Greater Good - The Science of a Meaningful Life

	Staff Meet the people who run the Greater Good Science Center.		Executive Committee Learn about the UC Berkeley faculty members who guide the Center's work.
	Editorial Board Greater Good's board includes leading authors and scientists from around the country.		Volunteers The Center thrives because of its incredible community of volunteers.
	Donors Read about the Center's founding donors and major contributors.		Fellows & Post-Docs The Center supports the work of extraordinary young scholars.

Staff

Elna Brunckhorst
Associate Director

Elna arrived at the Greater Good Science Center after coordinating an international environmental leadership program on campus, and finds many happy congruencies between the two centers. At GGSC, she works with the Science of a Meaningful Life seminar series, business operations, volunteers, and spatial or technical issues.

Elna holds a graduate degree in Geography from UC Berkeley, and received her BA from UC Santa Cruz. She speaks Indonesian fluently, and has studied German, Spanish, Minangkabau and Dutch. Elna has taught geography at UC Berkeley and language at UC Santa Cruz; she spent 15 years as a professional goldsmith and lab gemologist.

Elna reads voraciously, and optimistically thinks she’ll find time for earlier passions such as spinning fibers and weaving textiles. She’s exceptionally grateful for family, friends and neighbors, great colleagues, golden afternoon light, and the rich urban-farm environment she engages with on a daily basis: experimental garden, three cats, a dog, one remaining grand-bunny, and six chickens.

Christine Carter
Director, Greater Good Parents

Christine Carter, Ph.D., is a sociologist and happiness expert who directs the Greater Good Science Center’s parenting program, Greater Good Parents, for which she writes the Center’s award-winning, research-based parenting blog, Raising Happiness. She is also the author of the popular book Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents.

Christine received her B.A. from Dartmouth College, where she was a Senior Fellow, and her Ph.D. in sociology from UC Berkeley. She has also worked as an innovation consultant for Fortune 500 companies. Predictably, Carter is happiest when she is with her friends and her family, especially her two spunky daughters, Fiona and Molly.

Susan Fassberg
Director, Marketing & Strategic Partnerships

Susan brings over 20 years’ experience in marketing, PR, and business development, having held senior positions at several successful companies, including Salon.com. Always an advocate for positive social change, she has teamed up with clients in all areas of communications, ranging from publishers and foreign TV networks to Ask Jeeves. She speaks German, French and Spanish, serves on the boards of Rockwood Leadership and Terralingua.org, and recently launched a greeting card company, ConnectingDotz, that highlights the universality of concepts like gratitude, forgiveness, and appreciation. She’s engaging her diverse networks to connect the GGSC with partners and collaborators far and wide.

Dacher Keltner
Co-Founder & Faculty Director; Executive Editor, Greater Good

Dacher Keltner, Ph.D, is a founder of the Greater Good Science Center and its faculty director, overseeing the Center’s fellowship program and serving as executive editor of Greater Good magazine. After receiving his Ph.D. from Stanford University, Dacher (rhymes with “cracker”) has devoted his career to studying the nature of human goodness, conducting ground-breaking research on compassion, awe, laughter, and love. He is also a leading expert on social intelligence, the psychology of power, and the emotional bases of morality. He has written more than 100 scientific papers and two best-selling textbooks, Social Psychology and Understanding Emotions. More recently, he is the author of the best-selling book Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life, and a co-editor of the Greater Good anthology, The Compassionate Instinct.

Dacher is an outstanding speaker who has received several national research and teaching awards. Wired has rated the podcasts of his “Human Emotion” course as one of the five best academic podcasts in the country. He has twice presented his research to His Holiness the Dalai Lama as part of a continuing dialogue between the Dalai Lama and scientists, and his work is featured regularly in major media outlets, including The New York Times, CNN, and NPR. In 2008, the Utne Reader named him as one of 50 visionaries who are changing our world.

Jason Marsh
Editor-in-Chief

Jason Marsh is the founding editor-in-chief of the Greater Good Science Center’s award-winning online magazine, Greater Good. He oversees the production of all editorial content, curates the “Science of a Meaningful Life” event and video series, and coordinates the public education efforts at the GGSC, where he has worked for almost 10 years. In that time, Jason’s writing has explored everything from the psychology of the bystander to the reasons why he should finally start meditating.

