VIA Ambassadors
We all share a common mission—to advance the science and practice of character development—and we all must work together to accomplish this. Over recent years The VIA Institute’s courses, reports, and outreach have been growing by leaps and bounds and our newest initiative, The VIA Ambassador's Program, is a way to advance this growth. We are very pleased that the following supporters have agreed to continue spreading the word about our valuable offerings. If you would like more information on the VIA Ambassador's Program please contact Kelly Aluise at: kellya@viacharacter.org
Ambassadors are listed in alphabetical order by last name
Mads Bab
Mads Bab is the founder of the Danish strengths-based consultancy Gnist (Danish word for Spark) and author of the coming book "The Spark In Your Work Life. A personal guide to find, understand and utilize your strengths. Mads is also the developer of of Play Your Strengths (www.playyourstrengths.com). A LEGO based workshop exploring VIA character strengths in groups. To learn more visit: www.gnist.com and www.playyourstrengths.com
Véronique Beltz
Véronique Beltz, PCC, is the founder of People Edge, Geneva, Switzerland. For over ten years she has trained and coached executives, managers, and talents. Her approach, particularly through Positive Psychology, gives her unique tools, results and reputation. She was trained in Positive Psychology which is based on strengths-based methods, by David Cooperrider, Tal Ben-Shahar, Robert Biswas-Diener and Ryan Niemec.
She is the Director of the “Internal Coach” training programme, a unique coach training programme based on Positive Psychology and aimed at Internal Coaches in organizations. To learn more visit: www.Peopleedge.ch and http://internalcoach.wordpress.com/
Gerry D. Bouey, M.A. C.P.C., & Managing Director
Gerald (Gerry) Bouey operates TBG Leadership & Consulting LLC, allowing him to fulfill a lifelong passion of “igniting” human potential, compassion, and greatness, with individuals, teams, organizations, and communities. His key area of interest centers on transformational leadership, positive psychology, and the engagement of the whole person, leveraged with the thoughtful use of technology. Along with helping CEO’s, senior executives, entrepreneurs, and business owners increase their leadership effectiveness, Gerry teaches Positive Psychology at Columbia College Chicago, Organizational Development at Lewis University, as well as, Conflict Negotiations, at Roosevelt University-Chicago. You can learn more about Gerry on his website. Gerry lives in the Chicagoland area with his wife, Sharon, and has four grown children.
Denise (Dee) Crane, Senior Certified ADD ADHD Coach, Board Certified Coach
Dee is an Executive and Life Coach and co-Founder of Arizona Coaching & Consulting Center. Since 1998 she has dedicated her work to maximizing her clients’, performance and potential. Dee utilizes a strengths based, action oriented approach, which encourages positive self-awareness and self-coaching. Dee’s background in physical education has cemented her belief that physical and mental health are intricately connected. She integrates the VIA Character Strengths as a way to encourage her clients to challenge and stretch themselves to grow their best life through use of positive strategies and self talk at work and in their personal lives. Dee can be contacted at dcrane.azc3@gmail.com. Feel free to learn more about her at www.azc3.com
Barbara Dudley, CADC II
Barbara is the owner and primary counselor at Awakenings Treatment Services in Bend, Oregon. Treating adults, adolescence and their families since 2007, for substance abuse and addiction concerns toward a healthy outcome and successful future. She is proud to base much of her counseling approach on Positive Psychology, " What's right with you" and to include the VIA survey on character strengths. Her website can be found here.
Claire Fialkov, Ph.D.
LINK: www.appreciativeaction.com
Claire is a co-founder of Appreciative Action (
appreciativeaction.com), a consultation practice that strengthens the capacity of organizations dedicated to creating a healthier and more civil world community; clients include non-governmental organizations (NGO’s), international humanitarian agencies, educational institutions, healthcare agencies, and local community groups.
Through the Corporation for Positive Change (
positivechange.org), Claire and her colleague David Haddad created an internationally presented workshop entitled, "Cultivating Strengths with Appreciative Inquiry." The workshop integrates the VIA with AI for team building, strategic planning, and transformational growth within organizations and communities.
Claire is a Core Faculty member at The Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology (mspp.edu) and uses the VIA in creative ways when she teaches positive psychology, appreciative inquiry and qualitative methods, and clinical supervision and consultation.
Sevgi Guney
Sevgi is a Clinical Psychologist and a Fellow of Cairnmillar Institute, www. cairnmillar.org. She works in an academic specialist position at Ankara University. Her research interest is on psychological traumas, post traumatic growth, crisis intervention, positive psychology and psychotherapy applications on these areas.
David Haddad, Ed.D.
David Haddad combines his skills in Appreciative Inquiry and positive psychology with his interest in mindfulness to facilitate his work with individuals and organization. David founded Appreciative Action (www.appreciativeaction.com) with his partner Claire Fialkov where they have been using the VIA for several years. They are currently involved in an ongoing research project using the VIA with several NGO’s in Africa.
