Jessica Koehler
Jessica Koehler, PhD, ACC has twenty years of experience working with students and educators in secondary and post-secondary education. After over a decade of service as a middle, high-school, and post-secondary STEM educator, she then broadened her work, including research and evaluation, to amplify support for adolescent motivation beyond a single classroom. Jessica continues to support teens and young adults as a tutor and coach, and indirectly as an educational researcher and program evaluator. Her specific focus is adolescent and young adult development in both the non-profit sector as well as secondary and post-secondary educational institutions. Jessica is currently the Visiting Scholar of Leadership and Character for the Wake Forest University Department of Engineering. She earned her PhD in Adolescent Motivational Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, and is a Certified Youth Coach through the ICF Accredited Youth Coaching Institute. During moments of leisure, she enjoys time with family, cooking, and doing anything in nature.
Görkem Gençer
Görkem Gençer, MSc, did his masters study in the Stockholm School of Economics, where he began to question the societal benefits and drawbacks of automation throughout history. Then, he worked as a Senior Industry Analyst at AIMultiple and authored over 100 essays on various aspects of the digital transformation and its impact on humans. His experience showed how out of control depression and anxiety problems have become worldwide, and how critical it is for people to develop habits that increase their happiness. Görkem now assists Pursuit of Happiness with digital outreach to a wider audience.
Laura Dallman
Laura Dallman, PhD, is a presenter, program organizer, and researcher who specializes in the powerful effects of care and social emotional interaction on human development, learning, and overall well-being. Her work and scholarship span multiple contexts and age ranges. She provides professional development to educators (K-University) about care in the classroom and its transformative effects on student development and learning. She has also developed programs, organized groups, and written essays to promote understanding and appreciation for the constitutive effects of caring connection. Her research and scholarship projects include a study of teacher emotional and cultural intelligences on classroom climate, an exploration of the relationship between emotional and self-regulation, and an analysis of the effects of participation in facilitated women’s discussion groups and the content they generate. Laura serves as an adjunct professor at George Mason University’s College of Education and Human Development. She was previously an elementary school teacher in American Public Schools, as well as, at international schools in Russia, Belgium, Haiti, and Georgia. She has her PhD from George Mason University, an MDiv from Yale University, and a BA from Augustana College, IL. She and her husband have four wonderful adult children.
Susan Katz
Susan Katz, MSc, is the Creative Director of Pursuit of Happiness. She is a seasoned writer, producer, director, and creative leader with 25+ years of experience in serving Fortune 500 companies, marketing agencies, political campaigns, and more. She founded Katzing Creative Ways in 1985, specializing in full-service media production. Susan also has an impressive academic background, having chaired and taught at the University of Bridgeport and contributed to the Women’s Campaign School at Yale University. Her qualifications include a B.A. in Television/Radio from Brooklyn College, a Certificate in Filmmaking from NYU, and an M.S. in eMedia/New Media from Quinnipiac University. Notably, she has been recognized with numerous industry awards, including the Pollie Awards, Reed Awards, Telly Awards, and more. She has also served on the boards of the International Television Association and the Connecticut Association of Production Professionals.
William Chasseaud
William Chasseaud is the Senior Editor of PoH and a professional copy editor and proofreader. With a background in the study of art and English and American literature, he served an apprenticeship in graphic design in London, UK. He gained a qualification in magazine editorial (distinction) from the London School of Publishing and Public Relations and has designed and edited illustrated publications throughout his career. He has volunteered for nonprofit organizations dedicated to the homeless, as well as an over-fifties forum. In 2018 he published a volume of poetry, and is now preparing his own illustrated book on the poems and places of W B Yeats. His areas of interest include philosophy, psychology and religion, as well as verse drama, ancient civilisations and the arts and cultures of different societies.
Saira Qureshi
Saira Qureshi, MA, LMHC, is a licensed mental health counseling clinician in RI. She taught psychology, child development and education courses at community colleges and universities in the North East and New England. She also has online teaching experience, holds a master’s degree in applied education psychology from NYU, and has completed a post-graduate advanced counseling program and clinical internship in Rhode Island. In the past, she worked with a grant funded research project team at The Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University. Her research interests include: positive psychology correlates, life-span, character, and personality development, multicultural and gender studies topics, mindfulness, mind stimulation therapy techniques, creativity, intelligence andeffective teaching and learning, ecological psychology (psychological effects of minimalist and nature living and emotional wellbeing, spiritual health as a function of positive relationship with and caring for animal species), neuro-cognitive developmental disorders, evolutionary biology, psych therapeutic interventions for dual diagnosis /substance use disorders, and integrative health.
Past Contributors
Debra Park
After retiring from teaching high school psychology for 33 years, Debra Park, M.A., “graduated” back to college and taught undergraduate courses at Rutgers University, Camden NJ. As a Part-Time- Lecturer in both the Psychology department and the Institute for Effective Education/Teacher Prep, she taught Introduction to Psychology, Human Development, Psychology of Happiness and WellBeing and Behavior Management to both traditional and non-traditional students. Debra was past-chair of the Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools, a committee of the American Psychological Association and served on the Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education and APA’s National Standards Working Group, revising the high school standards for psychology. She served on APA’s Membership Board from 2009 – 2012 and was Division 2, Society for Teaching Psychology Membership Board Chair 2012- 2015. Debra was a consultant and instructor for Pursuit of Happiness and worked with psychology teachers through her participation in many conferences and professional development venues. Sadly, she died in 2023. Over the years, thanks to a big heart and agile mind, she often went the extra mile to guide us in the completion of many critical projects and thus contributed an enormous amount to the success of PoH. She is greatly missed.