Jason is also a co-editor of two anthologies of Greater Good articles: The Compassionate Instinct and Are We Born Racist?. Before coming to the GGSC, Jason was the managing editor of the political journal The Responsive Community. He has also worked as a reporter and producer at KQED Public Radio in San Francisco, as a documentary producer, and as a kindergarten teacher. His first documentary, Unschooled, a profile of three families practicing the controversial homeschooling method known as “unschooling,” debuted at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Missoula, Montana. A graduate of Brown University and the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, Jason lives in Berkeley with his wife and daughter.

Ann Shulman
Executive Director

Ann Shulman is the executive director of the Greater Good Science Center. Ann brings a wealth of experience in organizational development, strategic planning, and non-profit management. For the past 20 years, she has consulted to the leadership and staff of organizations ranging from Fortune 100 companies and top 10 foundations to local and international community groups. She is a facilitator and mediator, has extensive experience in curriculum development and delivery, and speaks several foreign languages. Ann received her B.S. in Psychology from Duke University, her J.D. from U.C. Berkeley’s Boalt Hall and her Master’s in Law from the European University Institute. In her free time, Ann enjoys biking, swimming, foreign travel, and relaxing with her husband, two sons, and dog.

Jeremy Adam Smith
Web Editor

Jeremy Adam Smith is the author of The Daddy Shift, which the San Francisco Chronicle calls “amazing,” UrbanBaby rates as one of “the best of 2009,” and the New York Times praises as “a chronicle of a time that he predicts we will look back upon as the start of permanent change.” Jeremy is also the co-editor of the new collection Rad Dad: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Fatherhood and two Greater Good anthologies, The Compassionate Instinct and Are We Born Racist?.

His award-winning articles and essays have appeared in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, The Nation, San Francisco Chronicle, Utne Reader, Wired, BusinessWeek.com, iWatchNews, and numerous other periodicals, websites, and books. Jeremy has also been interviewed by many media outlets, including The Today Show, the New York Times, USA Today, Salon.com, Working Mother, Nightline, NPR, ABC News, NBC News, the Globe and Mail, The Current (CBC), and The Takeaway (BBC World Service/​WNYC).

Prior to joining the Greater Good Science Center to edit its website, Jeremy was a 2010-11 John S. Knight Journalism fellow at Stanford University. Before going to Stanford, Jeremy was the founding editor of Shareable.net, and was senior editor of the print incarnation of Greater Good magazine, which was nominated for multiple Maggie and Independent Press awards during his 2006-2009 tenure. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and son.

Jill Suttie
Book Review Editor

Jill Suttie, Psy.D., is Greater Good‘s book review editor and a regular contributor to the magazine. She received her Psy.D. from the University of San Francisco, where she studied depression and body image issues in new mothers. Prior to joining Greater Good, Jill has worked as a psychologist in private practice, a college counselor and administrator, and a biochemist. She is also a musician who recently released her first CD of original songs. Jill lives with her husband and two children in Berkeley.

Lee D. Hwang
Senior Advisor

Lee D. Hwang, J.D., is a senior advisor to Greater Good and the Greater Good Science Center. He serves as the executive director of Hanover Investments LLC, a social investment firm, and as the founder and executive director of The Quality of Life Foundation, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to promoting education, global health, and conservation of nature. Lee obtained his bachelor’s degree in philosophy and mathematics from Dartmouth College, and his law degree from Harvard University, where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Executive Committee

Philip A. Cowan
Professor of Psychology Emeritus, UC Berkeley

Philip A. Cowan is a professor of psychology emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, and the former director of the university’s Institute of Human Development. He is also one of the founding faculty members of the Greater Good Science Center. His research and clinical interests focus on family systems and children’s development. One overarching theme of his research is that the quality of relationships among family members, not “just” parenting behaviors, plays a central role in both individual and family development. A second theme is that preventive interventions with both parents in couples groups can have positive effects on both family relationships and children’s adaptation to school.

