Martin E.P. Seligman

Co-Founder

Martin E.P. Seligman is the Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology and Director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, where he focuses on positive psychology, learned helplessness, depression, and optimism. He is also Director of the Penn Master of Applied Positive Psychology program (MAPP). He is a best-selling author of several books, including Flourish. He received the American Psychological Society’s William James Fellow Award for basic science and Cattell Award for the application of science, and two Distinguished Scientific Contribution awards from the American Psychological Association. In 1996, Seligman was elected President of the American Psychological Association by the largest vote in modern history. His current mission is to transform social science to work on the best things in life – strengths, positive emotion, good relationships, meaning, and human flourishing.​