Directors not on the Congress Advisory Committee
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
University of Michigan
Colorado State University
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
University of Pennsylvania
September 2024
September 2024
8 November 2024
December 2024
March 2025
31 January 2025
June 2025
2 – 5 July 2025
Congress Chair
Incoming IPPA President & Professor in Positive Psychology, University of Melbourne
Professor Dianne Vella-Brodrick (PhD) holds the Gerry Higgins Chair in Positive Psychology and is Director of the Centre for Wellbeing Science (CWS) at the Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne, Australia. She is the inaugural Director of the Masters of Applied Positive Psychology program (2013 – 2015) at the University of Melbourne. Dianne is a registered psychologist and a Member of the Australian Psychological Society and College of Health Psychologists. She served as Treasurer and Secretary of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) and is currently President Elect and the IPPA Chair for the 2025 Congress. She was made an IPPA Fellow in 2019.
Dianne has co-directed three Australian Positive Psychology Conferences, has led large nationally funded research projects and has been an inaugural Editor in Chief of the Psychology of Well-Being: Theory, Research and Practice journal (2011-2016). She is the recipient of multiple Faculty awards as well as the 2019 Australian Financial Review Community Engagement (team) Award.
Dianne’s research interests include the development and evaluation of wellbeing programs, particularly in the areas of positive education and performance optimisation. She specialises in innovative mixed method designs which utilise the latest technology, co-design and biological indices of well-being. Her research has a special focus on young people, learning environments, nature connectedness and high-performance contexts. She also integrates ethical and professional practice issues in much of her work and served as the Ethics Chair at the Faculty of Education from (2014 – Feb 2020).
In her spare time Dianne enjoys spending time with her family, going for beach walks with her dog, and traveling to peaceful, green spaces. She also enjoys keeping active and sampling different foods and cultures.
Congress Associate Chair
Principal of Ravenswood School For Girls, Sydney
Mrs Anne Johnstone is Principal of Ravenswood School For Girls in Sydney, Global Chair of the International Positive Education Network (IPEN), and former Chair and founding Board Member of the Positive Education Schools Association (PESA). She has also been appointed as Chair of the Excellence in Leadership and Teaching Council for the Association of Independent Schools of NSW (AISNSW).
Anne holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (with Honours) degree, a Graduate Diploma in Education, and a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She was the recipient of a Churchill Fellowship during which she explored strategies to foster resilience in learning while based at Cambridge University in England. Anne is currently completing a PhD in Education with a focus on wellbeing through the University of Melbourne.
In Australia, Anne has been recognised multiple times for her entrepreneurial impact in designing and implementing innovative positive education experiences, along with her exceptional educational leadership including The Educator Most Influential Educator Award (2023), The Educator Hot List (2022, 2023), and an Excellence Award in The Educator Australian Education Awards for Principal of the Year (2022, 2024). Under Anne’s leadership, Ravenswood has been recognised as The Educator Innovative School of the Year five times (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023).
In 2019, Anne was the only female to be recognised internationally for her pioneering contribution and leadership in the field of Positive Education at the Positive Education Global Summit in Philadelphia hosted by the Eisenhower Fellowships and Positive Psychology Centre, University of Pennsylvania.
Committee Member
IPPA President & Professor of Psychology, University of Queensland
Roy F. Baumeister is one of the world’s most prolific and influential psychologists. He has published over 700 scientific works, including over 40 books. In 2013, he received the highest award given by the Association for Psychological Science, the William James Fellow award, in recognition of his lifetime achievements. As of 2023, He holds affiliations with Harvard University (USA), Constructor University Bremen (Germany), Florida State University (USA), BetterUp, Inc. (USA), and the University of Bamberg (Germany). Additionally, Baumeister serves as the president of the International Positive Psychology Association.
