Where Silence Speaks, Nature Guides and Transformation Awakens
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” - Aristotle
EMERGE Founding Fellows (2025)
Sandy Rathod
Sandy is a bridge between worlds, strategy and spirit, intellect and intuition, science and soul. A seasoned entrepreneur and educator, she has co-founded ventures in neuroscience, immersive tech, and innovation, including NeuroReality, Imaginestics, and Maxim IT. Her leadership is rooted in lived experience navigating loss, betrayal, and reinvention and channeled into building platforms that help leaders recalibrate their inner systems. She brings a rare ability to sense and synthesize the unseen, translating chaos into clarity. At EMERGE, she arrives ready to strip away what no longer serves, reclaim her wildness, and lead from an embodied, coherent state.
Role / Affiliation: Chairwoman & CEO, Super Family
Location: Netherlands
Cohort Connection Points
● Leverage: Decades of leadership across entrepreneurship, global development, neuroscience, and immersive tech; capacity to mentor and architect systems that unify innovation with human development.
● Essence: A catalyzing presence, fierce, visionary, and deeply compassionate, who thrives at the sacred edge where personal evolution meets systemic change
● Breakthrough Goal: Release survival patterns, integrate her wisdom and creative power, and step fully into visible, soul-led leadership.
What Makes Her BEING Come Alive
When truth meets beauty in motion, whether through witnessing someone’s awakening, creating something meaningful, traveling with purpose, or teaching in a way that opens doors in others’ minds and hearts.
Jori De Baerdemaeker
Jori is an energetic quick-thinker who thrives at the intersection of challenge, growth, and connection. As a new father, he is learning the delicate dance between ambition and presence, between building a fulfilling career and savoring the irreplaceable moments of family life. Professionally, he has guided his path into a role that brings daily joy and alignment, leading within Apehon to help shape future-ready leaders. He values deep connection to nature and sees it as both grounding and inspiring whether surfing, sailing, or simply being by the sea. At EMERGE, he seeks the tools and practices to slow down, let go of the daily rush, and be fully present in his life.
Role / Affiliation: Principal, Apehon
Location: Belgium
Cohort Connection Points
● Leverage: Strategic leadership experience in a medium-sized organization; a commitment to cultivating leaders who deeply know themselves and their boundaries.
● Essence: Energetic, family-centered, nature-connected, brings curiosity and a willingness to grow into the cohort.
● Breakthrough Goal: Develop the capacity to slow down, create space for joy, and rekindle his creative spark.
What Makes His BEING Come Alive
Moments in and by the sea, surfing, swimming, sailing, where motion meets stillness, and the world feels both vast and intimate.
Pierre-Olivier Aguinalin
Pierre-Olivier is a connector in the truest sense, drawn to understanding people and situations so progress can be made together. His professional journey is a testament to resilience, rising from modest beginnings to achieve a career path shaped by persistence, adaptability, and vision. Personally, he treasures his son as both anchor and inspiration. At this moment of transition, he is seeking to align his talents with a renewed sense of purpose, open to the transformative potential of new people, new places, and new ways of seeing. At EMERGE, Pierre-Olivier hopes to integrate the scattered pieces of his life and work into a coherent, purpose-driven whole.
Role / Affiliation: Connector (In Transition)
Location: Switzerland
Cohort Connection Points
● Leverage: International outlook; deep capacity for empathy; lived resilience in navigating transitions; experience in building bridges across cultures and contexts.
● Essence: A calm, intentional listener and relational builder who thrives on authentic human connection.
● Breakthrough Goal: Assemble the “different pieces of the puzzle” into an integrated personal and professional vision.
What Makes His BEING Come Alive
Travel that reshapes perspective, and moments of witnessing resilience and kindness in action.
Ilya Yacevich
Ilya is a changemaker, parent, and truth-seeker committed to breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and expanding access to quality healing worldwide. As founder of the Global Trauma Project, they have trained over 9,000 people across Eastern Africa using trauma-informed systems that exceed global gold standards. An Ashoka Fellow, Ilya’s work bridges cultures, identities, and modalities, rooted in both lived experience and deep professional expertise. After experiencing burnout in 2023, they are navigating a profound personal renewal, integrating traditional and non-conventional healing practices At EMERGE, Ilya is ready to rekindle joy, reconnect to authentic expression, and clarify the foundations that will sustain their global impact.