Steven P. Hinshaw
Professor of Psychology, UC Berkeley

Stephen P. Hinshaw is the chair of the psychology department at the University of California, Berkeley. His main interest is in the field of developmental psychopathology. Major themes of his work include the role of peer relationships in normal and atypical development (particularly ADHD), the early prediction of behavioral and learning problems, the contribution of family factors to antisocial behavior, neuropsychology and neuroimaging and the implementation of combinations of psychosocial and pharmacologic intervention for children with externalizing behavior disorders. Increasingly, his research interests are focusing on adolescent and young adult outcomes, as children in his various projects continue to participate in prospective, longitudinal studies. His newest research interest lies in the area of stigma and mental disorder. He is one of the founding faculty members of the Greater Good Science Center.

Dacher Keltner
Professor of Psychology, UC Berkeley

Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology, is a social psychologist who focuses on the prosocial emotions, such as love, sympathy and gratitude, and processes such as teasing and flirtation that enhance bonds. He has conducted empirical studies in three areas of inquiry. A first looks at the determinant and effects of power, hierarchy and social class. A second in concerned with the morality of everyday life, and how we negotiate moral truths in teasing, gossip, and other reputational matters. A third and primary focus in on the biological and evolutionary basis of the benevolent affects, including compassion, awe, love, gratitude, and laughter and modesty. Professor Keltner is Co-Director of The Greater Good Science Center.

Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton
Professor of Psychology, UC Berkeley

Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, a Professor of Psychology, focuses his research on the interface of culture, social cognition, and intergroup processes. He’s interested in understanding how marginalization of one’s social group affects basic processes related to social identity and intergroup relationships. His involvement with the Center revolves around the positive effects of intergroup contact and friendship on academic adjustment and prejudice reduction.

Ann Shulman
Executive Director

Ann Shulman is the executive director of the Greater Good Science Center. Ann brings a wealth of experience in organizational development, strategic planning, and non-profit management. For the past 20 years, she has consulted to the leadership and staff of organizations ranging from Fortune 100 companies and top 10 foundations to local and international community groups. She is a facilitator and mediator, has extensive experience in curriculum development and delivery, and speaks several foreign languages. Ann received her B.S. in Psychology from Duke University, her J.D. from U.C. Berkeley’s Boalt Hall and her Master’s in Law from the European University Institute. In her free time, Ann enjoys biking, swimming, foreign travel, and relaxing with her husband, two sons, and dog.

Robb Willer
Assistant Professor of Sociology, UC Berkeley

Robb Willer is an Assistant Professor of Sociology. His research focuses on microsociological foundations of human sociality and community (e.g. altruism, cooperation, collective action) and the social psychological bases of political ideology. Some of his current projects include a field study of “Freecycle,” an on-line gift-giving community, experimental work on the interplay of reputational concerns and altruism, a multi-method project on whether and when altruism is contagious, and a study of the heritability of prosocial behaviors in humans. He has published in the past on such topics as competitive altruism, indirect reciprocity, trust, social norms, and collective action.

Editorial Board

Richard Davidson
University of Wisconsin, Madison

Frans de Waal
Emory University

Paul Ekman
University of California, San Francisco

Deirdre English
UC, Berkeley

Amitai Etzioni
George Washington University

Owen Flanagan
Duke University

Robert Frank
Cornell University

Charles A. Garfield
Shanti; UC, San Francisco

Alfie Kohn
Author

Jonathan Kozol
Author

Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton
Professor of Psychology, UC Berkeley

Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, a Professor of Psychology, focuses his research on the interface of culture, social cognition, and intergroup processes. He’s interested in understanding how marginalization of one’s social group affects basic processes related to social identity and intergroup relationships. His involvement with the Center revolves around the positive effects of intergroup contact and friendship on academic adjustment and prejudice reduction.

