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Dr. Gabrielle P. Abelard is a CEO, educator, clinician, and speaker with more than 20 years of experience in mental health and wellness. She is a Clinical Professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she directs the Masters, Psychiatric Mental, and Certificate programs at the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing. Dr. Abelard is also the founder and director of Abelard Psychotherapy, Inc., a mental health clinic serving diverse communities across Massachusetts. A recognized leader in psychiatric nursing, she is the Past President of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) New England Chapter and the inaugural Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee for the Massachusetts Association of Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses. She also serves on the Boards of Directors for the New England Regional Black Nurses Association and the American Nurses Association of Massachusetts. Dr. Abelard has received numerous honors, including the APNA Excellence in Practice Award and NERBNA Excellence in Nursing Practice Awards (2025), the ISPN Melva Jo Hendrix Lectureship Award (2025), the National Black Nurses Association Nurse Practitioner of the Year (2022), and multiple leadership, mentoring, and faculty excellence awards. She is a Fellow of the National Academies of Practice, the American Academy of Nursing, and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. A dedicated mentor, author, and advocate for health equity, Dr. Abelard is committed to strengthening resilience and advancing mental health outcomes within and beyond nursing.

Wendy Colby is Vice President and Associate Provost for BU Virtual and the Institute for Excellence in Teaching & Learning, where she advances academic innovation, faculty collaboration, and digital transformation. With over 25 years of global higher education experience, she has led the creation of programs and units that align academic excellence with institutional growth and impact. Her expertise includes strategic and entrepreneurial management, new program development, and online education from design through delivery.

Prior to BU, Wendy served as CEO of UMGC Ventures at the University of Maryland Global Campus. She is deeply committed to expanding access, quality, and opportunity in education worldwide.

Dr. Melanie Ho, founder of Strategic Imagination, is an award-winning author, keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, and higher ed faculty who has worked with Fortune 500 organizations, rising start-ups, leading universities, non-profits, and government groups. She blends 20 years of expertise in the leadership of complex organizations with her perspective as an artist and multi-media storyteller to help audiences achieve bolder transformations by starting with today’s most important leadership concepts—and then coming alive through the power of art and storytelling. Melanie is dedicated to drawing on the power of the imaginative arts to inspire social and organizational change, and she is especially passionate about inspiring reflection and action on gender and racial equity. She is the author of Beyond Leaning In: Gender Equity and What Organizations are Up Against. Her work is known for making complex ideas accessible and emotionally resonant. Melanie taught literature, visual culture, and leadership courses at UCLA while earning her Ph.D. in English.