What You’ll Learn In This Free Podcast Series
If you want to help children not just survive but thrive at school, then this podcast series is for you. In partnership with the International Positive Education Network and AI Practitioner Journal, Professors David Cooperrider and Lindsey Godwin join me as we interview the leading researchers and practitioners from around the world about how positive education can be introduced and embedded in schools, across communities, and throughout entire countries using Appreciative Inquiry. Packed with practical tips that you can immediately apply, these podcasts capture the incredible evidence-based changes that are helping schools and their students, teachers and communities to flourish. It’s our heartfelt hope that hope that you enjoy listening and put what you learn into practice. Warmest Wishes.Michelle
Dr Alejandro Adler is the Director of International Education at the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. He works under the leadership of Dr. Martin Seligman, the founder of Positive Psychology. His research focuses on wellbeing, education, skills, and public policy. Currently, Alejandro is working with the governments of various countries, including Bhutan, Nepal, India, Mexico, Peru, the UAE, Australia, Jordan, and Colombia to infuse curricula across schools in these countries with Positive Psychology skills and to measure the impact of these interventions on youth wellbeing. He has published a number of articles in both scholarly and non-academic outlets, and he frequently speaks at international conferences and gatherings.
Dr Abdulla Al Karam heads the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA). KHDA is the regulatory authority responsible for the growth and direction of private education in Dubai. Through the lens of happiness and positivity, Dr Al Karam has applied a strengths-based and collaboration-driven strategy to Dubai’s private schools sector. “Our role as a government regulator is to bring out the best from within community and focus on what’s working,” he says.
Dr. Jilian Darwish currently serves as President and CEO of Mayerson Academy, a nonprofit dedicated to transforming individual, team and organizational performance. Under her leadership, the Academy has become the exclusive education partner to the VIA Institute, working with schools, universities, organizations and communities to utilize the science of character strengths to transform cultures. The Academy’s work has been featured in EdWeek, Live Happy and US News and World Report and Dr. Darwish has been invited to share the Academy’s work around the globe, including presentations in China, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, and Hong Kong.
Dr Peggy Kern is a senior lecturer at the Centre for Positive Psychology at the University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education. Her research is collaborative in nature and draws on a variety of methodologies, including big data, integrative data analysis, and mixed methods to examine questions around who thrives in life and why, including: (a) understanding and measuring healthy functioning, (b) identifying individual and social factors impacting life trajectories, and (c) systems informed approaches to wellbeing. She has published 2 books and over 70 peer-reviewed articles and chapters.
Dr. Laurie Santos is Professor of Psychology and Head of Silliman College at Yale University. Dr. Santos is an expert on human cognition and the cognitive biases that impede better choices. Her new course, Psychology and the Good Life, teaches students how the science of psychology can provide important hints about how to make wiser choices and live a life that’s happier and more fulfilling. Her course recently became Yale’s most popular course in over 300 years, with almost one of our four students at Yale enrolled. Her course has been featured in numerous news outlets including the New York Times, NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, GQ Magazine, Slate and O! Magazine.
An award-winning educator Dr Mathew White is an Australian academic and Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of Adelaide. He is a member of the School of Education’s Leadership Team and the Program Director for the Master of Education degree. He is also a Principal Honorary Fellow in Melbourne Graduate School of Education and an Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne. Mathew’s research focuses on how leaders establish school cultures to enable positive learning and wellbeing environments. He has co-edited three ground-breaking books his most recent Future Directions in Wellbeing: Education, Organizations, and Policy.
Roslinda Ballesteros, is the Director for the Institute of Wellbeing and Happiness and Hector Escamilla is the president of Tecmilenio University in México that has taken a deep approach on introducing positive Psychology across the curricula in all academic degrees of the University and created the first Wellbeing Institute in Mexico. Recognized by Professor Martin Seligman as the first Positive University in the World, Tecmilenio University serves 59,000 students from High School, College and Masters Programs in 30 campus across México.
Dr. Nance Lucas is Executive Director of the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being, Associate Professor of Leadership Studies in the School of Integrative Studies, an affiliate faculty member of the Higher Education Program, and former Dean of New Century College at George Mason University. Her teaching and scholarship interests focus on the intersections leadership, well-being, and values. She is co-author of Exploring Leadership: For College Students Who Want to Make A Difference (1st, 2nd, & 3rd editions), a best-selling book of Jossey-Bass Publishers, and contributing author of Leadership Reconsidered and The Social Change Model of Leadership Development. Nance was a co-editor of the Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies for special issues and former member of the Journal’s Editorial Board and has delivered numerous keynote addresses and presentations globally.