Therese Joyce, MSc. Applied Positive Psychology 2012
Therese Joyce is an expert in Positive Psychology and Authentic Leadership, and has developed and facilitated workshops across the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. Therese is a certified Values In Action practitioner who uses principles from psychology, education and social welfare, along with extensive experience in multicultural working environments, to develop leaders and teams. Her top VIA strengths are Humour & Playfulness, Love of Learning, Capacity to Love and Be Loved, Gratitude and Fairness. Contact Therese at Therese.Joyce123@gmail.com or via http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/therese-joyce/24/727/b92
Angela Joyner, ACC, CPCC, MBA
Angela is passionate about helping women leverage their strengths, authentically build strategic alliances and lead with confidence. She brings a proven track record of developing high performance leaders, consistently delivering results and successfully navigating complex organizations. Her coaching practice, The Wonder Loft, LLC, is committed to helping women boldly step into the lives they were created to live. Website link: www.thewonderloft.com
Mary Judd
Mary Judd is a writer, educator and positive psychology consultant. My cient list includes the VIA Institute on Character; MentorCoach; The HAPPYMovie; LifeQuest Transitions (songwriting retreats for veterans); New York State’s Department of Economic Development (I LOVE NY); Discovery Retreats; several public and private schools, and more. She has studied and worked with Positive Psychology researchers from around the world and was recently invited to serve as a discussion facilitator in a United Nations meeting on Happiness & Well-being. She conducts strengths interviews for VIA and writes for publications including PsyInsight magazine and the India Journal of Positive Psychology where she serves on the Editorial Board. She co-founded The Barn School, an award-winning sustainable agriculture camp for kids that raises funds for local farms and Heifer International®. She is currently working with school districts to incorporate Positive Psychology and Strengths awareness into the curriculum.Website link: www.maryjuddcommunications.com
Allison Knights
Alison Knights is an HPC Registered Clinical Psychologist, BPS Chartered Psychologist and Parent-Infant Consultant based in the U.K. Alison specializes in workingstrengths-based approaches with early years professionals, mums-to-be, parents and infants, children and families. She has extensive training in perinatal, developmental and child psychology, and psychoanalytic psychotherapy and 25 years experience in the NHS. She is passionate about early intervention services for families with babies and young children. Connect with Ali on her website Baby-Science, or visit her blog, on Twitter @AliKnightsPsych or Facebook.
Kazuo Koya, MBA, CEO of Eudaimonia Management Inc.
Kazuo Koya has spent over 20 years working for global business enterprises like General Motors and The Gallup Organization, and now he is specialized in Strength-based HR and Organizational Development. His website can be found here.
Gunilla Lundqvist (HQ HelaDu), ICF certified coach, certified VIA practitioner, certified Realise2-Practitioner and CBT psychotherapist.
Gunilla's core values are based on trust, respect, honesty and joy. As a person she is a harmonious, stable and life-loving woman - with a lot of life experience. Her strengths reflect on her work - as a teacher in coaching skills in both the companies and in the Athletic world.
Avra Lyraki
Dr. Avra Lyraki is the founder of Life Self Coaching Institute and an active Life Coach and Mentor of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA). She is an experienced executive workshop instructor in numerous topics specializing in the areas of Communication, Personal Development and Life Coaching. She holds a PhD in Strategic Corporate Communication, an M.B.A in International Management, as well as a bachelor’s degree in International Relations.
She is a member of the Global Speakers Federation, the International Coach Federation (ICF) and the Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER).
Carolyn Meacher, Leadership Coach & Consultant
Carolyn is a professional leadership coach, trainer, and innovation facilitator focused on supporting organizations and leaders in creating positive, sustainable growth. She has been fortunate to facilitate innovation-training sessions across North America on behalf of Rotman Designworks with clients such as GE, Targer, Frito Lay and Nestle. And, she has proved to be a sought after trainer, facilitator and professional leadership coach for teams and individuals. You can learn more about Carolyn at http://ca.linkedin.com/in/meacher
Abraham Ng
Abraham is a Registered Social Worker in Caritas, Hong Kong. He had completed his master degree training at The University of Hong Kong. He is currently providing Positive Psychology and VIA Survey in Character Strengths training for secondary school students, parents, teachers and social workers. He also a full member of IPPA since 2012.
Alexander Ng
Alexander is a Consultant at atrain (Hong Kong) Ltd. He is a qualified organizational psychologist, a registered personal and career coach, and a certified user of the most widely used personality assessments. He has years of experience in talent assessment and development in APAC and Europe, specializing in development centers, training, and coaching. He has also designed workshops on Positive Psychology and Character Strengths for multi-national companies, local enterprises, and educational institutions. You can learn more about Alexander at: http://www.atrain-apac.com/
Brent O'Bannon
Brent O'Bannon has conducted more than 27,000 coaching sessions and will help you grow stronger, work smarter, and live richer with strengths coaching and his strengths mastermind programs. Visit: www.brentobannon.com
Valerie Plis
Valerie is a Certified Leadership Development and Strengths Performance Coach. She has over 20 years' experience in Training & Development and Career Management fields and has worked with a diverse group of leaders and teams in the educational, government, corporate, and non-profit sectors. She helps leaders and teams achieve their highest levels of performance and productivity through strengths performance coaching and leadership development training. Her website can be found here.
