Scholarship created to promote equity and inclusion in the wellness industry

The Global Wellness Summit has announced the creation of the ‘Susie Ellis Scholarship for Equity in Wellness’ to promote equity and inclusion in the wellness industry and is funded by Katrine and Bill Formby, Jill and Rick Stollmeyer, Lynne and Victor Brick, and the Szekely Family Foundation. 

The Global Wellness Summit (GWS), the foremost gathering of international leaders in the multitrillion-dollar global wellness economy has advised that the new fund “aims to create more inclusivity at the annual wellness event by providing financial assistance to a member of an underserved population to join the conference each year, ultimately empowering recipients to return to their local communities and become leaders in the wellness industry.”

The scholarship will cover the recipient’s travel, hotel and registration. The application process to nominate candidates will launch Q1 2022 for next year’s Summit taking place in Tel Aviv, Israel, from 30th October – 2nd November.

The scholarship is named for Susie Ellis, GWS Chair and Chief Executive, who has been at the helm of the Summit and its sister non-profit organisation, the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), since inception and is very vocal about her commitment to bringing more equity and inclusion to the wellness industry.

Upon being presented with the new fund, Ellis shared “I believe that the wellness industry can do much more when it comes to fostering inclusion and equity; this is a simple but incredibly powerful step in democratizing our industry. I thank all the donors who have made it possible for us to put our mission statement of ‘Joining Together. Shaping the Future.’ into tangible action.”

The GWI is also launching a new ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ initiative, with the mission of creating a positive impact on the wellness of global society by promoting innovative wellness-based approaches that elevate and seed greater unity, respect and inclusion for all.

Nancy Davis, Global Wellness Summit Chief Creative Officer and Executive Director advises “the Susie Ellis Scholarship for Equity in Wellness grew out of my desire to honour Susie on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the GWS. Susie has been vocal about the disparities in access in the wellness industry and has wanted to do something meaningful about it.”

To establish the scholarship, Davis reached out to a handful of like-minded, influential wellness supporters–Katrine and Bill Formby, Jill and Rick Stollmeyer, Lynne and Victor Brick, and the Szekely Family Foundation–and each contributed $10,000, creating a generous endowment that will fund the scholarship for the next several years.

“What a thrilling surprise to learn that Nancy Davis put together this brilliant scholarship program to promote equity and inclusion in the wellness world. I am so grateful to the first four contributors: GWI board member Rick Stollmeyer and his wife Jill, GWS board member Victor Brick and his wife Lynne, my mentor, Deborah Szekely and her family, and my twin sister, Katrine Formby and her husband Bill. It is my hope that we will be able to grow the fund so that multiple scholarships can be awarded each year and we can help keep the issue top of mind throughout the year to help motivate and inspire others in the wellness arena to do what they can for this important cause,” Ellis concluded.

“I am grateful to our inaugural donors for helping us expand the reach of the GWS and am thrilled to be able to honour Susie Ellis’ leadership, passion and vision in our industry,” said Davis.

All those interested in contributing to the scholarship should email nancy.davis@globalwellnessinstitute.org.

The presentation of this scholarship as well as all mainstage keynotes, panels and speakers from the 2021 GWS are available through the Summit on Demand package, which is available for purchase here.

Registration to the 2022 Global Wellness Summit is now open, with early bird rates for a limited time.

Image: Global Wellness Summit Susie Ellis Scholarship: (L-R) Katrine Formby, Victor and Lynne Brick