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The Greater Good Gratitude Summit: A Day of Science, Stories, and Inspiration

Live event now sold out. Webcast registration is now closed.

The last 10 years have seen an explosion in the scientific study of happiness. The findings tell a complex, provocative, and unfinished story. But if they had to be distilled into one simple prescription for happiness, it would probably be this: Say thank you.

Gratitude, it seems, is a key—perhaps the key—to feeling more satisfied with your life. Strengthening your sense of joy and social connection, gratitude improves your relationships, helps you cope with adversity, and even fortifies your immune system.

The Greater Good Gratitude Summit will illuminate the critical role gratitude plays in our health and happiness, and explore how we can cultivate more gratitude in ourselves and those we care for. Attendees will learn the latest findings from the groundbreaking new science of gratitude, put into practical, accessible terms.

Joining world-renowned researchers will be Jack Kornfield and Brother David Steindl-Rast—two of the world’s most inspiring thinkers about gratitude. Throughout the day, researchers like Robert Emmons, the leading scientific expert on gratitude, will share cutting-edge discoveries, complemented by insights from real-world programs focused on enhancing gratitude. The day’s presentations will explore how to turn gratitude science into action and extend its positive impact as widely as possible.

Some of the specific issues covered at the Gratitude Summit will include:
  • how to nurture gratitude in children;
  • how to foster gratitude in the workplace;
  • how gratitude affects our brains, biology, and mental health;
  • and the obstacles to gratitude and how to overcome them, especially in a culture where it’s easy to take things for granted.
Speakers will share important practices for boosting gratitude across multiple contexts, from kitchen tables to clinics to boardrooms to mobile devices.

The Gratitude Summit is the culmination of the Greater Good Science Center’s unprecedented three-year project, Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude, funded by the John Templeton Foundation.
 

Presenters


Jack Kornfield
Jack Kornfield, Ph.D., is a world-renowned psychologist, author, and teacher. He is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West, and is a founder of both the Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts and the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California, where he currently lives and teaches. Dr. Kornfield earned his B.A. from Dartmouth College and his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Saybrook Institute. He trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, India, and Burma and has taught in centers and universities internationally since 1974. His books have been translated into 20 languages and sold more than a million copies. They include The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness and Peace, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry, and A Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology.

Robert Emmons
Widely regarded as the world’s foremost expert on the science of gratitude, Robert Emmons, Ph.D., was one of the early pioneers in the positive psychology movement and continues to be a key leader in the field. His research has shown how practicing gratitude can boost people’s happiness and overall quality of life, and he has identified specific, everyday steps people can take to increase their feelings of gratitude.

Dr. Emmons is a professor of psychology at UC Davis and is the founding editor and editor-in-chief of The Journal of Positive Psychology. He is also the author of the popular book Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier, as well as an editor of the book The Psychology of Gratitude. He has authored roughly 100 original peer-reviewed studies or book chapters. His extensive research has been featured in dozens of popular media outlets, including USA Today, U.S. News and World Report, Newsweek, Time, on NPR, and in Reader’s Digest.


Dacher Keltner

Dacher Keltner, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and the research director of the university’s Greater Good Science Center, an interdisciplinary center that disseminates the new science of happiness and compassion to thousands of educators, parents, mental health workers, and others.

After receiving his Ph.D. from Stanford University, Dr. Keltner has devoted his career to studying the roots of compassion, awe, gratitude, and love. He is also a leading expert on social intelligence, the psychology of power, and the emotional bases of morality. He is the author of more than 100 scientific papers and two best-selling textbooks, Social Psychology and Understanding Emotions. More recently, he is the author of the popular book Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life. He is also the executive editor of the Greater Good Science Center’s online magazine, Greater Good.

Dr. Keltner is an outstanding speaker who has received several national research and teaching awards. Wired magazine 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. His work has been featured in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Time magazine, and on CNN, among other media outlets. In 2008, the Utne Reader named him as one of 50 visionaries who are changing our world.

 

This event will be webcast live! Attend in-person or online.

With the webcast, you’ll watch real-time video of the event, including slides, be able to submit questions to the presenter online, and receive CE credits —all from the comfort of your home, office, or anywhere with an Internet connection. You will be emailed prior to the event with course materials and login information for the webcast. 

