IPPA Award Winners 2019

Christopher Peterson Gold Medal

The Christopher Peterson Gold Medal honors an IPPA member who exemplifies the best of positive psychology at the personal, professional, and academic levels. This award is named after Christopher Peterson, a beloved IPPA Fellow, professor, scholar and pioneer in the field of positive psychology. Peterson’s many scholarly contributions include his work on the character strengths and values classification and assessment with Martin Seligman. On a personal level, Peterson was known for his sincerity, humility, integrity, sense of humor and generosity.

Sonja Lyubomirsky
University of California, Riverside

Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky serves as a Professor of Psychology at UC Riverside, where her lab focuses on human happiness and flourishing.
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Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky serves as a Professor of Psychology at UC Riverside, where her lab focuses on human happiness and flourishing. She is the author of the bestseller The How of Happiness and has been honored with a John Templeton Grant. Her work has been covered in hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles, as well as on television shows and documentaries worldwide.

Raymond D. Fowler Service Award

The Raymond D. Fowler Service Award honors an IPPA member who has gone above and beyond to give his or her time in the service of advancing the field of positive psychology. The award is named after a dear colleague and IPPA Fellow, Ray Fowler, whose generosity and vision catalyzed the creation of IPPA back in 2007.

Giselle Timmerman
Positive Work, LLC

Giselle Timmerman Positive Work, LLC As Founder of Positive Work, Giselle partners with clients, from nonprofit leaders to Fortune 500 teams, to build positive leadership and strengths-based cultures for greater engagement and competitive performance.
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Giselle Timmerman Positive Work, LLC As Founder of Positive Work, Giselle partners with clients, from nonprofit leaders to Fortune 500 teams, to build positive leadership and strengths-based cultures for greater engagement and competitive performance. She was one of the first 30 people in the world to be educated by the founders of positive psychology, and has applied the science for over 12 years to improve people’s working lives. In addition to managing Positive Work’s projects, Giselle… Serves thousands of global members in a 6-year volunteer role as President of the International Positive Psychology Association’s Work Division. Teaches the Managing Change and Organizational Health at EAE Business School Is a Gallup certified strengths coach and CAPP certified for StrengthsProfile Earned her Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania & her bachelor’s from New York University Is currently based in Barcelona, yet travels to North America and within EMEA frequently.

James O. Pawelski Positive Catalyst Award

The James O. Pawelski Positive Catalyst Award is presented to an IPPA member who:

Advances change for the Association
Has committed their service to IPPA for a sustained period of time
Has mobilized and catalyzed others to contribute to IPPA
Has Helpted to build and contribute to the IPPA community
Can show concrete outcomes and impact for the Association based on their efforts

James O. Pawelski
University of Pennsylvania

James Pawelski, Ph.D., is Professor of Practice and Director of Education in the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvani
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James Pawelski, Ph.D., is Professor of Practice and Director of Education in the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania where he co-founded the Master of Applied Positive Psychology Program with Martin Seligman. The Founding Executive Director of IPPA, he is currently leading a three-year, multi-million-dollar grant investigating connections between the science of well-being and the arts and humanities.

Outstanding Practitioner Award

The Outstanding Practitioner Award honors an IPPA practitioner who has shown the most outstanding excellence and impact in advancing the practice of positive psychology in ethical and evidence-based ways.

Steve Leventhal
CorStone

Mr. Steve Leventhal is executive director of CorStone.
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Mr. Steve Leventhal is executive director of CorStone. Since joining CorStone as executive director in 2008, Steve has focused on helping some of the world’s most marginalized and economically disadvantaged populations to find their personal strengths, advocate for their rights, and become agents of positive societal change. Under Steve’s leadership, CorStone’s evidence-based resilience programs have reached upwards of 50,000 youth and women living in poverty in India, Kenya, and the US. Steve oversees all strategic planning, program development, external relations, and operations for the organization. During Steve’s tenure, CorStone has pioneered the development, implementation, and scale-up of some of the first personal resilience and positive psychology programs delivered in low and middle-income countries.

Dissertation Award

This award is conferred on the author of a Ph.D. dissertation on a topic in the domain of positive psychology. Many of the applications received this year were characterized by impressively high levels of originality and methodological complexity: a very promising perspective for the future of positive psychology.

