Meet our Speakers

(presented in alphabetical order)

Jo Abergel

Co-Founder, Ethical Gambling Forum

Jo Abergel is the Co-Founder of the Ethical Gambling Forum, a conference aimed at challenging the gambling industry on the ethical dilemmas it faces in order to promote best practices, greater collaboration, and responsible gaming.

She developed the Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Award to recognize and celebrate ethical achievements, both individual and organizational, within the gambling industry.

Ms. Abergel holds a certificate from the Association of Certified Gambling Compliance Specialists, for those working in Anti-Money Laundering, Compliance, Compliance Oversight, Fraud, Legal, and Security Surveillance departments.

Jody Bechtold

CEO, The Better Institute

Jody Bechtold, LCSW, ICGC-II, BACC, PC is a highly regarded gambling addiction expert working extensively across the globe with individuals, organizations, and associations. She sits as an Advisory Board Member of Seagulls Flock Organization, Inc.

Ms. Bechtold is the CEO of The Better Institute, a group practice located in Pittsburgh, as well as an Emeritus Board Member of the International Gambling CounselorCertification ( IGCCB ) Board.

Ms. Bechtold co-authored The Gambling Disorder Treatment Handbook: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals as well as two chapters in the Social Worker Desk Reference v4 on Gambling and Gaming Disorders, published in 2021.

Ms. Bechtold holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work and has certifications as a Board-Approved Clinical Consultant (BACC) and Internationally Certified Gambling Counselor Level II (ICGC-II) with the IGCCB.

When Ms. Bechtold isn’t working, you can find her providing pet therapy with her dog, Hanna, and supporting her husband’s business, Pittsburgh Guitars.

Stephanie Diez-Morel, PhD

Vice President

International Gambling Counselor Certification Board

Dr. Stephanie Diez-Morel, LCSW, IGDC, BACC, MCAP is an associate professor of graduate social work at Pennsylvania Western University and is currently Vice President of the International Gambling Counselor Certification Board (IGCCB). She is the founder of Reboot &Recover, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing education, prevention, treatment, and research on gaming disorder and other technology-based addictions.

Dr. Diez-Morel is also the co-lead for the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) Gaming Disorder Taskforce. She continues her clinical practice as she is dually licensed in the states of Florida and Pennsylvania. She has authored scientific presentations, articles, and book chapters as well as appeared in the media on a variety of radio, podcasts, and news outlets to discuss the topic of gaming disorder and other technology-based addictions.

Dr. Diez-Morel earned her Ph.D. from Florida International University where she was awarded the C-SALUD student scholar in Health Disparities Research Fellowship funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She has received a number of awards and grants for her work through Reboot & Recover on finding solutions to a balanced living in a technology driven world. Dr. Diez-Morel has provided numerous international clinical and prevention trainings on gaming and gaming disorder to counselors and helping professionals.

Lim Shen Yong

Senior Social Worker specializing in Substance Use and Gaming Addiction Support

Lim Shen Yong is an EXCO member of both the Association of Professionals Specialising in Addictions Counselling (APSAC) and the Association for Play Therapy (Singapore) [APT(S)], conducting trainings for professionals in the social service sector on various topics on addiction such as substance use disorder, gaming, and peer support.

He has 12 years of clinical experience in social services specializing in youth mental health and wellness, as well as substance and gaming addiction. He provides individual and group supervision and consultation for social service professionals and associates, aimed at enhancing their casework management, assessment skills, and program delivery.

Mr. Lim works with youths to develop strategies for managing their gaming behaviors and conduct family interventions to restore relationships affected by the youths' gaming behaviors, and has conducted workshops and school talks on cyber wellness.

Mr. Lim has a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the National University in Singapore. He also holds an International Gaming Disorder Certificate from the IGCCB.

Oluwafisayo David Oke

CEO of Gamble Alert

Oluwafisayo David Oke is the CEO of Gamble Alert, Nigeria an independent charity dedicated to the prevention and provision of treatment services for gambling harm. Gamble Alert was formed to advocate for responsible gambling, prevent underage gambling, and provide clinical and rehabilitation assistance for gambling addicts.

Mr. Oke is a highly resourceful Gaming Operations Manager with comprehensive experience managing critical regulatory functions and improving the performance of gaming operations within the public sector. He has practical knowledge of gaming regulations and an in-depth understanding of various compliance processes, policy development, and gambling advocacy.

Mr. Oke works with multidisciplinary teams, including psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, social workers, and gambling counselors, to ensure that pathological gambling and comorbid psychiatric disorders are treated effectively. He leads community education in Nigeria on the importance of responsible gambling, which has earned his non-profit a distinction as the most influential charity in Oyo State, Nigeria.

Vasileios Stavropoulos, PhD

Associate Professor

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia

Dr. Vasileios Stavropoulos is an internationally reputable academic and clinician in the broader field of Clinical Psychology with an emphasis on the use-abuse of digital media and online games. He was awarded the Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award in 2021.

His theoretical conceptualization is based on the Developmental Psychopathology approach, and in particular, the risk and resilience framework to individual differences in adaptation and development. He combines a lengthy and diverse clinical experience with advanced statistical analysis skills, which enable him to operationalize complex research questions.

Dr. Stavropoulos’ specific research interests move in the field of digital phenotyping for mental health. Therefore, he aims to translate one’s digital media and gaming usage patterns into information about their mental health conditions.

He has been invited by the American Psychiatric Association to be a member of the specialized task force for the revision of Internet Gaming Disorder as a formal diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).

