One Million Years Of Joy

Self-Love: A Journey of Discovery with Loretta Turner (USA)

Loretta Turner is the founder of Do Good Leadership Collective, and is a 2024 Leadership Luminary by One Million Years of Joy. In our conversation, she shares her journey of self-discovery through yoga and meditation, emphasizing the importance of self-love and connection. She discusses the transformative power of moving across the country and how it has shaped her perspective on life and work. Loretta offers practical advice on cultivating self-love, embracing change, and finding joy in everyday life. She highlights the significance of community and honest feedback in personal growth and resilience, ultimately leading to her entrepreneurial journey in social impact.

Serendipity and connection with Peter Mandeno (New Zealand)

Peter Mandeno is a human connectivity expert and founder of “Wok & Wine.”  In our conversation, he shares insights about the importance of serendipity in fostering meaningful connections, and the significance of curiosity in creating connections. Peter also highlights the conditions necessary for human connectivity, the role of vulnerability in forming deeper relationships, and the impact of digital communication on joy and connection.
 

Joy as an elixir for change with Lisa Witter (Germany)

Lisa Witter is a serial entrepreneur, author, speaker, and counselor to CEOs, philanthropists, Nobel Peace Prize winners, government officials and politicians. She co-founded and serves on the board of Apolitical, that is recognized as one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in the World. Besides her role at Apolitical, Lisa is the CEO and co-founder of the Apolitical Foundation, an organization dedicated to making political leadership one of the most respected positions globally. Discover what she calls “hard hope”, the insights from her climate learning expeditions in the Arctic, and her recipe for living joyfully.
 

Sports, gold medals and purpose with Neill Duffy (France)

Neill Duffy is the CEO and Founder of 17 Sport, and his mission is to inspire the sports sector to serve as a catalyst for positive change. He works with athletes to inspire change, broadening the access to girls in sports, while redefining benchmarks for purposeful engagement with sport brands. Born in South Africa, and now living in Paris, discover the stories that bring him joy, the dark side of only “chasing the gold medals” and his hope for the future of the sports industry.
 
 

Progress not perfection with Kensington Tallman (USA)

Kensington Tallman is a young American actress celebrated for her dynamic performances across television and film.  In 2024, Kensington lent her voice to the character Riley Andersen in Disney and Pixar's "Inside Out 2", an Oscar-nominated film with the highest-grossing revenues in 2024. She also starred as Lucy in the international series "Home Sweet Rome!" which highlighted her many talents. Early roles included great performances in "The Good Cop", "Black Monday", "Drama Club" and "That Girl Lay Lay". Beyond her on-screen endeavours, she is an advocate for mental health, having participated as the youngest panelist at the Sages and Scientists Symposium hosted by The Chopra Foundation at Harvard. Additionally, Kensington is a member of the inaugural Teen Advisory Board at Reese Witherspoon's media company, Hello Sunshine, contributing to initiatives that empower young women. ​Discover her incredible journey, why mental health advocacy is important for her, her exciting upcoming projects and her definition of joy.
 
Kensington's website: https://www.heykensington.com/

How Values Anchor a Joyful Life with Bradley Hook (New Zealand)

Bradley Hook is the author of Start With Values, and founder of the Values Institute, and a writer for Entrepreneur Magazine. With a diverse background in resilience research, action sports media, innovation, and entrepreneurship, he is also the host of The Brad Hook Podcast and Resilience Podcast. With a passion for surfing, he founded Surfd Magazine, and directed the documentary Waves of Freedom. Discover from our conversation his journey, how you can find your top value, build your resilience, the power of surf therapy and his definition for living with joy.

From impossible to inevitable with Daphe E. Jone (US)

Daphne E. Jones is the CEO of The Board Curators and author of the book Win When They Say You Won’t. As a former Chief Information Officer, she has navigated a remarkable career across organizations like IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Hospira (now part of Pfizer), and General Electric. She exemplifies the transformative power of resilience and ambition, having turned early societal constraints into a narrative of success and empowerment. Discover what her recipe for joy is, how she prioritizes what she calls the “5Fs” in life and how to pursue bodacious goals.
 
Daphne's websites:
https://www.daphneejones.com/
https://theboardcurators.com/
 
One Million Years Of Joy: 
https://www.andreeavanacker.com/joy

From War Zones to "Carpe Diem" with Christoph von Toggenburg (Switzerland)

Christoph von Toggenburg is global leader with 15 years of experience across multiple organizations and countries. His leadership journey spans humanitarian missions in conflict zones with the ICRC and UN, strategic engagement with key decision-makers at the World Economic Forum and serving as CEO of World Vision Switzerland for three years. Christoph has led numerous humanitarian expeditions, using film and photography to raise awareness and funds for critical global causes. His acclaimed film, Alegria, has received over 40 international awards and has been screened in more than 50 countries. Discover his journey, how his personal motto “Be Brave, Be Kind, Be Bold” had shaped everything he has done to date, his definition of joy, and a sneak peek on his second book due to be published later this year.

Joyful Reinvention with Melissa Cohen (USA)

Melissa Cohen is a LinkedIn Top Voice who helps individuals develop their personal brand, and craft their thought leadership. She is also the co-author of the book Your Career Resilience Blueprint, and is a board member of Her Move Next, a charity dedicated to empowering girls and young women through chess, community, and competition. In our interview she shares how she reinvented herself after a decade long career working in the fashion industry, why she loves LinkedIn and why her secret to living joyfully is all about family, friends and coffee.

The Power of Human Connection with Pete Bombaci (Canada)

Pete Bombaci is the Founder and CEO of The GenWell Project, a human connection movement he launched in 2016 to tackle human isolation. Prior to founding The GenWell Project, Pete served as the Executive Director of Movember Canada, where he led the organization to raise $142 million for men’s health. He is also a 2024 Leadership Luminary by One Million Years Of Joy. Discover why human connection is so important to our physical and emotional health, the role we all play to prevent isolation in our communities, and why face-to-face connections bring us more joy than virtual interactions.