Judith Mangelsdorf
German Society of Positive Psychology

Dr. Judith Mangelsdorf is president of the German Society of Positive Psychology and associated researcher at the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
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Dr. Judith Mangelsdorf is president of the German Society of Positive Psychology and associated researcher at the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. Her research focusses on posttraumatic and postecstatic growth. Dr. Mangelsdorf also works as supervisor and trainer for hospice service teams and victim support services.

Dissertation Award Honorable Mention

This award is conferred on the author of a Ph.D. dissertation on a topic in the domain of positive psychology. Many of the applications received this year were characterized by impressively high levels of originality and methodological complexity: a very promising perspective for the future of positive psychology.

Ashley Whillans
Harvard Business School

Ashley Whillans is an assistant professor in the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit, teaching the Negotiations course to MBA students.
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Ashley Whillans is an assistant professor in the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit, teaching the Negotiations course to MBA students. Broadly, she studies how people navigate trade-offs between time and money. Her ongoing research investigates whether and how intangible incentives, such as experiential and time-saving rewards, affect employee motivation and well-being. In both 2015 and 2018, she was named a Rising Star of Behavioral Science by the International Behavioral Exchange and the Behavioral Science and Policy Association. In 2016, she co-founded the Department of Behavioral Science in the Policy, Innovation, and Engagement Division of the British Columbia Public Service. Her research has been published in numerous academic journals and popular media outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

Dissertation Award Honorable Mention

This award is conferred on the author of a Ph.D. dissertation on a topic in the domain of positive psychology. Many of the applications received this year were characterized by impressively high levels of originality and methodological complexity: a very promising perspective for the future of positive psychology.

Meg Warren
Western Washington University

Assistant Professor Meg A. Warren, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Management at Western Washington University, USA.
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Assistant Professor Meg A. Warren, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Management at Western Washington University, USA. She is the Past-President of the Work & Organizations Division of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA), and Co-Founder and Associate Director of the Western Positive Psychology Association (WPPA). Her research interests include positive psychological approaches to workplace diversity, equity and inclusion; empowering work relationships; and employee virtuousness. In collaboration with scholars in the U.S., Africa, and Middle East she examines cultural factors affecting wellbeing of marginalized groups within those societies. She is the lead editor of two books, Scientific Advances in Positive Psychology (2017), and Toward a Positive Psychology of Relationships: New Directions in Theory and Research (2017). She has published articles in various peer-reviewed journals, including The Journal of Positive Psychology, International Journal of Wellbeing, Journal of Personnel Psychology, Canadian Psychology, and Middle East Journal of Positive Psychology. She holds two master’s degrees in business/HR and a Ph.D. in positive organizational psychology.

Dissertation Award Honorable Mention

This award is conferred on the author of a Ph.D. dissertation on a topic in the domain of positive psychology. Many of the applications received this year were characterized by impressively high levels of originality and methodological complexity: a very promising perspective for the future of positive psychology.

Lucy Hone
NZ Institute of Well-being & Resilience

Dr Lucy Hone is a research associate at AUT University, a best-selling author and blogger for Psychology Today on the topic of resilience.
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Dr Lucy Hone is a research associate at AUT University, a best-selling author and blogger for Psychology Today on the topic of resilience. Having both trained on the Masters of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) programme at the University of Pennsylvania, and developed NZ-focused wellbeing research for their PhDs, their pragmatic approach to the topic has been substantially influenced by their real life experiences, including earthquakes and personal loss. Their presentations are respected for being evidence-based, but remembered for their entertaining, engaging and most of all “real” delivery style.

Early Career Researcher Award

The Early Career Researcher Award honors an IPPA member who, within the first 10 years of completing their PhD, has contributed most significantly to scientific advancement of knowledge in positive psychology.

Alia Crum
Stanford University

Dr. Alia Crum received her PhD from Yale University and BA from Harvard University. Her research focuses broadly on how changes in subjective mindsets—the lenses through which information is perceived, organized, and interpreted—can alter objective reality through behavioral, psychological, and physiological mechanisms.
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Dr. Alia Crum received her PhD from Yale University and BA from Harvard University. Her research focuses broadly on how changes in subjective mindsets—the lenses through which information is perceived, organized, and interpreted—can alter objective reality through behavioral, psychological, and physiological mechanisms. To date, her research has won several awards including the National Institutes of Health New Innovator Award and attention in several popular media outlets including NPR, Time Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal. She is also the recipient of the Phi Beta Kappa Teaching Award and the Dean’s Award for First Years of Teaching at Stanford University. In addition to her academic research and teaching, Dr. Crum has worked as a clinical psychologist for the VA healthcare system and as a trainer and consultant, creating, delivering, and evaluating workshops on mindset change and stress management for organizations including UBS, Colgate Palmolive, and the United States Navy. In her spare time she enjoys skiing, golfing, and running with her husband Ryan and laying around on play-mats with her new baby, Siggy.