Nel Noddings
Stanford University

Pearl Oliner
Humboldt State University

Samuel P. Oliner
Humboldt State University

Elliott Sober
University of Wisconsin, Madison

Volunteers

Volunteers play an essential role at the GGSC, pitching in with everything from publicity to event staffing to editorial assistance. We are looking for smart, passionate volunteers who want to contribute to the greater good by providing research and editorial assistance for Greater Good articles and Raising Happiness posts; helping us use social media and other tools to spread the word about our work; maintaining our website; producing regular reports on our web traffic and other key metrics; fundraising; and producing our e-newsletter and other multimedia content.

We are boundlessly grateful to our volunteers for their commitment and hard work; they're truly a diverse and impressive group. Learn more about them below.

And if you would like to volunteer with us, please complete our volunteer application.

Kevin Berardinelli
Volunteer

Kevin Berardinelli is from Arlington, Virginia, graduated from Wake Forest University with a B.A. in physics, and then completed his Master’s in Mathematics and Statistics from Georgetown University. He currently works for a national security contractor in Herndon, VA, co-owns the Arlington, VA-based Intercept Analytics Group (a strategy/analytics consulting company), and spends his free time writing, cooking, volunteering, and playing various sports. Kevin provides web analytics and digital media marketing support for the GGSC, working closely with Susan Fassberg, the GGSC’s director of marketing and strategic partnerships.

Daniel Cordaro
Research assistant

Daniel is currently training to study the body language of engagement, as well as to understand the genetic implications of altruistic behavior. He received a BS in organic chemistry from Ithaca College, and an MS in organic chemistry from UC Berkeley. Over the course of his undergraduate and graduate training, Daniel has worked for over eight chemistry laboratories worldwide and has a strong passion for scientific research and teaching. He hopes to combine his analytical, laboratory, and interpersonal skills with his newfound interest in body language to pursue a project regarding the evolution of engagement and altruism. Working with the GGSC and Dr. Dacher Keltner, Daniel will begin his apprenticeship in the field of social psychology in Fall 2009.

Ruchira S. Datta
Volunteer

Ruchira S. Datta is a research specialist in computational biology at UC Berkeley. She received a BS in mathematics from Caltech and an MS in computer science and PhD in mathematics from UC Berkeley. Since writing her PhD thesis on game theory, she’s been interested in the genetic and cultural evolution of cooperation. She became a fan of positive psychology upon reading The Happiness Hypothesis and was a charter member of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA). Ruchira is helping with development of the Greater Good Science Center website.

Alton Do
Research assistant

Alton Do is a UC Berkeley student double majoring in psychology and sociology, aspiring to become a Ph.D. in psychology. Alton likes to keep himself busy with jobs and academia, including concurrent enrollment in Ohlone College for A.A. Degrees, mentorship programs, volunteer work, and contract work for social networks such as Facebook. In his spare time he likes to see movies, read, go on a run, or play with his chinchillas.

Katie Goldsmith
Research Assistant

Katie Goldsmith is an Alameda, California, native and a recent graduate of UC Berkeley with degrees in mass communications and sociology.  She loves writing for Greater Good because it gives her the chance to learn about lots of fascinating studies, which she forces her family and friends to listen to her talk about. She is also a big fan of Cal sports, funny slippers, Lake Tahoe, and her dog, Turbo.

Jo Anne Good
Volunteer

Jo Anne Good is a wife and mother of 3 daughters. Her life involves moving frequently as an air force brat and executive’s wife. She has a BS in economics from the University of California, Davis, with a career in inventory control in high tech and retail. She finds the greatest challenge and joy in life to be raising her children to be self-confident and unique, have a sense of curiosity, adventure, and coping skills, yet still be mindful of their community and the environment. Her Hobbies are: travel, skiing, cooking, friendships, movies- Sundance Film festival fan, books, running, and new adventures…

Stephanie Hastrup
Director of Raising Happiness Research Assistance

Stephanie Hastrup received her undergraduate degree at Harvard College with a concentration in psychology. Her current research interests include positive psychology and the psychology of happiness, parent-child relationships, school psychology, and applied behavior analysis. In the Fall of 2010, Stephanie will be entering the School Psychology Graduate Program at California State University, Fresno. During her free time, Stephanie finds happiness in spending quality time with family and her boxer puppy, traveling to new places, hiking and running, capturing great memories with lots of photos, and relaxing with a good book.