Susan Potter
Susan Potter is a Life Transitions Success Coach specializing in coaching individuals who are ready to make meaningful changes or accomplish something significant in their professional and personal lives. She is an ICF credentialed Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and a Certified Mindset for Success Coach. Susan uses a strengths and positive psychology approach along with neuroscience concepts when coaching individuals to discover (or re-discover) their innate talents and gifts, and then supports them in using their strengths to create the life they desire and deserve.
Susan brings both business and life experiences to coaching. She serves on the ICF North Texas Coaches board and is on the faculty of The Gardner Institute coach training school. She recently became a certified trainer for Coaching4Clergy. Susan’s top VIA strengths are Perseverance, Honesty, Fairness, Gratitude, Teamwork, Leadership and Spirituality.
Dina Pozzo
Dina is the founder of insium, an organisation committed to building strong and collaborative partnerships with its clients for win-win outcomes. insium means “to dream” in Furlan, the northern-Italian language of her family. A highly skilled facilitator and coach, her natural enthusiasm and ability to quickly build relationships creates a shared learning journey of curiosity and discovery, challenge and encouragement. Whether through workshops or coaching, Dina’s ultimate aim is to broaden minds and build skills, capability and confidence – empowering the individual to implement successful plans of action for sustainability and to have positive impact on goals. A passion for positive psychology, strengths-based development and appreciative approaches results in transformational shifts for individuals, teams and organisations. For more information on how Dina can help bring your professional and personal dreams to life, please contact her at dina@insium.com.au and visit www.insium.com.au.
Lisa Sansom
Lisa Sansom is the founder of LVS Consulting, a boutique firm that helps to develop positive organizations through speaking, training, coaching and consulting. Lisa has her Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and her MBA from the Rotman School of Management. Lisa's top VIA Strengths are Love of Learning, Authenticity, Kindness, Critical Thinking and Leadership, and she is on the Board of the Canadian Positive Psychology Association.
Mary Beth Schappe
Mary Beth Schappe is the Founder of The Appreciative Lens, LLC, an organizational development consulting and coaching practice that offers a strength-based process for employee engagement using the practice of Appreciative Inquiry. We work with teams and employees to facilitate professional growth by cultivating character strengths, elevating positivity, and strengthening enthusiasm and commitment to the goals and success of organizations. Mary Beth lives in Raleigh, NC and can be contacted at mschappe@nc.rr.com. You can learn more about her at http://linkedin.com/marybethschappe.
Yvonne Thackray, MEng, Founding Partner at The Good Coach. Professional and Personal Coach. (AMAC, ICF, ICPA, EMCC). ROI and Research Consultant.Yvonne coaches clients going through transitions in both their professional and personal life. She strongly believes that who we are is the sum of all parts, and by understanding one's strengths and being able to positively label them is one of the parts. Using evidence based coaching, where available, and measuring achievement is how we at the good coach supports individuals to achieve what is most important to them right here right now. Yvonne's worked with a diverse number of clients in 10 different industries and over 18 different nationalities using various communication mediums face-to-face, phone, Skype and instant messaging. Yvonne also works in the third sector (non profits). Yvonne's top VIA Strengths are Bravery, Fairness, Leadership, Teamwork, Gratitude, Honesty, Humility, Love, and Love of Learning. Yvonne can be contacted atyvonne@the-goodcoach.com, or you can learn more about her at www.the-goodcoach.com
Sue Thompson
Sue helps people and companies create dramatic changes from the inside out, focusing first on the inner foundation of character, personality, and talent, and then presenting these elements in excellent ways. A corporate trainer and a sought-after meeting and convention speaker, her love of the subject of character is explored on her calls with business people and the strengths that have made them successful at www.YourCharacterIsShowing.com. Her website can be found here.
Fiona Trembath
Author of the junior fiction novel, Crackpot, Fiona Trembath is also a writer, editor, teacher, presenter and a regular guest on ABC Radio's Overnights program (Australia).
As a result of her highly successful book tour in 2010, Fiona has recently produced a comprehensive 'teacher's toolkit', complete with the DVD, A Story of a Book, and handbook, What's Right With Me? – Cultivating Strengths in the Classroom. She is passionate about looking for ‘what's right?' as a first default, rather than ‘what's wrong?', as a way toward optimum health and wellbeing.
As a strengths educator and facilitator, Fiona teaches and presents to schools, parent groups and individuals, and has a comprehensive range of resources for teachers and children to encourage strength-spotting and strength-development within the classroom. You can find out more about Fiona at www.fionatrembath.com