Chair: Donnie Davis, PhD
Work Affiliation: Georgia State University
Areas of Interest Related to Positive Psychology: psychology of humility, gratitude, and forgiveness; cultural humility within psychotherapy.
Goals for your work as a Section Officer/Representative for the next two years: to explore ways to form a stronger network that leverages resources and relationships to engage and support early career psychologists; to promote work on social justice and positive psychology.
Past Chair: Joel Wong, PhD
Work Affiliation: Indiana University
Areas of Interest Related to Positive Psychology: psychology of encouragement, psychology of gratitude, the intersection of social justice and positive psychology
Goals for your work as a Section Officer/Representative for the next two years: (a) promote the section’s resources; (b) promote the intersection of social justice and positive psychology; (c) recruit new leaders for the section.
Chair Elect: Anica Camela Mulzac, Psy.D.
Work Affiliation: Race (+) Positive, LLC; Resilience Lab Institute
Areas of Interest Related to Positive Psychology: utilization of character strengths to enhance cross racial relationship and racial dialogue; integration of positive psychology tools in psychotherapeutic practice; psychology of gratitude, hope, and meaning making.
Goals for your work as a section officer for the next two years: (a) support and promote the practical application of positive psychology tools in clinical practice (b) promote the utilization of positive psychology tools to aid social advocacy and systemic change (c) explore ways of expanding access to positive psychology research and learnings, particularly among early career psychologists.
Secretary: Dacia Oberhelman, PhD, LP
Work Affiliation: St. Cloud VA
Contact Dacia Oberhelman
Areas of Interest Related to Positive Psychology: Posttraumatic growth interventions, self-compassion within clinical work, grit, and measuring and incorporating strengths into clinical practice.
Goals for your work as a Section Officer/Representative for the next two years: To increase awareness and knowledge of positive psychology clinical interventions and research with other counseling psychologists.
Treasurer: Ingrid Weigold, PhD
Work/School Affiliation: The University of Akron
Areas of Interest related to Positive Psychology: The influence of human agency on college student academic, career, and personal development; international student wellbeing.
Goals for your work as a Section Officer/Representative for the next two years: I’m excited to spread awareness of and promote the section!
Publication Editor: John Wade, PhD
Work/School Affiliation: Emporia State University
Your Areas of Interest Related to Positive Psychology: Strength-based supervision and training, Second-Wave Positive Psychology
Goals for your work as a Section Representative for the next two years: Broaden awareness of Positive Psychology within Division 17, and help to facilitate thought-provoking and practically applied communication with both researchers and practitioners
Associate Publication Editor: Clarie Koehn, PhD
Work Affiliation: Kansas City VA
Areas of Interest Related to Positive Psychology: Purpose and meaning, self-compassion, spirituality, the intersection of LGBTQIA+ identities and positive psychology, and collective well-being through advocacy and social justice.
Goals for your work as a Section Officer/Representative for the next two years: Increase awareness of positive psychology so that others can apply what’s useful and live their best lives.
Resource Representative: Jonah Li, PhD
Work Affiliation: University of Washington Tacoma
Contact Jonah Li
Areas of interest related to positive psychology: advancing the conceptualizations, measurements, and interventions of positive psychological experiences, such as meaning and purpose in life, character strengths, gratitude, well-being, and hope in diverse and marginalized populations
Goals for your work as a section representative: Promote positive psychological resources in research and practice
Professional Networking Representative: Shaina Kumar, PhD
Professional Affiliation: Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and VA Boston National Center for PTSD
Areas of Interest Related to Positive Psychology: Promotion of resiliency and well-being in the aftermath of stressful and traumatic experiences
Goals for your work as a Section Officer/Representative: I am excited to help foster a sense of connection among folks with an interest in positive psychology!
Social Media Representative: Anna Brice Taylor, BS, PhD Student
Work/School Affiliation: Indiana University
Contact Anna Brice Taylor
Areas of interest related to positive psychology: Interested in the psychology of gratitude, psychology of physical health, strengths-based counseling, and, in particular, how these topics may apply to the treatment of addictions
Goals for your work as a Section Representative: I look forward to promoting resources and information about Positive Psychology and our section, and I'm eager to create material that reaches beyond professions in psychology to other fields and populations.
Student Representative: Samantha Gonzalez, MA, PhD Student
Professional Affiliation: Texas Tech University
Areas of interest related to positive psychology: I am interested in self-compassion, mindfulness, and the role of personal growth initiative in reducing mental health stigma and increasing treatment seeking among Latine college students.
Goals for your work as a Section Representative: By leading the Student Campus Representative program, I aim to spread awareness of our positive psychology resources/research and create a space to cultivate positive interpersonal relationships among psychologists in training and recruit first-generation students!
Webmaster: Aaron McLaughlin, PhD
Professional Affiliation: University of Central Arkansas
Areas of interest related to positive psychology: Studying potential sources of flourishing (e.g., virtues, cultural orientations, and religion/spirituality) in cross-cultural contexts
Goals for your work as Webmaster: To support engagement among members within the division
Distinguished Advisor: Rhea Owens, PhD
Work Affiliation: University of Minnesota Duluth
Areas of Interest related to Positive Psychology: (a) the assessment, development, and use of strengths; (b) the clinical application of positive psychology; and (c) the mental health and well-being of underrepresented, underserved, and economically disadvantaged children and youth.
Goals for your work as a Section Officer/Representative for the next two years: Broaden the awareness of positive psychology within Division 17 and APA’s membership. Provide conference programming related to positive psychology and how it intersects with other fields within psychology.rence.
Distinguished Advisor: Brian P. Cole, PhD
Professional Affiliation: University of Kansas
Areas of interest related to positive psychology: Hope, positive psychotherapy and strength-based counseling, positive psychology and masculinities
Goals for your work as a Section Representative: To support the growth and sustainability of the section.
Campus Representatives
Tayler Colton - The University of British Columbia
Grazia Acosta - Our Lady of the Lake University
Tasha Thomas - Texas Tech University
Emily Adams - Arizona State University
Theresa Lewis - Saint Elizabeth University
Jennifer Jang - University of Maryland
Ebonie Nelson - Arizona State University
Yejin Lee - Georgia State University
Sandy Shehata - Saint Elizabeth University
Jennifer Brown - National University
Jisu Lee - University of Missouri-Columbia
Sara Conley - Cleveland State University
Avital Miller - Arizona State University
Marco Abdelmaseeh - Ain Shams University
Bronson Snyder - Oklahoma State University (Stillwater)
Brogan Lommen-Solig - University of North Dakota