Events

Benaisha Kharas Dongre is a Global Master Image Consultant, Integrative Personal Counsellor and Mental Health Enhancer. She is passionate about infusing self-love and self-care in her clients, so that they can develop a powerful, and influential personality. She has worked with special needs children on their holistic, confident development. Benaisha is a four time winner of the Global Excellence Leadership Award by IMPA and has won the Business Excellence Award in 2021. Benaisha has more than 11 years of experience, is a two times Ted X speaker and has impacted 8000 + personalities and lives through workshops and her work with clients.

Arpit (MPA Cornell University) is a policy entrepreneur. He is the Founder of the Political Risk management and policy advocacy firm Insights International. He is also the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Global Policy Insights (GPI) – a centrist thinktank focused on Governance, International Political Economy, International Security Studies and Sustainability, based out of New Delhi, New York, and London.

He is the Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder of EnviPol, an environmental consultancy firm based out of New Delhi and serves as the Joint-Director of the Global Policy, Diplomacy, and Sustainability Fellowship. He Co-Chairs various international affairs and public diplomacy forums such as the QUAD Security Forum and the Indian Women in International Affairs Forums to bring diverse voices in the fields of public affairs. He also serves as an Advisor at the Kyiv School of Diplomatic Arts.

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Mugdha Kalra stands at the intersection of broadcast journalism and autism activism, embodying resilience and unwavering advocacy. As a devoted mother to a 14-year-old autistic boy, she seamlessly intertwines her personal journey with her professional pursuits. She has been recognized by the BBC as one of the top 100 most inspiring and influential women of 2021 for her groundbreaking movement 'Not That Different,' India's first children-led initiative for inclusion, self advocacy and awareness. She speaks about caregiver mental health and inclusion at workplace alongside life issues related with autism and other neurodiversities.

Pierre Novellie @pierrenovellie (whose new book, “A Comedian’s Guide to Autism” is NOW OUT) will be our next guest for @brainbristle and the next guest. He is a stand-up comedian, writer, radio host and podcaster. He also happened to get diagnosed on the autism spectrum last year which in recollection inspired most of his life of writing and comedy, he’ll talk about it more on our live chat next week. He is co-host of The Frank Skinner Show on Absolute Radio, and recent TV appearances include World’s Most Dangerous Roads (Dave), The Mash Report (BBC2), and Stand Up Central (Comedy Central). On the radio, Pierre has performed on The Now Show (Radio 4), hosts the BBC Sounds podcast series Obsessed With… SAS: Rogue Heroes and co-hosts the hit podcast Budpod with Phil Wang. As a writer, Pierre was one of the regular writers on the rebooted Spitting Image (ITV/Britbox) and has also written on shows including Mock the Week (BBC2), The News Quiz (Radio 4) and The Mash Report (BBC2). One of the UK’s most acclaimed live acts, Pierre‘s latest show Why Can’t I Just Enjoy Things? saw a sold-out run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and was his third show to have been placed in the top 20 best-reviewed comedy shows across the entire festival. Following an extended run at Soho Theatre, Pierre will be taking the show on his debut nationwide tour in the Autumn. He first special, Quiet Ones, was distributed by US comedy label 800 Pound Gorilla Records and has amassed over 250,000 views online.