Above: Katherine Johnston (left) and Ophelia Yeung (right) speaking at the 2014 Global Spa & Wellness Summit in Morocco 

The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) has appointed long-time research partners Ophelia Yeung and Katherine Johnston senior research fellows with the organisation. 

The GWI, the umbrella organisation for the Global Wellness Summit, the Global Wellness Tourism Congress and Wellness Evidence, has previously worked with Yeung and Johnston on a number of research projects – in their capacity as consultants and researchers at SRI International. 

SRI International is a non-profit organisation that carries out research on behalf of governments and various industry sectors. 

Yeung, a senior consultant at SRI, specialises in policy and competitiveness assessments and in the development of action strategies and has been with SRI since 1990. 

Johnston, a senior economist at SRI, has more than 15 research experience on topics ranging from workforce development and economic impact analysis to economic competitiveness. 

Yeung and Johnston will oversee the GWI’s core research initiative for 2015, which focuses on workplaces wellness. Findings from the study will be presented at the Global Wellness Summit in Mexico City on November 13-15. 

Susie Ellis, chairman and chief executive of the GWI, said: “We’re excited to formalise Ophelia’s and Katherine’s roles as senior research fellows for the institute.

This is a recognition of the key roles each has played in the wide-ranging wellness research our organisation has released over the last eight years.”

Yeung’s and Johnston’s previous work with the GWI includes the Global Wellness Tourism Economy report, presented at last year’s Global Spa & Wellness Summit in Marrakech, Morocco.