institute). He teaches at IPI since 2023. He is honorary president of the ALPE (Latin American Association for Existential Psychotherapy). Yaqui has authored six books on topics about existential thought and therapy. He teaches Existential-phenomenological perspective internationally.
2026 Invited Speaker Lineup
Dr. Apryl Alexander, Psy.D., is the Metrolina Distinguished Professor of Health and Policy in the Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is also the Executive Director of the UNC Charlotte Violence Prevention Center. She received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the Florida Institute of Technology with concentrations in forensic psychology and child and family therapy. Dr. Alexander’s research and clinical work focus on violence and victimization, human sexuality, and trauma-informed and culturally informed practice. She is an award-winning researcher whose work has been published in several leading journals. She is the recipient of the 2022 Social Justice in Psychology Award from the Rocky Mountain Humanistic Counseling and Psychological Association and the 2024 Karl F. Heiser Presidential Award for Advocacy from the American Psychological Association. Dr. Alexander is an engaged public scholar who has been featured in numerous media outlets, including The Associated Press, Essence Magazine, USA Today, and NBC Nightly News, discussing her research and advocacy work. Dr. Alexander also enjoys bringing psychology to the public through popular media and has previously contributed to Black Panther Psychology: Hidden Kingdoms and The Handmaid’s Tale Psychology: Seeing Off Red.
Alfreid Längle, M.D., PhD, Dr. h. c. mult., professor, born in 1951 in Austria, studied medicine and psychology at the Universities of Innsbruck, Rome, Toulouse and Vienna. After years of hospital work in general medicine and psychiatry and in an outpatient department of social psychiatry he started a private practice in psychotherapy, general medicine and clinical psychology in Vienna (since 1982). Close collaboration with Viktor Frankl from 1982 to 1991. Founder (1983) and president (until 2017) of the International Society for Logotherapy and Existential Analysis (Vienna). Lecturer at the Universities of Vienna (1984 – 2006), Innsbruck (1994 – 2000), Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, Salta, Moscow etc. In addition, he is a professor of applied psychology (psychotherapy) at the Moscow’s HSE-university (since 2004), at Vienna’s Sigmund Freud university (2011) and Docent at the psychological department of the university of Klagenfurt, Austria (since 2006). Founder of the training school of Existential-Analytical Psychotherapy, Counselling and Coaching. This training is stately approved by several states in Europe and by the leading psychotherapeutic organisations. He was Vice President of the oldest International Federation of Psychotherapy between 2002 – 2010 (IFP 1934). 6 honorary professorships in medicine and psychology, Golden Medal for Merits for the Republic of Austria.
Over 400 publications, including the following books:
– 1988 Sinnvoll leben. Angewandte Existenzanalyse. St. Pölten: NP-Verlag. (also in portug., spanish, kroatian, hungarian, russian translation)
– 1998 Viktor Frankl. Ein Porträt. München: Piper. (also in spanish 2000 and russian 2010 translation, English in preparation)
– 2014 Existentielles Coaching. Vienna: Facultas
– 2018 Sovremennyi ekzistencial‘nyj analiz. Istorija, teorija, praktika, issledovanija. Moskva: Jurait
– 2019 The Wiley World Handbook of Existential Therapy. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley, Eds: Van Deurzen E, Craig E, Längle A., Schneider K, Tantam D, du Plock S
– 2019 Woplo’shennaja Ekzistenzija. Razwitie, primenenie i konzepty ekzistenzial’nogo analiza. Char’kov: Gumanitarnyi Zentr
– 2025 Existenzanalyse. Existentielle Zugänge der Psychotherapie. Vienna: Facultas (also in Russian and soon in English)
Emmy van Deurzen, PhD, is an existential therapist, counselling psychologist, and philosopher, who has worked in the field since 1973 and who has written numerous books on existential psychology and psychotherapy. Her work has been translated into over 30 languages. She founded the Society for Existential Analysis and its journal in 1988, the Regent’s School of Psychotherapy in 1990, and the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling (NSPC) in 1996. She was the driving force behind the First World Congress for Existential Therapy, which was held in London in 2015. This also led to the founding of the Federation for Existential Therapists in Europe (FETE). Emmy continues to co-direct NSPC, the Existential Academy (EA) and Dilemma Consultancy, with Digby Tantam. She is a visiting professor with Middlesex University and current President of the worldwide Existential Movement. Emmy is an international speaker who has given presentations and workshops on five continents.
Amongst her books are the bestseller Existential Psychotherapy and Counselling in Practice (Sage, 3d edition 2012), Psychotherapy and the Quest for Happiness (Sage, 2009), Everyday Mysteries (Routledge, 2nd ed, 2010), Paradox and Passion (Wiley, 2nd ed 2015) and Rising from Existential Crisis (PCCS books, 2021). Her book The Art of Freedom: Guide to a Wiser Life will be published by Penguin in 2025. She is co-authoring a book for Routledge on Researching Life: Structural Existential Analysis as a Research Method, with Dr. Claire Arnold-Baker.
