Community

iFred Explores “Mental and Physical Health” at World Happiness Week 2021

The fifth annual World Happiness Fest Virtual Agora is being held virtually from March 18th– March 23rd. This year’s event focuses on feeling, understanding, and acting on drivers to evolve and expand individuals and societies that thrive. This virtual event is free to attend and can be accessed here.     As part of the World Happiness … Continued
Kathryn Goetzke

Kathryn Goetzke

3 Min Read

The fifth annual World Happiness Fest Virtual Agora is being held virtually from March 18th– March 23rd. This year’s event focuses on feeling, understanding, and acting on drivers to evolve and expand individuals and societies that thrive. This virtual event is free to attend and can be accessed here.    

As part of the World Happiness Fest, Kathryn Goetzke, Founder of iFred and Creator of Hopeful Minds and Hopeful Cities, will be hosting “Mental and Physical Health” on March 19th from 11:45 am to 3:20 pm EST. 

iFred’s “Mental and Physical Health” track on March 19th brings together leading scientists, educators, innovators, technologists, business leaders, and entrepreneurs to share how mental and physical health are being addressed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to examine the obstacles that will likely arise in the future as a result of the pandemic. The speakers examine the mental and physical health tolls from the perspective of children, adults, first responders, and more. 

The World Happiness Fest Virtual Agora consists of 20-minute TedTalk-style talks. The event includes dozens of speakers from around the world who will present the most up-to-date research and statistics on physical and mental health, specific calls to action, and easy ways that you can get involved.

The March 19th “Mental and Physical Health” track will include the following presentations:

Welcome. Co-creating the Future in Health Care

11:45am- 12:00pm EST – Kathryn Goetzke (Curator English) and Luis Gallardo

The Global Impact of COVID on Mental and Physical Health
12:00pm – 12:20pm EST – Myron Belfer, M.D., M.P.A,

Healing through the Power of Hope
12:20pm – 12:40pm EST – Dan Tomasulo, Ph.D. 

How Compassion is Key to Recovery 
12:40pm – 1:00pm EST – James R. Doty, MD

The Prevents Pledge to Reach
1:00pm – 1:20pm EST – Barbara Van Dahlen, Ph.D. 

Tools to Support Frontline Workers
1:20pm- 1:40pm EST – Marjorie Morrison, LMFT, LPC

Talkspace as a Mechanism for Care and Connection
1:40pm -2:00pm EST – Rachel O’Neill, Ph.D., LPCC-S

Empowering Youth in Peer Activism 
2:00pm – 2:20pm EST – Martin Rafferty

youthRISE: A New Era of Collective Action to Transform Mental Health
2:20pm- 2:40pm EST – Moitreyee Sinha

Advancing Mental, Social, and Spiritual Health
2:40pm -3:00pm EST- Tyler Norris, MDiv

Engaging in Challenging Times with Clarity, Calm, and Heartfulness 
3:00pm-3:20pm EST – Sharon Salzberg



This event is free, and available around the world to all those that have internet access. For more information, or to join the movement to make the world a happier, healthier, and more hopeful place, visit https://hopin.com/events/worldhappinessfest2021.

Author(s)

  • Kathryn Goetzke

    MBA, Global Hope Ambassador, iFred Founder, Chief Mood Officer

    iFred, The Mood Factory

    Kathryn Goetzke is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, strategic consultant and global depression advocate. She is the entrepreneur and innovator behind Mood-lites™, a brand that achieved over 35 million dollars in retail sales. As her role as Chief Mood Officer at The Mood Factory, her goal is to ‘Improve Moods’ by teaching consumers how to get in the present moment through engaging the senses. Armed with an MBA in International Marketing, an undergraduate degree in Psychology, over 20 years of experience with small and Fortune 100 companies, and a successful product launch of her own under her belt, she aims to do just that with her new line of product based on how scents impact moods and 21 Day Courses teaching how to rewire the brain. In addition to launching Mood-lites, Goetzke founded a non-profit organization for depression called iFred (the International Foundation for Research and Education on Depression – www.ifred.org) dedicated to eradicating the stigma of the disease using the sunflower, a focus on hope, the color yellow, celebrity engagement, creating hopeful mindsets, and education on the biology of the brain. According to the World Health Organization, there are 300 million people around the world with major depressive disorder, yet depression is treatable and episodes often preventable. She is most excited about her Hopeful Minds initiative (www.hopefulminds.org), based on research that hope is a teachable skill and aimed at teaching kids around the world so they may be equipped to always create, maintain, and sustain hope. Goetzke and her work has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, Home, InStyle, Family Living, Scholastic Choices Magazine, and others. She has spoken at the United Nations, World Bank, Global Mental Health Conference, Mental Health Community Associations Conference, the Scent Marketing Institute, and more. She has been featured on multiple radio and television shows including BBC, WGN Chicago, CBS Chicago, Tasty Trade, and eWomenNetwork. Goetzke is a regular contributor to the Thrive Global and PsychCentral, writes regularly for iFred and The Mood Factory, and serves on advisory boards for FundaMentalSDG, the Global Mental Health Movement, and Women's Brain Project, and is a member of the Founding Steering Committee Member of YMentalHealth, a global coalition for youth mental health nonprofits. Goetzke has a Master of Business Administration degree in International Marketing Management from the University of St. Thomas, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, International Studies and Biology from Winona State University. She currently resides in Reno, NV, where she enjoys hiking, meeting new people, playing with her nieces, exploring the mountains, skiing, and solving complex global challenges.