Political Leaders
Esben Larson
Esben Lunde Larsen, Senior One Health Specialist, The Pandemic Fund, The World Bank
Dr. Esben Lunde Larsen is a senior one health specialist aiming at changing policy regulation, increase government engagement, drive innovation and cultivate awareness on AMR and One Health. He is engaged within thought leadership on One Health and AMR related issues and focuses on supporting low- and middle-income countries strengthening capacity for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.
Esben Lunde Larsen is a former Member of the Danish Parliament, a former Minister for Science and Higher Education, and a former Minister for Environment, Agriculture and Food in the Danish Government, where he has been heavily engaged in the agenda on AMR and One Health both in the Kingdom of Denmark and the European Union.
He holds a PhD from the University of Copenhagen, and he is an ordained Lutheran pastor.
Margaret Busse
Margaret Woolley Busse was appointed by Governor Spencer Cox in January 2021 to serve as Commissioner of Utah’s Department of Commerce. She holds an MBA from Harvard University and degrees in public policy and economics from Brigham Young University, bringing extensive experience in public service, social impact, and strategy consulting.
Ms. Busse is focused on restoring trust in technology as a driver of Utah’s economy. Under her leadership, the Department of Commerce has advanced legislation and litigation to hold social media platforms accountable for harms to minors, including actions against TikTok, Meta, and Snap. She has also led Utah’s innovative approach to artificial intelligence, including the creation of the Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy, passage of landmark legislation establishing guardrails and innovation pathways for mental health chatbots, data portability and interoperability on social media platforms, and transparency requirements for AI deepfakes. Finally, under Governor Cox’s direction, Ms. Busse initiated and now co-chairs Utah’s Prohuman AI Initiative, working to infuse “prohuman” values throughout the state’s efforts on AI across six pillars: workforce development, regulatory policy, learning & education, academic research, industry innovation, and state government deployment.
Ms. Busse has been named a Most Influential Woman by Utah Business Magazine, received the Cyber Pioneer Award from the Utah Bar Association, was featured on the AI Women Power List, was a Utah Women in Tech award finalist, and received RevRoad’s Championing Women in Business award. As Utah’s chief business regulator, she has reduced fees, streamlined licensing, expanded the behavioral health workforce, and created pathways for foreign-credentialed professionals. A Utah native, she and her husband have five children.
Civil Society
Baroness Joanna Shields
Joanna Shields (Baroness Shields OBE) has spent four decades at the frontier of technological transformation, building and scaling category-defining technology businesses across successive waves of innovation—from the technologies that enabled the digital age, to the platforms that connected billions of people, to the AI systems now reshaping what intelligence makes possible.
Few leaders have directed technological transformation from both sides of the divide. As a technology executive, entrepreneur, and CEO, she drove the growth of category-defining businesses of the digital era. As UK Minister for Internet Safety & Security, Ambassador for Digital Industries, and an active Life Peer in the House of Lords, she steered institutional and policy responses to its consequences.
Today, as Founder & CEO of Precognition, Joanna focuses on a defining question: How do people, institutions, and nations successfully navigate the AI transition while retaining the agency to shape what comes next?
Precognition serves as the platform for translating that foresight into action. She is the creator, writer, and executive producer of Faith.exe, a documentary series exploring moral and ethical first contact experiences with AI; Chair of the Faith–AI Covenant, an initiative bringing together frontier AI and faith leaders to establish shared ethical principles for AI in society; Chair of the OpenAge Initiative; and author of the forthcoming book The New Magnitude, which explores a profound redistribution of intelligence and power, and what it means to coexist with an intelligence growing more capable than our own.
Her work builds on a legacy of establishing global institutions. She founded the WeProtect Global Alliance, which today spans 100+ member countries and 350+ organisations across government, tech, and civil society to combat technology-facilitated child sexual abuse online. She served two terms as Co-Chair of the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI/OECD) and as the inaugural Chair of the Responsible AI Future Foundation.
Across every initiative, her mission remains clear: ensuring that as AI accelerates, human agency, choice, and dignity accelerate alongside it.
Doug Fountain
Doug Fountain is Executive Director of Christian Connections for International Health (CCIH), where he works at the intersection of faith, health systems, and global development. CCIH is a global network that accelerates the impact of faith-based health by raising visibility, strengthening quality, and fostering fellowship among members in 90 low- and middle-income countries. Drawing on four decades of experience in research, consulting, and organizational leadership, Doug strengthens leadership across faith communities by connecting leaders, sharing effective practices, and helping faith-based health systems become stronger and more sustainable. He co-founded the Christian Health Asset Mapping Consortium and the Christian Journal for Global Health and has served on executive leadership teams at Uganda Christian University and Medical Teams International. His work spans health systems, leadership, governance, financing, digital transformation, and partnerships. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon and a master's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Maria Lucia Uribe Torres
Maria Lucia Uribe is Executive Director of Arigatou International Geneva, where she leads global efforts to transform education systems through ethics education, advancing children's holistic well-being, social cohesion, and peace. She works closely with Ministries of Education, UN agencies, faith-based organizations, and civil society to strengthen education policies, curricula, and teacher development that equip children with the ethical competencies needed to navigate increasingly diverse and complex societies. She oversees the implementation of Arigatou International's Ethics Education for Children Initiative in more than 30 countries, supporting national and regional education reforms. Maria Lucia also leads the organization's global advocacy in Geneva on children's rights and well-being, convening international platforms that bridge policy, research, and practice. She convenes the International Consortium on Nurturing Values in Early Childhood for the Prevention of Violence and the Child Rights Connect Working Group on Children and Violence. Her work promotes cross-sector and interfaith collaboration to build more inclusive, resilient, and peaceful societies.
Rev. Dr. David Beckmann
Rev. David Beckmann has spent his life working to end poverty. A former World Bank economist, he served for 29 years as president of Bread for the World, where his advocacy leadership helped secure U.S. and global policy changes that reduced hunger worldwide. Awarded the World Food Prize, Beckmann now leads the Circle of Protection, a coalition of Christian leaders advocating for programs that serve low-income people. He recently published a book titled "Poverty Abolitionists: Faith, Activism, and Hope For Difficult Times.
