PH&W Leadership Team

A practicing psychiatric clinician, Dr. Norman is deeply committed to helping individuals achieve optimal mental and physical wellbeing.

 

She holds a Master’s degree in Biomedical Science and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program. She later earned her Doctorate in Medical Science, further advancing her clinical and academic expertise.

 

Dr. Norman has been an engaged and dynamic member of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) for over a decade. Throughout her tenure, she has contributed in numerous roles—including webinar presenter, panelist, session facilitator, and invited speaker at IPPA World Congresses. She currently serves as the incoming President of IPPA’s Health & Wellbeing Division.

 

Her research explores non-traditional pathways to health and longevity, focusing on evidence-informed practices outside of conventional Western medicine. These include the therapeutic benefits of music engagement, volunteerism, forgiveness, digital detoxing, and immersion in nature.

 

An accomplished writer and editor, Dr. Norman has published articles in The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine, Positive Psychology News Daily, and The Chronicle, the official publication of IPPA’s Health & Wellbeing Division. She has also served as an editor for both the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) and The Chronicle, and sits on the advisory board for the Global Positive Health Institute (GPHI).

 

As she steps into her role as President of the Health & Wellbeing Division, Dr. Norman is enthusiastic about leading the division through a period of revitalization and transformation, including a new charter and upcoming name change. Stay tuned for what’s next.

CEO & Founder, Soaringwords

Lisa has shared her wisdom with thousands of people throughout the world. Three experiences with death and illness in her family during a ten-month period motivated her to launch Soaringwords, a not-for-profit organization devoted to inspiring children, families, adults, seniors, and health care professionals to take active roles in self-healing to experience greater physical, emotional, and mental well-being.

Since 2001, Lisa has shared Soaringwords’ SOARING into Strength Positive Health Initiatives with more than 500,000 people. She is the author of SOARING into Strength: Love Transcends Pain, her debut memoir.

Lisa graduated with honors from The University of Pennsylvania; holds an MBA in Marketing from Columbia University Graduate School of Business; and a Masters of Applied Positive Psychology from The University of Pennsylvania. She has a certificate in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and a certificate from the American Institute for Mental Imagery.

Lisa is past President of IPPA Health and Wellbeing Division; and the Board of the Coincidence Project. She’s been featured as an expert on ABC News, Fortune Small Business, USA Today, Delta Sky, and CEO to Watch in The Chronicle of Philanthropy. She won a Lives That Make a Difference Award from A&E Networks, a National Mothering That Works Award from Working Mother Media, inducted into YMCA Academy of Women Achievers Hall of Fame. She was on the board of Advertising Women of New York, the leading organization for executive women in communications.

Lisa has been a keynote speaker, moderator, and panelist at IPPA; European Positive Psychology Conference; Canadian Positive Psychology Conference; International Positive Education Network and led workshops as scholar-in-residence and at grand rounds at leading universities, medical schools, and nursing schools. She has led award-winning employee-engagement professional development workshops at Fortune 500 companies including Accenture, Cigna, Cisco, Deloitte, Lilly, Meta, Google, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, New York Life, SONY, Verizon, and Viacom. Lisa lives in New York City with her husband Jacob. Her pride and joy are her two grown sons Jonathan and Joshua, daughter-in-law Evelyn, and adorable grandbaby Charlotte. She gets her energy from swimming each day and connecting with people in fun and meaningful ways.

Dr. Milam is a Professor (Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Medicine) in the Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Dr. Milam is a behavioral-scientist with a focus on adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivorship and cancer control/supportive care and has received multiple NIH grants to examine the long-term quality of life/wellbeing and health care utilization among diverse populations of AYA cancer survivors. He is Co-Leader of the Cancer Control Program at the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCI. He is also Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Center for Young Adult Cancer Survivorship Research, a dual-institution (USC & UCI) interdisciplinary research and community collaborative.

She has worked in the academic, private and public sectors in varied industries, guiding industry experts to make critical and research-based decisions. Manika holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from McGill University and a certificate in Business Strategy from Cornell University. She has a passion for psychology and behavioral neuroscience, and thirst to understand how these fields can lead to an improved lifestyle.

With a broad background that includes working for insurers, schools, and employers, he currently works with Jazz’s employees as they balance the needs of a safety critical work environment with their own unique health challenges and abilities.   He has recently developed coursework for Dalhousie University on Building Positive Workplace Cultures that leverages positive psychology to foster workplace health.  As a member of the IPPA Positive Health & Wellbeing leadership team, Michael draws on a background in psychology, health and safety, and health leadership.

Understanding the psychological attributes that enabled her survival and successful repatriation after being a prisoner of war in Operation Desert Storm, she developed, instituted and then served as the first Director of the U.S. Army’s novel Comprehensive Soldier Fitness initiative. Recently renamed Army Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness, this strategy represents the model for universal implementation of physical and psychological health promotion within the Department of Defense.  She had previously served as the Assistant Surgeon General for Force Projection, responsible for the policies and procedures to prepare Soldiers and units for deployment, and commanded the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the evacuation hub for Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa, and Europe.  During this assignment, she commissioned development of the Joint Patient Tracking Application and pioneered use of the Nova Lung during critical care air transport.  Doctor Cornum has written or co-authored one book, five book chapters, and numerous scientific articles.  She sits on numerous committees and advisory boards, including the Secretary’s POW Advisory Committee for the VA, the External Advisory Board for the Millennium Cohort Study, and the Global Positive Health Institute. She is a Professor of Military and Emergency Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Dr Cornum is Board certified in Urology, a Fellow in both the American College of Surgeons and the Aerospace Medical Association and is a member of the American Society of Nutrition.