Role / Affiliation: Founding Director, Global Trauma Project
Location: Kenya (currently based in Madrid)
Cohort Connection Points
● Leverage: Proven expertise in trauma-informed systems, global health leadership, and cross-cultural community building; strong Ashoka network and field-tested methodologies for systemic change.
● Essence: Playful, deeply compassionate, and unafraid to speak truth, brings authenticity and lived resilience to every space.
● Breakthrough Goal: Strengthen personal wellbeing across mind, body, and spirit; cultivate shame-free, fear-free authentic connections; rekindle joy and playfulness.
What Makes Their BEING Come Alive
Spaces where queerness, silliness, and free expression are safe and celebrated, pumpkin patches, hayrides, and moments of unapologetic joy.
Paul Chatterton
Paul is a pioneer in large-scale ecological restoration and protection his work spanning the largest forest programs in Africa and Borneo, the largest restoration program in the UK, Europe’s longest river protected area, and one of the Pacific’s largest rainforest reserves. He leads the Landscape Finance Lab, guiding transformative projects that blend conservation with community prosperity. His vision is rooted in the reenchantment of the earth and ourselves, and he approaches environmental stewardship with optimism, embracing the dynamism of our times despite global turbulence. At EMERGE, Paul seeks a deeper level of integrity-space to slow, breathe, and reorient for the next chapter of his life’s mission.
Role / Affiliation: Founder & Lead, Landscape Finance Lab
Location: Austria LinkedIn
Cohort Connection Points
● Leverage: Global experience in landscape-scale conservation finance, high-level partnerships, and innovation in ecological restoration.
● Essence: Grounded yet visionary; a leader who dances between strategy and spirit, deeply committed to the living systems of the planet.
● Breakthrough Goal: Achieve a new depth of integrity while integrating professional purpose with personal renewal.
What Makes His BEING Come Alive
Dancing, mountains, friends, and the pulse of music shared with kindred spirits.
Petra Schön
Petra is a committed advocate for inclusion, art, and social transformation. For the past decade, she has built creative, accessible spaces where diversity is celebrated and embodied expression becomes a vehicle for change From co-founding Dancing without Limits raising awareness about blindness and visual impairment through dance to shaping the inclusive vision of Lillis Ballroom, Petra’s work invites everyone to belong and participate fully. Her latest venture, Futures Laboratory, convenes artists, activists, and professionals of all abilities to co-create inclusive futures through art and regeneration. At EMERGE, she stands at a crossroads, seeking clarity on where to invest her energy, whether in existing projects or in building her dream of an inclusive learning campus.
Role / Affiliation: Co-Founder & Chairwoman, Dancing without Limits; Director, Lillis Ballroom
Location: Austria
Cohort Connection Points
● Leverage: Deep expertise in inclusive arts, social change facilitation, and network weaving across cultural and disability advocacy sectors; strong partnerships with universities and cultural institutions.
● Essence: Warm, clear, and creative, brings people into presence and connection with grace and vision.
● Breakthrough Goal: Reconnect with clarity, courage, and trust in her inner knowing to determine her next chapter and bring the inclusive learning campus vision to life.
What Makes Her BEING Come Alive
Moments of embodied connection and creativity, dancing, shared stories, and serendipitous encounters where diversity and presence create an unspoken field of aliveness.
Florijn de Graaf
Florijn de Graaf is a regenerative systems architect pioneering community models that go far beyond sustainability. As founder of Smarthoods, he has designed and implemented energy- and resource-positive neighborhoods that integrate food, water, energy, and circular economy systems into everyday living. Through Regen-U, Florijn mentors the next generation of regenerative practitioners—equipping them to design thriving communities grounded in ecological intelligence and economic resilience. With a background in engineering from Delft University, a dash of philosophy, and a family legacy in creating the first Earthship in the Netherlands, his work blends precision design with a deep commitment to human and planetary well-being. EMERGE was inspired in part by Florijn’s presence to bring both technical mastery and community vision, exploring how food-water-energy-waste systems transformation can catalyze leadership sovereignty.
