Jayme Ilien: “The inspiration for conceptualizing, and eventually creating the international day of happiness came from a lifelong experience, and exposure to growing up around orphaned and abandoned children, after I myself was rescued from the streets of calcutta as an orphan by my adoptive mother, who later founded, our family non profit international adoption, and child social welfare organization in 1980. I grew up helping my adoptive mother, working out of our tiny home in her bedroom, to find permanent families for thousands of orphaned and abandoned children from over 60 countries. Additional inspiration for the international day of happiness came from my experience, leading global growth for some of the world’s largest global financial institutions, as well as serving as advisor with the United States State Department, and the United States Department of Defense.”