Serenella Tolomeo, PhD

Senior Scientist

Agency for Science, Technology and Research (Singapore)

Dr. Serenella Tolomeo is a Senior Scientist at the Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC), Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore. IHPC was established in 1998 to provide leadership in computational modelling, simulation and AI to solve major scientific, industrial and societal challenges.

Dr. Serenella Tolomeo’s research focuses on determining psychological and neural mechanisms underlying mental health conditions such as gaming, gambling, depression, schizophrenia, and mood-related conditions. Her research goals integrate psychological medicine, cognitive neuroscience, neuro-imaging and decision-making neuroscience measures.

Her research career began with a BSc degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy) and subsequently obtained a MSc in Clinical Psychology, Neuropsychology and Developmental Psychology at the University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy). She obtained her PhD in Medicine from the University of Dundee (UK) in 2020. She spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow at NUS conducting cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging studies in mental health.

SB Viknesan

Certified Clinical Supervisor & Senior Counselor, Singapore

Mr S.B Viknesan is a Senior Counsellor at Institute Of Mental Health (IMH) with the Addictions department known as the National Addictions Management Service, with over 23 years of Counseling Experience. Part of his portfolio in IMH is Teaching and Training Medical Doctors, psychiatry trainees, psychiatrists and allied health staff on addiction-related content. In the past he did Social work and Counselling for three years with SINDA Family Service Centre.

He graduated from the University of South Australia with a Masters of Social Science (Counseling), a Graduate Diploma in Educational Psychology from Monash University and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Curtin University ofTechnology. He has been an Associate Faculty with the Singapore University of Social Sciences since 2007 and is now an Adjunct Faculty with the Executive Counseling and Training Academy (ECTA) in collaboration with the Swinburne University Masters of Counseling program and recently Flinders University Masters of Counseling Program, teaching on behavioural addictions.

He is a registered counselor and registered clinical supervisor and sub-committee member for clinical supervision with the Singapore Association for Counselling. He is an exco member of the Association of Professionals Specialising in Addictions Counselling (APSAC). He is also a board member and honorary secretary with the Singapore AntiNarcotics Association(SANA). He help SANA set up their first step up drop in centre for former substance users and their family. He is also a Council member for the National Council Against Drug Abuse (NCADA).

Simon Vincze

Head of Sustainable & Safer Gambling, Casino Guru

Šimon Vincze is Casino Guru’s Head of Sustainable & Safer Gambling, and an advocate for Responsible Gambling. He provides guidance on player protection, steers the company towards current best practices, and seeks opportunities for Casino Guru to have a positive influence. He leads the Global Self-Exclusion Initiative and the Casino Guru Academy.

Šimon is dedicated to making gambling sustainable and secure for all involved parties, prioritizing legitimate entertainment with acknowledged risks for players, while ensuring operators uphold responsibility.

Within the Global Self-Exclusion Initiative, Šimon is guiding a dedicated team that envisions an effective global self-exclusion scheme to deter struggling players. Recognizing shortcomings in existing tools, he aspires to create a strong barrier against online gambling allure. As part of the Initiative, Šimon is working on Self-Exclusion Standards together with the City, University of London.

In Casino Guru Academy, a free educational hub embodying collective knowl-edge, a team led by Šimon offers interactive courses on industry best practices, while emphasizing safer gambling. With insights from the Casino Guru and esteemed partners, the Academy fortifies player-operator relationships and shares vital practical knowledge.

Alyssa N. Wilson, PhD

LCSW, ICGC-II, BACC, PC

Dr. Alyssa N. Wilson is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst Doctoral (BCBA-D), and a Licensed Behavior Analyst in the state of Missouri. Dr. Wilson has provided clinical behavior analytic services to children, adolescents, and adults across a range of clinical settings. Her research focuses on how humans make decisions and engage in maladaptive behavior, to determine intervention strategies for behavioral change.

Dr. Wilson has published articles on the assessment and treatment of behaviors across a range of populations and settings. Most of her work has been focused on addiction and mental health with an emphasis towards clinical behavior analytic interventions including acceptance and mindfulness-based strategies.

To date, she has conducted over fifty workshops and trainings on ACT and RFT for behavior analysts, social workers, clinical psychologists, and educators across local, national, and international training venues and conferences.

Dr. Wilson is also an active editorial board member, serving as an Associate Editor for Behavior Analysis in Practice and an editorial board member for Perspectives of Behavior Science and Journal of Developmental Disabilities. She is co-author of the book, “The Gambling Disorder Treatment Handbook, A Guide for Mental Health Professionals.”

Joanne Wong

Head of TOUCH Cyber Wellness

Joanne Wong is the Head of TOUCH Cyber Wellness (TCW), a service of TOUCH Wellness Group.

Over the years, she has conducted workshops for a wide range of audiences which includes children, teenagers, educators, social worker practitioners, counselors and seniors. Her involvement in providing consultancy for over 100 groups of students from junior colleges, polytechnics and tertiary institutions has also sharpened her domain knowledge of cyber wellness.

Moving beyond education work, Joanne oversees the centre work in TCW which focuses on customizing and conducting prevention and intervention programs for cyber addiction issues.

With 10 years of experience at TCW, Joanne is a passionate and dynamic trainer who has in-depth knowledge of cyber wellness issues. Determined to bringquality cyber wellness education to the youths, Joanne believes in partneringwith parents and the community to support and empower the next generationin navigating the digital space.

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