Why Kind Workplaces Are More Successful

Denis Ring
After graduating from Santa Clara University in 1978, Denis entered the California province of the Jesuits.   For the next 7 years he studied to become a Jesuit priest, with assignments that included working with the homeless and undocumented in LA, an orphanage in Mexico, and teaching at both Loyola High School and Loyola Marymount University.   After 7 years he decided to leave the Order.   In 1996, Denis approached John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods, with a proposal to create a competitively priced private label program.  Six months later, the Whole Foods 365 brand was launched.   Denis created and managed product development, vendor selection, graphics, logistics, and media for the next 6 years.   In 2002 Whole Foods purchased his ownership in the brand.   In 2004 he launched the Central Market Organic brand at HEB.  His company also introduced products for Woolworths in South Africa, Woolworths in Australia, Target, Costco, and several other retailers.  In 2005 Denis was retained by Safeway to manage the creation and initial platform for O Organics.  

In 2012, Denis launched the OCHO Candy brand.  OCHO was a candy bar product line that was based in West Oakland, California and became one of the fastest growing confection brands in the US.   In 2020, OCHO accepted an offer from a privately held company in Trinidad and Tobago to invest in the brand.  OCHO moved manufacturing from West Oakland to Trinidad.   Covid affected several smaller confection companies, including OCHO, and in early 2024, OCHO’s partners reached a point where, as a result of financial pressures, the brand was discontinued.  

Denis lives in Berkeley with his wife Sheila.   He serves on a variety of boards and as an advisor to various startups in the food space.

Education:

• BSC Santa Clara University
• MA Philosophy Fordham
• MBA Yale

Boards:

• Jesuit Volunteer Corps 
• Center for Food Innovation and Entrepreneurship – Santa Clara University
• Jesuit School of Theology Berkeley at SCU

Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Ph.D., is the science director of the Greater Good Science Center, where she oversees its fellowship program, Expanding Gratitude project, and is a co-instructor of the GGSC’s “Science of Happiness” online course.

Emiliana earned her doctorate in Cognition Brain and Behavior at UC Berkeley. Her dissertation used behavioral and neuroscience methods to examine how negative states like fear and aversion influence thinking and decision-making. During her postdoc, Emiliana transitioned to studying pro-social states like love of humanity, compassion, and awe. From there, she served as Associate Director/Senior Scientist at CCARE (the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education) at Stanford University, focusing on how compassion benefits health, well-being, and psychosocial functioning.

Today, Emiliana’s work spotlights the science that connects health and happiness to social affiliation, caregiving, and collaborative relationships, as she continues to examine the potential for—as well as the benefits of—living a more meaningful life.

Mei Feng, Ph.D., is a Professor of Business Administration at the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and the College of Business Administration at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Feng's research focuses on critical aspects of financial reporting and corporate governance, including management and analyst forecasts, accounting misstatements, and internal control over financial reporting.

Dr. Feng holds a PhD from the University of Michigan and a Master's degree from Renmin University. Dr. Feng's academic contributions have been widely recognized, with her most recent publication, “Prosocial CEOs, Corporate Policies, and Firm Value” (co-authored with Weili Ge, Zhejia Ling, and Wei Ting Loh), featured in the Review of Accounting Studies in March 2023.

Weili Ge, Ph.D., is a Professor of Accounting and the Moss Adams Endowed Professor at the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington. Dr. Ge is a Certified General Accountant of Canada and has extensive expertise in financial accounting. Dr. Ge holds a PhD from the University of Michigan and an MS from Washington University in St. Louis.

Dr. Ge's current research focuses on predicting accounting misstatements and fraud, examining the determinants and consequences of earnings quality, and exploring internal control over financial reporting. Dr. Ge's work contributes to a deeper understanding of corporate governance, financial transparency, and the mechanisms that ensure accurate financial reporting. Her most recent publication, “Prosocial CEOs, Corporate Policies, and Market Value” (co-authored with M. Feng, W. Ge, W. Loh, and Z. Ling), was featured in the Review of Accounting Studies in March 2023.

Kia Afcari is the Director of Greater Good Workplaces at GGSC. He has over 20 years of experience helping leaders, teams, and organizations with collaborative change and has served as a consultant to a wide variety of organizations, including tech, biotech, and fintech companies, healthcare organizations, universities, NGOs, UN agencies, and nonprofits. Kia grounds his work in the science of prosociality and uses creative methods like “instant dance parties” and Boal-informed theater techniques to achieve results.  He is a certified executive coach, an Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator, Zenger Folkman 360 Extraordinary Leader Facilitator, and Core Strengths Facilitator.

Kia’s TEDx talk on How We Can Reshape Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Together has over 77,000 views, and for his work supporting major culture change efforts at scale, Kia was awarded the Chief Learning Officer Magazine’s Silver Award for Innovation for his accomplishments in helping to shift the organizational culture of UC Berkeley’s 8,000 staff.