Navigating our Relationship with Technology

Dr. Thekla Brumder Ross is a psychologist who explores the intersection of technology, addiction, and well-being. She advises tech companies on product innovation, supports health systems in applying evidence-based practices, and teaches leaders from diverse backgrounds – from medical students and physicians to hospitality executives, parents, and CEOs – how to cultivate healthier digital habits through self-compassion.

Co-author of It Won’t Love You Back: How to Navigate Technology with Clarity and Freedom, Thekla combines scientific rigor with practical wisdom to help people understand the psychological mechanisms behind our digital behaviors. Her work demonstrates how small, intentional shifts can free us from technology’s grip and restore balance to our lives.

Thekla brings both clinical expertise and research-based insights to her practice, helping individuals and organizations develop healthier relationships with technology that support rather than undermine their deepest values and goals.

Kit Hayes bridges the worlds of Silicon Valley and human flourishing. After years as a tech industry leader at companies including YouTube and Google, she now helps people reset their relationship with screens and create more intentional digital habits.

Co-author of It Won’t Love You Back: How to Navigate Technology with Clarity and Freedom, Kit brings unique insider knowledge of how technology is designed to capture attention, combined with deep expertise in helping people reclaim agency over their digital lives.

Her coaching work focuses on practical strategies that honor both our need for connection and our desire for presence, helping clients build sustainable practices that make technology serve their values rather than hijack them.

Derek Gehl is a serial e-commerce entrepreneur, speaker, and author. After spending the first decade of his professional career growing one of world’s first Internet marketing companies to over $30 million in sales, he decided that leading a company of 100 employees in offices in two countries wasn’t for him – so he sold the company to a private equity group and refocused his life on the things he loved most: spending time with his family, pursuing his passions, and building and growing online businesses. In 2024, after doing some consulting for MEA, Derek had his own transformational experience at a Navigating Transitions workshop, which inspired him to join the company as Chief Marketing and Technology Officer and then take on the role as CEO, spearheading our mission to reimagine midlife and build a global pro-aging community that inspires people to thrive in the second half of life.