Although Roy made his name with laboratory research, his recognition extends beyond the narrow confines of academia. His 2011 book Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength (with John Tierney) was a New York Times bestseller. He has appeared on television shows such as Dateline NBC and ABC’s 20/20, as well as on PBS, National Public Radio, and countless local news shows. His work has been covered or quoted in the The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Economist, Newsweek, TIME, Psychology Today, Self, Men’s Health, Businessweek, and many other outlets.
Committee Member
Senior Advisor to IPPA Board and University of Pennsylvania
James O. Pawelski, Ph.D., is professor of practice and director of education in the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, where he has also been appointed adjunct professor of Religious Studies. Having won a Fulbright Scholarship and earned a doctorate in philosophy, he is an award-winning teacher and the founding director of Penn’s Master of Applied Positive Psychology Program, the world’s first degree program in positive psychology. Since 2014, he has served as the founding director of the Humanities and Human Flourishing Project, which explores the role of arts and culture in individual and collective flourishing and has been designated a U. S. National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab.
Dr. Pawelski is the author of The Dynamic Individualism of William James, editor of the philosophy section of the Oxford Handbook of Happiness, co-editor of The Eudaimonic Turn: Well-Being in Literary Studies, and co-editor of On Human Flourishing: A Poetry Anthology. Additionally, he is the series editor of the Oxford University Press book series on the Humanities and Human Flourishing and co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of the Positive Humanities. Together with his wife, Suzann Pileggi Pawelski, he is the author of Happy Together: Using the Science of Positive Psychology to Build Love That Lasts, the first book applying positive psychology research to romantic relationships.
Dr. Pawelski is founding executive director of the International Positive Psychology Association, inaugural recipient of the eponymous “James O. Pawelski Positive Catalyst Award,” and Senior Advisor to the IPPA Board of Directors. His latest initiative is leading the launch of IPPA’s newest division: the Positive Arts and Culture Division.
Committee Member
Interim Executive Director IPPA
Kris Peterson serves as Interim Executive Director of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA), a global nonprofit association supporting thousands of members from over 70 countries around the world.
Kris Peterson brings over 20 years of accounting, administrative systems, and communications and event support experience from across industries to the IPPA organization. She has the unique ability to manage demanding environments and deadlines with a keen understanding of the unique needs of members and volunteers worldwide and has a discerning eye for the details that go into the day-to-day operations of an international organization. It is her goal to assist wherever needed to ensure IPPA’s growth and success throughout transitional stages to maintain a sure and true direction for the association.
Outside of work, Kris is a dedicated mother to her daughters, and enjoys spending time at the lake, cooking, boating, and spending quality time with her family and loved ones.
Committee Member
Board Member IPPA & Faculty, Centre for Wellbeing Science, University of Melbourne
Dr. Tayyab Rashid is a Toronto based licensed clinical and school psychologist. Dr. Rashid is also a faculty associate with the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard, a visiting Scientist at Chan School of Public Health, Harvard, and the VIA Institute on Character. Dr. Rashid’s expertise includes strength-based clinical psychotherapy with complex mental health challenges, resilience and posttraumatic growth. Dr. Rashid is the lead research at a large-scale wellbeing initiative in Guyana which aims to train mental health professionals and educators in wellbeing and resilience, to reduce and manage suicidal epidemic in Guyana, which has the second highest rate in the world. Dr. Rashid is also part of Human’s Flourishing Centre’s global initiative on moral injury. Dr. Rashid has also worked with individuals experiencing severe trauma, including survivors of the Asian Tsunami of 2004, journalists who have worked in high conflict zones, survivors of mass shootings and hotspot suicide zones. Dr. Rashid has delivered over fifty invited talks and keynotes and internationally trained mental health professionals and educators. Published in academic journals, Dr. Rashid’s book Positive Psychotherapy (2018), co-written with Martin Seligman, is considered one of the most comprehensive clinical resources in the field and has been translated into several languages so far. Dr. Rashid won the Chancellor Award (2018) from the University of Toronto and the Outstanding Practitioner Award (2017) from the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA).
Websites:
Committee Member
Treasurer of IPPA, Past Congress Chair & Founder and CEO, Eudaimonic by Design
