Martin 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, prospection, optimism, and positive education. He is a best-selling author of several books, including Flourish. His recent book, The Hope Circuit, is his autobiography. His newest book is Agency: A Psychological History of Human Innovation (Simon and Schuster 2026). He was named the single most influential psychologist in the world by Academic Influence.

Sir Anthony Seldon is one of Britain’s leading contemporary historians, educationalists, commentators and political authors.  He is currently the Founding Director of Wellington College Education, having been Vice Chancellor of the University of Buckingham, a transformative headteacher for 20 years at Brighton College and Wellington College. He is author and editor of 45+ books on contemporary history, including the last seven Prime Ministers. He has been Co-Founder and Director of the Institute of Contemporary British History; Co-Founder of Action for Happiness; and honorary historical advisor to 10 Downing Street.

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The Head of Cranbrook in Sydney, Australia, Dr Anne Johnstone is an internationally recognised educational leader renowned for her pioneering work in the field of Positive Education and the wellbeing of young people.
Anne is a founding Board Member of the national Positive Education in Schools Association (PESA) and the Chair of the International Positive Education Network (IPEN). She has also been appointed to the role of Chair of the Excellence in Leadership and Teaching Council for the Association of Independent Schools of NSW (AISNSW).

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Rosalinda Ballesteros-Valdés PhD is the director for the Institute for Wellbeing and Purpose at Universidad Tecmilenio, considered the first Positive University. At Tecmilenio she previously held the position of Vice-president for High School Education, and designed the Positive Education Curriculum for 28 Tecmilenio High Schools (more than 15,000 students). Dr. Ballesteros-Valdés holds a PhD in Humanistic Studies by Tecnológico de Monterrey in México and a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She has 25 years’ experience in education and curriculum design. 

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Christopher Stawski is Senior Program Director and Senior Fellow at the Kern Family Foundation. At Kern, he works to build relational networks and co-develop strategic directions to integrate the Foundation’s focus areas in character, entrepreneurial mindset, and creating value for others. He is also a faculty member at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where he is working with a national network of leading medical schools to integrate character into medical education. Stawski has been a program and strategy consultant and previously served for ten years at the John Templeton Foundation, where he was a Vice President. 

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Justin Robinson is co-founder of The Wellbeing Distillery, an organisation committed to inspiring wellbeing through energising, equipping, and empowering school communities. Prior to this role, Justin served as the founding Director of the Institute of Positive Education at Geelong Grammar School, where he was instrumental in pioneering Positive Education for more than a decade. He is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education and a board member of the International Positive Education Network.

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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 the founding director of the Humanities and Human Flourishing Project, which has been designated a National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab.

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Dana is a wellbeing and education leader with two decades of experience spanning K-12, higher education, government, non-profit, and entrepreneurship. She holds a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, where she also served as an Assistant Instructor, and a Master of Education. Dana is co-founder of Teacher Fan Club, a wellbeing and gratitude hub that celebrates and supports educators. She is an author, speaker, coach, and award-winning learning designer.

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Mike Buchanan is the Founder of Positively Leading, a bespoke coaching consultancy focused on understanding, improvement and fulfilment. He is also the Executive Head of Apex2100, the world’s leading school for elite skiers, and was Executive Director of HMC, the English-speaking world’s oldest association of Head Teachers. He is a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and a former school principal. Mike has experience in secondary education, all-through schools and boarding, and has held a variety of leadership posts in London and elsewhere.

Lim Lai Cheng is Chairperson of the Singapore Positive Education Network and Co-Founder of the Global Alliance of Leading Edge Schools for Sustainability. She has extensive experience as teacher and principal in several schools, including Raffles Institution, and was involved in curriculum planning and policy development at the Singapore Ministry of Education. She has previously advised education foundations in Saudi Arabia, Russia, Slovakia and South Africa and currently serves as advisor to schools in Cyprus, Stockholm, Indonesia and Malaysia.

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Héctor Escamilla is an executive leader with deep expertise in positive leadership, university strategy, innovation, and organizational transformation. He has served as President of Universidad Camilo José Cela (Spain) and President of Tecmilenio University, and as Vice President for Development and relations with industry and government at Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico). At Tecmilenio, he led a major institutional transformation by creating a student-centered Well-being Ecosystem that integrates well-being, meaning, and life purpose across students, faculty, and staff—while strengthening employability outcomes. 

Deborah is the co-founder, editorial director and CEO of the positive lifestyle website and magazine LiveHappy.com. She is also Co-CEO of Neora, LLC, an international skin care and wellness company, and the author of Live Happy: Ten Practices for Choosing Joy. With more than 25 years working in and leading entrepreneurial organizations, Deborah is passionate about IPEN’s mission and contributes her expertise in strategic planning, marketing, branding and operations to the IPEN team.

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A "Flourishing Activator," Positive Psychology Practitioner, and visionary founder of the Human Flourishing Movement (HFM) in Athens, Greece—which serves as IPEN's Innovation Hub in Southern Europe—Angele transforms Positive Education from theory into embodied practice. Her work is deeply rooted in evidence-based PERMA-H+ science and the 24 character strengths framework. Driven by a commitment to creating environments where students, parents, educators, leaders, and workers alike thrive, Angele leads immersive, play-based living labs that turn positive psychology theory into embodied experience and actionable life skills through micro-practices and interventions.  

Kerry Sanderson is an award-winning educator and Positive Psychology practitioner with more than 20 years of experience helping students, faculty, and organizations thrive. She serves as Senior Project Manager of Well-Being & Engagement and Adjunct Faculty in Psychology at GateWay Community College in Phoenix, Arizona, where she teaches the popular course Positive Psychology: The Science of Well-Being. Kerry holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from the University of California, Berkeley, an MBA in Marketing from Rice University, and a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied under Dr. Martin Seligman.

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