Role / Affiliation: Founder, Smarthoods; Director, Regen-U
Location: Netherlands
Cohort Connection Points:
● Leverage: Expertise in regenerative neighborhood design, circular economy integration, and multi-sector collaboration; proven record in translating visionary concepts into functioning, measurable realities.
● Essence: Visionary engineer-meets-community builder practical, collaborative, and deeply committed to creating living systems that care for all life.
● Breakthrough Goal: Explore the inner dimensions of stewardship to amplify his ability to inspire and empower communities to adopt regenerative living at scale.
What Makes His BEING Come Alive:
Seeing a community flourish when technology, ecology, and human connection weave into one thriving system.
Salah Eddine Khouiel
Salah is a civic leader and tech strategist who bridges public service with entrepreneurial innovation. As Deputy Mayor of Aix-en-Provence, he leads district revitalization efforts strengthening community cohesion, infrastructure, and pride of place. In parallel, as Head of E-commerce at Raynal, he has transformed the division into a profitable, forward-thinking business unit. His journey spans engineering, blockchain innovation, and diplomacy in the private sector restoring relationships with major clients like MSC Cruises. Salah’s motivation for EMERGE is deeply personal: to uncover the deeper purpose that fuels him through hardship, to dissolve limiting beliefs, and to strengthen the inner clarity that will shape his next chapter of service and leadership.
Role / Affiliation: Deputy Mayor, Aix-en-Provence; Head of E-commerce, Raynal Location: France
Cohort Connection Points:
● Leverage: Political influence and policymaking experience; e-commerce and blockchain expertise; proven skill in building bridges between sectors and restoring trust.
● Essence: Ambitious yet grounded; a leader who listens deeply and builds with empathy, integrity, and vision
● Breakthrough Goal: Find the inner fuel and clarity to align his personal, spiritual, and professional ambitions anchoring his service in purpose.
What Makes His BEING Come Alive:
Playing with his daughter Sophia; transformative conversations that expand his worldview; moments when people feel more connected to where they live.
EMERGE Catalysts
Marcello Murzilli
Marcello Murzilli is the visionary founder behind Eremito Hotelito del Alma, a digital-detox hermitage nestled in the Umbrian hills of Italy. After achieving success in the fashion world by launching the ElCharro brand, he embarked on a global journey of self-discovery, leading to the creation of Hotelito Desconocido, an acclaimed eco-resort on Mexico’s Pacific coast. Returning to Italy with a desire to reimagine sacred simplicity, Marcello spent four years rebuilding a 14th-century ruin, stone by stone, to birth Eremito: a minimalist retreat grounded in candlelight, silent meals, monastic aesthetics, and spiritual renewal. Designed as “a little hotel of the soul,” it offers guests a sanctuary where inner clarity can flourish through quiet, nature, and mindful presence.
Role / Affiliation: The Soul behind the Walls, Founder Eremito
Location: Italy Website
Cohort Connection Points
● Leverage: Founder of Eremito Hotelito del Alma and pioneer of experiential hospitality that blends luxury with monastic simplicity, offering a sanctuary for deep rest, reflection, and reconnection.
● Essence: A visionary creator who transforms spaces into soulful retreats, drawing on his journey from global fashion entrepreneur to builder of eco-conscious havens that honor history, nature, and inner peace.
● Breakthrough Goal: To inspire a new paradigm of hospitality rooted in mindfulness, sustainability, and the art of living slowly.
What Makes His Being Come Alive
Crafting spaces that invite silence, foster genuine connection, and remind people of the beauty in living simply.