The Vaillant Award for Contributions to Positive Clinical Psychology– Positive Clinical Psychology Division

Named in recognition of Dr. George Vaillant’s seminal contributions to the field of Positive Clinical Psychology, this award recognizes distinguished contributions of the application of positive psychology in the clinical realm, including but not limited to endeavors such as designing, delivery, training and evaluation of positive assessment and interventions.

Jennifer S. Cheavens
The Ohio State University

Broadly speaking, I am interested in the treatment of mood and personality disorders, both in younger and older adults.
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Broadly speaking, I am interested in the treatment of mood and personality disorders, both in younger and older adults. This interest breaks down into two lines of research. In the first line of research, I have worked on the development and adaptation of treatments. For example, some of the work I have done involves adapting Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to treat older adults with depression and co-morbid personality pathology. Based on this work, I am currently working on determining whether some of these adaptations might be applicable to other disorders and psychiatric presentations. In the second line of research stemming from this broad interest, I am working to identify constructs that either facilitate or complicate the course of treatment. For example, I am interested in how flexible emotion regulation patterns are associated with psychopathology presentations. In an iterative fashion, findings from this line of research inform potential developments or adaptations for treatment outcome research.

In a related area, I am also interested in human strengths and flourishing. I have done several research projects examining the construct of hope and how hope is related to mood and psychological well-being, particularly in the context of treatment. Recently, my colleagues and I developed a hope-based treatment and a flourishing intervention to determine whether or not strengths can be imparted in a therapy context. I plan to continue these and related projects. I think that as clinical scientists we can learn much from those in our midst who are functioning well. My hope is to be able to translate these lessons learned to a therapeutic context.

Positive Educator Impact Award – IPPAEd Division

This award recognizes individuals (educators, students, coaches, consultants, administrators, parents, academics) that are having a positive impact in an educational and academic setting by implanting the principles, practices, and applications of Positive Education. As such this award is open to individuals or teams who work in educational settings, and academics focused on positive education research.

Dr. Ricardo Arguís Rey
Santiago Hernández High School

I am a teacher of Special Education, Psychologist and Doctor in Education. I have been working for more than 30 years in the educational field, alternating periods as a teacher in the classrooms with other stages as a consultant and teacher trainer.
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I am a teacher of Special Education, Psychologist and Doctor in Education. I have been working for more than 30 years in the educational field, alternating periods as a teacher in the classrooms with other stages as a consultant and teacher trainer.

I am a member of the International Positive Psychology Association, the European Network for Positive Psychology, and the Spanish Society of Positive Psychology. I coordinate the SATI Team, a work group that, since 2009, is dedicated to the study and promotion of Positive Psychology applied to Education (“Positive Education”). In October 2010, the team published on the Internet the “HAPPY CLASSROOMS” Programme, the first handbook in Spanish addressed to work Positive Education with students aged 3 to 18. In November 2012, we published the second edition of this programme, revised and with many more activities to work in the classrooms. From December 2014, it is also available in English. It can be downloaded for free at: http://www.aulasfelices.org

Currently, I work as a remedial teacher in a state secondary school in Zaragoza (Spain). I combine this work with my activity as a lecturer and consultant in the field of Positive Psychology applied to Education, both in Spain and abroad. I collaborate with several Spanish universities as an invited lecturer. I have been also invited to deliver lectures and workshops in other countries, including Argentina, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Mexico, Peru, United States and Uruguay. In July 2019 I received the “Positive Educator Impact Award”, given by the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) at the 6th World Congress on Positive Psychology (Melbourne, Australia), in recognition of the impact of my long-standing work in the dissemination and application of positive education internationally.

Contributions in Positive Health Award – Positive Health and Wellness Division

This award recognizes individuals with long and distinguished careers who have made a notable impact on the field of positive health. Nominees can be any professional involved in positive health (academics, researchers, clinicians, organizations, practitioners, consultants, coaches), who uses positive psychology to advance human longevity, quality of life, and physiological and psychological wellbeing (including decreased morbidity).

