Lea Waters PhD is an Australian academic, researcher, psychologist, author and speaker who specializes in positive education, parenting and organizations. Professor Waters is the Founding Director and Inaugural Gerry Higgins Chair in Positive Psychology at the Centre for Positive Psychology, University of Melbourne where she has held an academic position for 22 years. Lea holds affiliate positions at Cambridge University’s Well-Being Institute and the University of Michigan’s Center for Positive Organizations. As a researcher, she has published over 100 scientific articles and book chapters. Lea is the 2017-2019 President of the International Positive Psychology Association, serves on the Council of Happiness and Education for the World Happiness Council, is the Patron of Flourishing Education Japan and Ambassador for Positive Education Schools Association. Her book, The Strength Switch: How The New Science of Strength-Based Parenting Can Help Your Child and Your Teen to Flourish, was the top release on Amazon in the parenting category, was listed in Top reads for 2017 by Berkeley University’s Greater Good Centre and was listed in the Top Five Books on Happiness for Children in the UK’s Top Five site. It is being translated into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, Hungarian, Arabic, Russian, French and Spanish. In 2015, Professor Waters was listed as one of Australia’s Top 100 Women of Influence by the Financial Review and Westpac Bank. She has been listed in the Marques ‘Who’s Who in the World’ since 2009 and has been included in the 2017 edition of Who's Who of Australian Women. Lea was featured in the ABC TV documentary Revolution School and is frequently featured in print and on the radio, including USA based outlet such as Wall Street Journal, TIME.com Magazine, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Live Happy Magazine, Success Magazine as well as outlets in other countries such as The Globe (Toronto), The Guardian (UK), and The Age (Australia). Lea’s TEDx talk, Warning: Being positive is not for the faint hearted! explores how small positive steps can make a big impact on the wellbeing of ourselves and others. Her positive education program, Positive Detective, is being used in schools in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Finland, Ghana, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand. Her Visible Wellbeing initiative is being used in schools across Australia, Asia, Canada and New Zealand. Her newest program, The Strengths Switch offers parents and educators free resources to better build the strengths of young people as well as a five-week on-line course for parents and is being used by parents across the globe.

Anne Johnstone is the Principal of Ravenswood School for Girls in Sydney, Australia, and Deputy Chair and a founding board member of PESA (Positive Education Schools Association). She has significant experience in leadership roles in schools, and as a teacher. Anne is also an Executive Member of the Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia. Anne holds Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (with Honours) degrees, as well as a Graduate Diploma in Education. Anne also holds a Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) from the University of Pennsylvania, her capstone research on High Quality Connections in schools was supervised by Professor Martin Seligman, and received the honour of being recognised as a distinguished capstone. Anne is currently undertaking a PhD in Education at the University of Melbourne under the supervision of Professor Lea Waters and Dr Margaret (Peggy) Kern. In 2004, Anne was the recipient of a Winston Churchill Fellowship to conduct research in the United Kingdom on how to foster student resilience. She was also a winner of the Teachers’ Guild of New South Wales Award for Excellence in the Early Years of Teaching. This year, Anne was awarded the Australian Speech Communication Association (ASCA) Award for Excellence in Communication. Before pursuing her passion for teaching, Anne practiced as a lawyer, and undertook teaching blocks as course convenor and lecturer in law at Macquarie University.

Rhea L. Owens, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Minnesota Duluth and a Licensed Psychologist in Wisconsin (USA). Her research interests include: (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, under-served, and economically disadvantaged children and youth. She is currently an Editorial Board member for the Journal of Counseling Psychology, The Counseling Psychologist, and the Journal of Career Development. She is also the Past President of the Positive Clinical Psychology Division of the International Positive Psychology Association and the Past Chair of the Section on Positive Psychology of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Owens is a recipient of the Shane J. Lopez Award for Professional Contributions in Positive Psychology from the Section on Positive Psychology.

Claudia Zavala is a Mental Health Counseling student at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is originally from Peru, where she received her undergraduate degree in Clinical Psychology and completed her training in Gestalt Psychotherapy. With a long-standing passion for social justice and equity, she is committed to researching the strengths in multiply marginalized groups (e.g., Latinx sexual and gender minorities) and non-conventional ways of living (e.g., ethical non-monogamy, being child-free, community living, living in multiple places). In her private practice, she focuses on leveraging these strengths to promote growth and improve well-being. Claudia hopes to further the field of culturally-sensitive psychotherapy, expand community-centered research, and advocate for systems change so that all populations can have equitable access to mental health.