Jackie Stewart
Jackie brings the art and science of meditation to life guiding individuals and organizations into greater awareness, compassion, and resilience. With an MA from NYU in Media, Culture, and Communication, her professional roots in film and television inform her creative, story-rich approach to teaching. She serves as a practice leader in Tergar International and is on faculty at Dharma Moon, teaching in the Yearlong Buddhist Studies Program. Jackie co-founded Cōv, a program supporting women in the profound transition into motherhood, and her teachings reach global audiences through Alo Moves and Journey LIVE. As a mother to two boys, Phoenix and Kirin, she integrates her mindfulness practice into parenting, modeling how presence can transform the most ordinary and the most challenging moments into opportunities for connection and growth.
Role / Affiliation: Inner Space Holder, Meditation Teacher, Wellbeing EMERGE Location: New York City, USA Website
Cohort Connection Points
● Leverage: Expertise in meditation and wellbeing at both individual and organizational scales; experience bridging contemplative practice with creative industries and high-performance environments.
● Essence: Warm, grounded, and attuned—holds space with clarity and tenderness, inviting transformation through stillness.
● Breakthrough Goal: Expand the reach and impact of wellbeing practices in diverse settings, deepening the integration of mindfulness into leadership and daily life.
What Makes Her BEING Come Alive
Those moments when the room softens, when people drop their guard, connect with their own hearts, and the shared silence feels more alive than words.
Saskia van den Muijsenberg
Saskia van den Muijsenberg is the co-founder and Director of BiomimicryNL, and the only Certified Biomimicry Professional in the Netherlands. With 25+ years of experience in marketing, change management, strategic innovation, and storytelling, she has actively shaped how biomimicry can transform both organizations and societal systems. That realization inspired her to co-found Biomimicry Netherlands and build a practice that spans consulting, education, network-building, and public speaking. Known as a vivid storyteller and systems thinker, she uses biomimicry to make nature’s genius accessible and actionable and continues to inspire organizations, governments, universities, and communities across Europe through lectures, workshops, and collaborations.
Role / Affiliation: Co-founder and Director of BiomimicryNL
Location: Netherlands
LinkedIn Website
Cohort Connection Points
● Leverage: Co-founder of BiomimicryNL and the only Certified Biomimicry Professional in the Netherlands, bringing over 25 years of expertise in strategic innovation, applying nature’s genius to solve complex challenges.
● Essence: A systems thinker and vivid storyteller who inspires curiosity, fosters connections, and transforms ideas into regenerative action through the lens of biomimicry
● Breakthrough Goal: To embed biomimicry as a foundational practice in education, business, and government, enabling societies to innovate in harmony with nature.
What Makes Her Being Come Alive
Seeing individuals and organizations light up when they realize that the answers to many of our biggest challenges are already thriving in the natural world.
Jeremy Whelehan
Jeremy Whelehan is an award-winning Irish filmmaker, storyteller, and founder of Treetops Productions, a creative studio specializing in documentary and cinematic storytelling that blends art, tech, and cultural exploration. His acclaimed debut feature documentary, NOW: In the Wings on a World Stage, captures the behind-the-scenes intensity of a global theater production starring Kevin Spacey. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and earned the UK's National Film Award for Best Documentary. Jeremy is also the founder of the Wisdom Keepers platform, which amplifies indigenous voices, wisdom traditions, and spiritual leaders globally to foster deep reconnection, cultural preservation, and collective healing.
Role / Affiliation: Visual Alchemist, Founder and Producer at Wisdom Keepers & Treetops Productions, Filmmaker, Philosopher, Fool
Location: Ireland
LinkedIn Website
Cohort Connection Points
● Leverage: A masterful filmmaker who brings cinematic depth and cultural storytelling into the retreat, with insights bridging cinematic artistry, earth wisdom, and transformational narrative.
● Essence: A cultural bridge-builder Jeremy channels ancestral wisdom and deep-rooted storytelling traditions to nurture collective memory, spiritual connection, and shared purpose.
● Breakthrough Goal: To catalyze a global awakening through compelling media that honors wisdom traditions and invites regeneration at planetary and personal levels.
What Makes His Being Come Alive
Enlightened storytelling that uplifts ancestral voices, stirs the soul, and inspires meaningful reflection and healing within individuals and communities.