*Attendees can receive 6 CE credit hours for attending in-person or online.*

Attendees will be able to: 

  • Describe what gratitude is—and is not—according to scientific research, both as a fleeting emotional state and as a more stable personality trait 
  • Identify the range of physical, psychological, and social benefits of gratitude--its effects on health and happiness 
  • Explain how gratitude affects the human brain and body 
  • Identify the barriers to practicing gratitude and describe methods to overcome them 
  • Apply evidence-based practices for increasing their own gratitude and fostering gratitude in children, families, workplaces, communities, and with their clients and patients 
 

Agenda

8:00 - 9:00 a.m. Registration and check in
9:00 - 9:10 Welcome: Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, Director of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley and Dacher Keltner, GGSC Founding Director
9:10 - 9:35 What Is Gratitude?: Presentation by Robert Emmons (UC Davis)
9:35 - 9:45

Mentoring gratitude in elementary school students with BOOST! West Oakland
9:45 - 10:45 The Spirit of Gratitude: A conversation between Jack Kornfield and Brother David Steindl-Rast
10:45 - 11:00 Break
11:00 - 12:00 p.m.

Challenges to Gratitude: Presentations by Tom Gilovich (Cornell University), Amie Gordon (UC Berkeley), and Alex Wood (University of Stirling). Moderated by Dacher Keltner.
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch. Box lunch provided
1:00 - 1:15 Gratitude in Verse: Poetry by Chinaka Hodge
1:15 - 2:15 Physical, Psychological, and Social Benefits of Gratitude: Wendy Berry Mendes (UC San Francisco), Christina Karns (University of Oregon), Jeff Huffman (Harvard Medical School), Philip Watkins (Eastern Washington University). Moderated by Emiliana Simon-Thomas, GGSC.
2:15 - 2:30 Break
2:30 - 2:45 Grateful Athletes: Talk by Teri McKeever, Coach of the 2012 U.S. Olympics Women's Swim Team & of the UC Berkeley Women's Swimming & Diving team
2:45 - 3:45 How to Cultivate Gratitude... in Schools (Jeffrey Froh, Hofstra University), with Kids (Andrea Hussong, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), in Relationships (Sara Algoe, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), in the Workplace (Chris Murchison, HopeLab). Moderated by Christine Carter, GGSC.
3:45 - 4:00 Break
4:00 - 4:10 Voices from StoryCorps
4:10 - 5:10 Making Gratitude Go Viral: Nipun Mehta (Service Space), Jeremy Adam Smith (GGSC), Peter Jin Hong (Google), Brother David Steindl-Rast & Anthony Chavez (Network for Grateful Living)
5:10 - 5:15 Closing remarks from GGSC founder Dacher Keltner
 

Continuing Education

Continuing Education is co-sponsored by R. Cassidy Seminars.

Presented by the Greater Good Science Center, with funding from the John Templeton Foundation

Psychologists: R. Cassidy Seminars is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. R. Cassidy Seminars maintains responsibility for this program. (6) CE hours.

Social Workers CA: Course meets the qualifications for (6) hours of continuing education credit for MFTs and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, Provider #PCE418.

Marriage and Family Therapists CA: Course meets the qualifications for (6) hours of continuing education credit for MFTs and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, Provider #PCE418. This course provides 6 CE hours.

Physicians: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint sponsorship of the Institute for the Advancement of Human Behavior (IAHB) and the Greater Good Science Center. IAHB is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians. IAHB designates this live activity for a maximum of 6.00 AMA PRA Category1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Nurses CA: Provider approved by the CA Board of Registered Nursing, Provider #CeP12224, for (6) contact hours.

Occupational Therapists: Occupational therapists will receive a certificate of completion for (6) CE hours.

Drug and Alcohol Counselors: Provider approved by CFAAP/CAADAC. Provider 4N-00-434-0216 for 6 CEHs. CAADAC is an ICRC member which has reciprocity with most ICRC member states.

Satisfactory Completion: Participants must have paid tuition fee, signed in, attended the entire seminar, completed an evaluation, and signed out in order to receive a certificate. Failure to sign in or out will result in forfeiture of credit for the entire course. No exceptions will be made. Partial credit is not available.

Cancellation Policy: Refund (minus $25 administrative fee) when canceling prior to 7 days before the workshop. No refund within 7 days of the seminar.

Disability Access: If you require ADA accommodations please contact our office 30 days or more before the event. We cannot ensure accommodations without adequate prior notification.

Please Note: Licensing Boards change regulations often and while we attempt to stay abreast of their most recent changes, if you have questions or concerns about this course meeting your specific board’s approval, we recommend you contact your board directly to obtain a ruling.