Putting the Science of Happiness into Practice

Emiliana Simon-Thomas, PhD, is the science director of the Greater Good Science Center, where she oversees its Expanding Gratitude project. A former senior scientist for the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University, her work examines the science that connects health and happiness to social affiliation, caregiving, and collaborative relationships.

Dacher Keltner, PhD, is a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, a founder and director of the Greater Good Science Center, and author of Born to Be Good and The Compassionate Instinct, among other books. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The London Times, Utne Reader, and elsewhere.

Vicki Zakrzewski, Ph.D., is the Education Director of the Greater Good Science Center. In her blog for the Center’s website, Vicki explores how the social-emotional skills of students contribute to their academic success and future ability to become caring members of society. A former teacher and school administrator, Vicki spent two months in India—at a school awarded the Peace Education Prize by UNESCO and the Hope of Humanity Award by the Dalai Lama—in order to research their methods for developing teachers’ ability to create caring relationships with students. Vicki received her B.A. from UCLA and her Ph.D. in Education and Positive Psychology from Claremont Graduate University.

Hooria Jazaieri, LMFT, is a researcher and cognitive-behavioral therapist currently in the psychology graduate program at the University of California, Berkeley.

While Matt Killingsworth was a doctoral candidate at Harvard University in 2009, he and his colleague, Daniel Gilbert, created TrackYourHappiness.org and launched the app to monitor people's happiness levels at random moments of the day. His research revealed stunning results, which led to publications including "A Wandering Mind is an Unhappy Mind." Prior to earning his Ph.D. in Psychology from Harvard University, he attended Duke University where he received a B.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Economics.

Robin Stern, Ph.D. is a licensed psychoanalyst, educator, and author, with over twenty five years of experience treating individuals, couples, and groups. Her most recent book, Project Rebirth, looks at the ways in which these resilient people took their grief and remolded it, bringing new meaning into their lives.

Stern holds a doctorate in Applied Psychology from New York Univeristy and a post doctoral certificate in psychoanalytic group psychotherapy from the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health. She is on the faculty of Teacher’s College, Columbia University, as well as the Training institute for Mental Health in New York, and is a consultant at Yale University’s Health, Emotion, and Behavior Lab. Additionally, Stern is one of the lead facilitators and a senior supervisor for the Inner Resilience Program, created post September 11, to help educators build resilience and coping skills. Stern is a founding member of the Woodhull Institute and has created and facilitated workshops for women in personal and professional development for 15 years