EMERGE Founders
Sebastien Dumont
Sebastien Dumont is a trusted advisor to senior leaders, a business and social entrepreneur, and a contributor at Oxford and Stanford in the field of leadership transformation. He has guided executives at Unilever, Richemont, Airbnb, ArcelorMittal, and others to lead with greater purpose, clarity, and depth More important to him than the highest honors, Sebastien brings lived experience his own journey through success, ambition, loss, awakening, freedom, and love fuels his radical commitment to creating sacred spaces where unconditional love takes precedence over ego, and where inner transformation becomes outer impact. EMERGE was born from that calling and from the legacy of Perch Ducote, a beloved soul Sebastien met at Oxford through the IMAGINE community. Father of four, spiritual soul, steward of people and planet, he walks this path not as a teacher, but as a fellow human and committed pilgrim in the art of being.
Role / Affiliation: Co-Founder, Transformational Being, CEO Whisperer
Location: France LinkedIn Website
Cohort Connection Points
● Leverage: Decades of guiding senior leaders across global organizations from Unilever to Airbnb to unlock transformative leadership.
● Essence: A grounded, heart-led presence committed to creating sacred spaces where unconditional love takes precedence over ego, and where leaders reconnect with their deepest values.
● Breakthrough Goal: To catalyze a global movement of leadership rooted in inner transformation, ensuring that business and societal impact are inseparable from purpose and humanity.
What Makes His Being Come Alive
Witnessing individuals awaken to their truest selves and translating that awakening into tangible, positive change in the world.
Sky Sheridan
Sky Sheridan is a visionary systems strategist, mystic synthesizer, and steward of the sacred in an age of collapse and emergence. From foster care to the UN, he has walked the bridge between fragmentation and coherence, now guiding others to do the same. As an architect of EMERGE and community curator at IMAGINE, Sky designs spaces where inner being and planetary purpose intertwine. His decades of lived inquiry into regenerative economics, biomimicry, indigenous wisdom, and multi-dimensional thinking inform his breakthrough method, Gnosis, Symbiosis, and Apotheosis, which has shaped work with the UN, EU Commission, Google Startups, and other global initiatives. Founder of SkyFarms (now UnderOneSky), Sky embodies the deep truth that wholeness is not a destination, but a remembering For two decades, he was Perch Ducote’s apprentice and fellow sacred soulmate.
Role / Affiliation: Co-Founder, Emergent Intelligence, Impact Maven
Location: Netherlands (formerly NYC & LA) LinkedIn Website
Cohort Connection Points
● Leverage: Bridging inner being with communication through decades of experience in technology, consciousness, regeneration, and multi-dimensional, out-of-the-box, against-all-odds mindsets.
● Essence: A pattern-seer and mystic synthesizer who transforms complexity into coherence, helping others navigate uncertainty and align with their highest potential.
● Breakthrough Goal: To expand the reach of EMERGE as a global platform for leadership and systems transformation, weaving consciousness and compassion into the heart of innovation.
What Makes His Being Come Alive
Guiding people and systems to remember their wholeness and witnessing the spark when purpose, vision, and collective action come into alignment.
Perch Ducote
Perch is a founding figure of the IMAGINE community and a seasoned international consultant and personal leadership coach with over thirty years of experience. He has designed and led transformative workshops across the U.S., Europe, and India, helping individuals and teams build environments rooted in accomplishment, clarity, and inspired communication. Passionate about elevating others, Perch has guided a wide range of participants from manufacturing teams to executive boards across organizations such as the United Nations, Merck, Xerox, Prudential, and Eli Lilly. He is certified in both Myers-Briggs and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), the former Executive Director of the New Orleans Peace Foundation, author of The Soul of Communication, and executive producer of the documentary Every3Seconds. For Seb and Sky, Perch was more than a mentor he was a soul guide whose presence and wisdom seeded the heart and vision of EMERGE, shaping their paths in leadership that intertwines inner depth with planetary service.
After a life of love, adventure, and inspiring others to realize their full potential, Perch (Percy) Francis Ducote, 75, passed away peacefully on August 25th, 2023, at his home in New York City.
Role / Affiliation: Co-Founder in Spirit, Our Guiding Light, Monk in Manhattan Website
