Mia Atoui is a Clinical Psychologist and the Co-founder and President of Embrace, a leading mental health NGO in Lebanon. Mia has a Master’s degree in Public Health and a Master’s degree in clinical psychology from the American University of Beirut. She has worked in the field of mental health in Lebanon for the past years and is a published researcher in the field. Since 2013, she has been active in addressing stigma, awareness and accessibility of mental health care in Lebanon working in coordination with the Ministry of Public Health and multiple local and international organizations to lobby for equity of care in mental health, quality rights for persons with lived experience with mental illness, and implementing projects across sectors with the aim of improving mental well-being of individuals and communities. She has extensive experience in suicide prevention in Lebanon and has been leading and advocating for Lebanon’s National Emotional Support and Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1564). She is an active member in civil society and conducts trainings to local communities and organizations across Lebanon to build the capacities of first responders and health professionals in detection and prevention of mental illness, suicide, and psychological resilience among various vulnerable groups in the community.

Strategy, Finance & Revenue Growth


Rayan Nahas has supported Embrace since 2017 and joined its Executive Board in 2020. He advises the organization on strategy, financial planning, and sustainable growth, and currently co-chairs its Revenue Growth and Diversification Committee and Fundraising Committee.


Rayan is Vice President of Channel Partnerships at Rokt, where he builds strategic partnerships across commerce media and advertising technology. He previously held leadership roles at Conductor and Camera IQ and worked at Choueiri Group and Oliver Wyman. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BBA from the American University of Beirut.

Lama Yammine is a Lebanese entrepreneur and investor with 14 years of experience across corporate banking and venture building in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. She is the co-founder of doujou.ai and is launching a $200M growth-equity fund focused on the MENAT region, with a portion dedicated to investing in Lebanese startups.

Lama previously founded and led OPTO, an AI-powered financing and expense-management platform for SMEs based in Berlin. She scaled it across several European markets, raised $5M from international investors, and sold the company in 2024. Before that, she spent seven years at Standard Chartered Bank in Shanghai, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia, where she rose to Associate Director and led the first blockchain-based trade finance transaction in the MENA region.

Today, she advises and mentors startups and institutions across the Gulf, including Fintech Saudi, Hub71, MISK, and Leap/Ignyte at DIFC, and has supported more than 30 startups as an advisor, mentor, or investor. She was named One Young World Ambassador for Lebanon in 2018. Lama holds an Executive MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BSc in Finance from Deusto Business School in Spain.

Dr. Pia Zeinoun is currently the Vice President of Embrace, who along with the Embrace team has contributed to the strategic expansion of the organization. Dr. Zeinoun has initiated and led several projects including the establishment of the Embrace research hub, and most notably the Embrace Mental Health Center in 2021 – a full multidisciplinary clinical center and university-affiliated training program.

From 2016 to 2021, Dr. Zeinoun served as Assistant Professor of Psychology at the American University of Beirut’s Department of Psychology, while prior to that she co-founded and led the Psychological Assessment Center at the AUB Medical Center since 2013.

Clinically, Dr. Zeinoun specializes in the evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental and acquired disorders. Her research includes more than 30 peer-reviewed publications focused on cross-cultural and indigenous measurements of clinical symptoms and personality.

Her education includes graduate training at the Johns Hopkins/Kennedy Krieger Institute in Maryland, USA, a PhD in Psychology from Tilburg University in the Netherlands, while prior to that she had a Fulbright sojourn at Illinois State University, where she obtained a master’s degree in Clinical & Counseling Psychology.

She is a member of the Lebanese Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, and International Test Commission, and serves as an associate editor academic journal.

Edwina Daher is a Lebanese entrepreneur and sustainability advocate. She holds an MS in Sustainability Management from Columbia University, where her capstone research explored the intersection of mental health and climate change, examining how environmental stress shapes human well-being and the communities most vulnerable to it. Her broader work sits at the intersection of wellness, sustainability, and the Middle East, driven by a belief that how we live, what we consume, and how we care for ourselves are all interconnected.