Ernst Bohlmeijer
University of Twente

Ernst Bohlmeijer graduated in 2007 on the effects of life-review on depression in older adults. Since 2007 he worked as an associate professor and since 2011 as full professor at the department of Psychology, Health & Technology at the Faculty of Behavioral, Management and Social Sciences at Twente University.
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Ernst Bohlmeijer graduated in 2007 on the effects of life-review on depression in older adults. Since 2007 he worked as an associate professor and since 2011 as full professor at the department of Psychology, Health & Technology at the Faculty of Behavioral, Management and Social Sciences at Twente University. His research comprises two main topics: 1) mental health promotion, 2) the use of (e) technology in (mental) health care. He has a special interest in the development and evaluation of innovative (web-based) interventions in health care. In the last years he was principle investigator and supervisor of over 12 randomized controlled trials. He developed 12 interventions aiming at enhancing resilience and well-being and reducing distress based on positive psychology, acceptance and commitment therapy and compassion focused therapy. Since 2012 Ernst Bohlmeijer (co-) published over 100 peer reviewed papers, 3 scientific books and 6 popular books. He was editor of the Dutch Handbook of Positive Psychology. Since 2000 he obtained over 10 grants from the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) and other scientific funds.

Inspiring Mentor Award – SIPPA (Student Division)

The SIPPA Inspiring Mentor Award recognizes one outstanding mentor in the field of positive psychology who provides continued commitment and support to students that foster professional and academic development.

Stewart Donaldson
Claremont Graduate University

Stewart I. Donaldson is professor of psychology and community & global health, the executive director of the university’s Claremont Evaluation Center (CEC), and director of The Evaluators’ Institute (TEI).
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Stewart I. Donaldson is professor of psychology and community & global health, the executive director of the university’s Claremont Evaluation Center (CEC), and director of The Evaluators’ Institute (TEI). He previously provided more than 16 years of leadership and service to the School of Social Science, Policy, & Evaluation (SSSPE), where he was the founding dean from 2013 to 2017; the School of Community & Global Health (SCGH), where he was dean from 2013 to 2017; the School of Politics & Economics, where he was dean from 2012 to 2013; and the School of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences (SBOS), where he was dean from 2001 to 2013.

Donaldson’s portfolio in the social and health sciences during the final three years of his concurrent deanships (2014-2017) included providing academic leadership for more than 100 core and supporting graduate faculty, overseeing the education of more than 650 degree-seeking graduate students, and securing grants, contracts, and gifts to support SSSPE and SCGH research and students. Among many other accomplishments, Donaldson led the effort to develop the first research-oriented positive psychology programs in the world, launch the new doctorate of public health program at CGU (DrPH), and dramatically expanded the portfolio of evaluation and applied research programs.

Exemplary Research to Practice Award– Work and Organizations Division

This award is presented to a member of the Work and Organizations Division who has advanced the application of evidence-based science in the field of positive work and organizations (PWO). Their work serves as a stand-alone exemplar of a cumulative contribution to PWO through applying theory and research in practical applications and/or field application of scientific findings. The quality of their work demonstrates the potential of our members to contribute to PWO theory, research, and/or practice, and should be considered a standard for us all, researchers and practitioners alike, to aspire to as we work to positively transform the way the world works.

Stewart Donaldson
Claremont Graduate University

Stewart I. Donaldson is professor of psychology and community & global health, the executive director of the university’s Claremont Evaluation Center (CEC), and director of The Evaluators’ Institute (TEI).
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Stewart I. Donaldson is professor of psychology and community & global health, the executive director of the university’s Claremont Evaluation Center (CEC), and director of The Evaluators’ Institute (TEI). He previously provided more than 16 years of leadership and service to the School of Social Science, Policy, & Evaluation (SSSPE), where he was the founding dean from 2013 to 2017; the School of Community & Global Health (SCGH), where he was dean from 2013 to 2017; the School of Politics & Economics, where he was dean from 2012 to 2013; and the School of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences (SBOS), where he was dean from 2001 to 2013.

Donaldson’s portfolio in the social and health sciences during the final three years of his concurrent deanships (2014-2017) included providing academic leadership for more than 100 core and supporting graduate faculty, overseeing the education of more than 650 degree-seeking graduate students, and securing grants, contracts, and gifts to support SSSPE and SCGH research and students. Among many other accomplishments, Donaldson led the effort to develop the first research-oriented positive psychology programs in the world, launch the new doctorate of public health program at CGU (DrPH), and dramatically expanded the portfolio of evaluation and applied research programs.