Lynn Johnson
Volunteer

Lynn Johnson is a theater artist, social entrepreneur, and co-founder/owner of Glitter & Razz Productions, an Oakland, CA-based business that celebrates kids and the grown-ups who love them. Glitter & Razz Productions offers premium theater camps, classes, and events that promote compassion, community, and creativity through the creation and performance of peaceful and powerful plays.

Janine Kovac
Volunteer

Janine Kovac graduated magna cum laude from U.C. Berkeley in 2009 with a degree in Cognitive Science.  Her thesis, A Linguistic Analysis in Parenting, was awarded the Robert J. Glushko Prize for Distinguished Undergraduate Research in Cognitive Science.  She is currently a member of the Family Advisory Council for the Alta Bates Newborn Intensive Care Unit where she works with staff to improve patient communication and with families to lessen emotional distress.  Janine has been a volunteer of the Greater Good Science Center since in the fall of 2010 when she first pitched the idea of a community gratitude journal, which she edits weekly.  She is an avid fan of Christine Carter’s Raising Happiness blog and lives in Oakland with her husband and three small children.

Drew Lewis
Reseach Assistant

Drew Lewis is a certified holistic health practitioner, a yoga and meditation teacher, and a program associate at LeaderSpring, a fellowship program for nonprofit executive directors in the Bay Area. He is excited to work with Greater Good because of his passion for holistic wellness and his belief in the necessity of approaching holistic principles with scientific rigor. Drew is a graduate of Mueller College of Holistic Studies, where he studied alternative medicine, and the University of Maryland, College Park, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English. He plans to attend graduate school next year to pursue a master’s degree in social work.

Joanne Luna
Research Assistant

Joanne Luna completed her undergraduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley with a major in psychology and minor in disability studies. She joined Greater Good as a research assistant because of the great value she places on promoting compassion and altruism. She has a passion for helping people overcome barriers in life—whether they be mental health, socioeconomic, cultural, gender, or cognitive deficit issues—and devotes herself to helping others through working and volunteering in various organizations. For three years, she volunteered as a counselor and trainer at a suicide and crisis hotline for Crisis Services of Alameda, where she helped callers draw on inner resources to build resiliency and a more positive outlook on their lives. She has also served as a grief support group facilitator for children who have lost a loved one.

Anahid Modrek
Reseach Assistant

Anahid Modrek is a graduating junior at UC Berkeley. She is studying psychology and public policy with intentions of merging the two fields with a prospective joint PhD-MPP degree. Her passion is child development and well-being and hopes to be involved in policy analysis to address those two issues. Her research interests lie predominantly within development psychology, specifically resilience in children as well as intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation. Anahid is also a Cal Figure Skater and as president of the team this year hopes to lead it to nationals.

Hanna Roen
Research Assistant

Hanna Roen is a senior psychology major at UC Berkeley. She’s interested in both developmental and clinical psychology, and after graduating in May, she will start a master’s degree program at Arizona State University focusing on assessment and intervention with children with developmental disorders. Hanna loves learning about new research in psychology and sharing it with Greater Good readers, family, and friends. Other things that make her happy are baking, the French language, New York Times crossword puzzles, and all things fashion-related—oh, and songs with handclaps!

Kyle Smith
Research Assistant

Kyle Smith is a Long Beach-born psychology major at the University of California, Berkeley. His interest in positive psychology was sparked when he took Dacher Keltner’s Human Happiness course. Kyle went on to join /Greater Good/ so he could learn more about the field and help get the word out about positive psychology.

Gregg Sparkman
Volunteer

Gregg Sparkman graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in Anthropology and Psychology with honors. Mentored by Dacher Keltner as an undergraduate, he completed an honors thesis on the relationship between the vagus nerve, altruism, and positive emotions. His research interests include emotions, morality, physiology, political psychology, positive psychology and pro-social behavior. Gregg makes contributions to Greater Good magazine, helps develop the Greater Good website, and volunteers at Greater Good events.