"Mental health is inseparable from how we live, how we move, and how we show up for the people we love. In Lebanon especially, where resilience is both a gift and a burden, organizations like Embrace do sacred work. I'm honored to support a team that meets people where they are, without judgment, and with genuine care."

Dr. Natali Farran was a member of the General Assembly at Embrace from 2019 until 2023 while mainly being involved in outreach activities within Lebanon. She is a human rights activist with a focus on mental health and education. Dr. Natali Farran has been an Executive Board Member of Embrace since 2023, having previously served as a member of the General Assembly from 2019 to 2023, where she supported outreach initiatives across Lebanon. She is a human rights activist whose work centres on mental health, education, & equitable access to healthcare. A practitioner-researcher, Dr. Farran was awarded the Padmal de Silva Prize for her contribution to integrating clinical practice with scholarly research. She received specialist training in trauma care for survivors of extreme human cruelty through the Helen Bamber Foundation, & is the author of the internationally cited & seminal paper ‘Mental Health in Lebanon: Tomorrow's Silent Epidemic’ (2021), which critically examines the compounding psychological toll of Lebanon's multi-layered crise, including the social, economic, & political landscapes.

Clinically, Dr. Farran works as a psychologist at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in London, supporting individuals with severe acquired brain injuries & complex needs. She is a Research Affiliate at King's College London and has completed specialised training in Artificial Intelligence for healthcare applications. Her research focuses on developing next-generation accessible neuropsychological assessments for culturally and linguistically diverse populations and on integrating technology-driven solutions into complex healthcare settings.

She has published in leading peer-reviewed journals and continues to contribute to research at the intersection of neuropsychology, rehabilitation, & digital health innovation. Dr. Farran completed her undergraduate studies in psychology in Beirut before receiving merit-based scholarships for postgraduate training in the United Kingdom. She holds an MSc in Applied Neuropsychology from the University of Bristol & a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) from King's College London.

Dr. Myriam Zarzour is a psychiatrist with a diverse background in the field of mental health. She received her training in both Lebanon and France, earning her degrees from Saint Joseph University and Paris University in 2020.

Dr. Zarzour's professional journey involves roles as a clinician, an attending physician at Hotel Dieu de France hospital, an instructor at Saint-Joseph University faculty of medicine, a researcher, and a mental health consultant for local and international NGOs. She is also a member of the executive committee of the Lebanese Psychiatric Society (LPS).

Her interest in community mental health and her passion to improve mental health services in Lebanon led her to join Embrace in August 2020 as a volunteer psychiatrist in the aftermath of the Beirut blast.
Over time, Dr. Zarzour assumed more prominent roles within Embrace, where she served as Head of Clinical Excellence at the Embrace Mental Health Center and now serves as Residency Program Lead.

Dr. Zarzour also holds a master's degree in Neuroscience from Bordeaux University in France. Additionally, she has pursued specialized training in addiction psychiatry, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and reconsolidation therapy for psycho-trauma treatment.

Andre Fadel is the CEO of Holmed Group, a holding company of several legal entities responsible for the commercialization and importation of healthcare products.

He joined the group in 2019 after working 10 years in Management Consulting with BCG and Oliver Wyman where he was specialized in Private Equity and Telecommunications.
Andre is the co-founder of Kalei Coffee Co., the first specialty coffee roastery in Lebanon that sources fairtrade beans from all around the world.

He sits on the Board of USEK’s Office of the President to support with its strategy and future education landscape.

He holds a bachelor's degree in Civil & Environmental Engineering from AUB and an MBA from INSEAD

Maya Ghosn is a Riyadh-based, US-born, France & Japan raised, Lebanese-Brazilian investor and philanthropist focused on health, wealth, and inner self. She has a personal angel portfolio of 40+ early-stage companies—half focused on mental health. She serves on the boards of O7 Therapy, Orchid, and Jusoor, and runs Inward Onward, coaching individuals and organizations.

Maya is passionate about advancing mental health for displaced communities in Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon. A Stanford alum, she worked at McKinsey and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, where she helped grow the team from 30 to 600 over four years.

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