Evgenia T. Georganda, Psy.D., ECP, is an Existential-Humanistic therapist, member of the American Psychological Association (APA) and of Division 32 of Humanistic Psychology. Evgenia is a certified psychotherapist and member of the European Association of Psychotherapists (EAP), of the Federation for Existential Therapy in Europe (FETE), a member of the Hellenic Psychological Society (HPS) and of the Association of Greek Psychologists (SEPS). Evgenia has a private practice in Athens, Greece since 1987, when she returned from the United States, working with individuals and groups. She has worked extensively with individuals with chronic and life-threatening illnesses and has served for several years in the Board of Directors of Thalassemia International Federation (TIF). Evgenia has taught psychology at both graduate and undergraduate programs in private colleges and the Greek University of Thessaly, as well as lectured and run seminars both in local and international congresses and workshops. She is the author of four books and two albums from her solo photo exhibitions and has written articles for journals and collective works both in Greece and abroad. In her effort to make existential psychotherapy known to the Greek community she co-founded “gignesthai”, the Hellenic Association for Existential Psychology, where she is trainer and supervisor. For her and her association’s “outstanding and lasting contribution to Humanistic psychology” she was awarded in 2023 the Charlotte and Karl Buhler Award by Div.32 of APA. Evgenia has served as secretary in the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Psychotherapists of Greece (NOPG) and membership secretary and member of the Board of Trustees of the Federation for Existential Therapy in Europe (FETE).
Leswin Laubscher, PhD, counts teaching, research, and clinical experience as a psychologist in both the United States and South Africa. He holds degrees from Northwestern University in Evanston, and the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. Recent research interests and publications have examined the intersection of culture and psychology, apartheid and psychology, and the importance of the philosophies of Jacques Derrida, Emmanuel Levinas, and Frantz Fanon for psychology. His most recent books are “Levinas for Psychologists” (Routledge) and “Darkest before Dawn: Writings, testimonies and correspondence from the life of Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe” (Wits University & NYU Press). Dr. Laubscher teaches at Duquesne University, in Pittsburgh, but has also held external appointments at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, and currently as Extraordinary Professor at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa.
Pninit Russo-Netzer, PhD, is an Associate Professor, author, speaker, and researcher. Her research focuses on meaning in life, existential psychology, well-being, resilience, spirituality, and post-traumatic growth across the lifespan.
She heads the Community, Meaning, and Recovery (C.M.R.) Research and Development Center and the Resilience and Optimal Development Lab at Achva Academic College. She is also the founder and director of the Compass Institute for the Study and Application of Meaning in Life and leads the Academic Training Program in Logotherapy (meaning-oriented psychotherapy) at Tel Aviv University.
Prof. Russo-Netzer serves as an academic advisor and consultant to institutions and organizations worldwide, including the World Trade Center Health Registry (WTCHR). She serves on the Council of Advisors for the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA), is an Associate Editor at Current Psychology, and has co-authored or co-edited several books, including Meaning in Positive and Existential Psychology (Springer), Clinical Perspectives on Meaning: Positive and Existential Psychotherapy (Springer), Existential Authenticity (Springer), and Finding Meaning: An Existential Quest in Post-Modern Israel (Oxford University Press).
She is the recipient of the Spirituality and Meaning Researcher Award from the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) and the Early Career Award from the International Society for the Science of Existential Psychology (ISSEP).
Siebrecht Vanhooren, PhD, is professor of clinical psychology at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) in Belgium.
He teaches counseling skills, psychological interventions, and humanistic, person-centered, experiential, focusing and existential psychotherapies at undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate level. He is the director of the person-centered therapy training programs and the existential well-being counseling program at KU Leuven.
He is a senior staff member of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, the Research Group Clinical Psychology, the Meaning & Existence research center, and the Experiential-Existential Psychotherapy Center (EEP Center) at KU Leuven. He is a committee member of The Eugene T. Gendlin Center for Research in Experiential Philosophy and Psychology at The Focusing Institute (New York). His research includes existential concerns, meaning in life, post-traumatic growth, experiential-existential psychotherapy, focusing, dreamwork, and existential empathy.
He also works as a person-centered experiential-existential psychotherapist, supervisor, and dream-work facilitator at PraxisP (KU Leuven). Last but not least, he loves spending time with his family and friends, hiking in nature, gardening, stargazing, and volunteering in his local community.
Susana Signorelli, was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She graduated with studies in Psychology from the University of Buenos Aires. A long-time existential psychologist, she first developed an interest in existentialism during her university years. She participated as an existentialist speaker in various institutions. She was the first President of ALPE (Latin American Association of Existential Psychotherapy), founded in 2010. She is currently the Honorary President of said institution. She is President of the CAPAC Foundation of Argentina, where, in addition to providing assistance and teaching, she carried out countless community projects with an existential perspective, one of which was sponsored by UNESCO. She has been the director and editor of the Latin American Journal of Existential Psychology “A Comprehensive Approach to Being,” a peer-reviewed journal, since its inception in 2010. She is an international speaker. She has received the Lanfranco Ciampi Award for her research work. She teaches postgraduate courses, training existential psychologists. He has published several books, book chapters, and articles in scientific journals in several countries: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Great Britain, and Russia. He is a member of the Confederation of Existential Therapists and the Existential Movement. He was president of the Second World Congress of Existential Therapy held in Buenos Aires (2019).
Veronica Lac, PhD, LPC, is the Founder & Executive Director of The HERD Institute, providing training and certification for equine facilitated psychotherapy and learning. She specializes in working with eating disorders, trauma, and attachment, and has developed equine and canine-assisted programs for at-risk adolescents in collaboration with residential treatment centers and eating disorder clinics. Veronica believes that research is the key to supporting equine-facilitated psychotherapy as an evidence-based modality and has multiple publications internationally in peer-reviewed journals. Veronica currently serves on the Board of Trustees for PATH International, and a Governance Committee member, as well as a founding member of their Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Committee. She has served on the Executive Board of numerous professional organizations including American Psychological Association Division 32 (Secretary), University Professors Press (Editor), and The Humanitarian Alliance. She is also a peer-reviewer for The Journal of Humanistic Psychology, and The Humanistic Psychologist. Veronica is the recipient of the 2022 APA Division 32 Camri Harari Early Career Award from the American Psychological Association. This award recognizes outstanding contributions for innovative applications in the field of Humanistic Psychology.