Penn LPS

Building bridges to reach people where they are

lyonsj@upenn.edu — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 18:19:18 +0000

Building bridges to reach people where they are

lyonsj@upenn.edu Mon, 03/04/2024 - 13:19

“Our work as conservationists, as researchers, as policy influencers doesn't mean anything unless we can translate our work for a common lay audience,” says Lauren McGrath, freshwater ecologist and instructor of the Master of Environmental Studies (MES) program course Creating Gateways to the Land with Smarter Conservation.

A 2016 alumna of the MES program, Lauren says she landed her dream job at the Willistown Conservation Trust in Newtown Square, PA, shortly after earning her degree. Today, she serves as the organization’s Watershed Protection Program director. Her work at the Trust, she shares, involves assessing how land protection efforts impact the health of waterways. More broadly, her work builds environmental literacy in the community, accomplished through productive communication with stakeholders—experiences she draws on to introduce MES students to the interdisciplinary field of conservation.

Lauren McGrath

“I try and expose students to the many different avenues that they can go down with their Penn graduate degree, shining a light into some obscure corners of conservation,” she says. “The goal is to get these students really thinking about not only what's possible, but what's practical.”

The course covers a new topic or theme each week, such as healthy waterways and caddisflies—which Lauren describes as “the smallest environmental engineers”—or the migration of American eagles. Students analyze readings, participate in research and fieldwork, and hear from a spectrum of environmental experts throughout the semester.

Lauren first joined the course not as the instructor, but as the water ecology guest speaker. She was invited by the previous course instructor Lisa Kiziuk (MES ’04), who works as the director of the bird conservation program at Willistown Conservation Trust. When Lisa was ready to step down as the instructor ahead of the 2022 academic year, she recommended that Lauren take her place. “Lisa said she thought that I took the same kind of interdisciplinary approach to ecology that she had been teaching. Now, we’ve flipped roles, and Lisa gets to guest lecture,” Lauren says, referring to the course’s field trips on bird banding and migration—two favorites among students.

The students in the course, like many in the MES program, tend to have diverse personal and professional backgrounds. “I try hard to build a common language in class early,” she says, to help the students communicate and learn from each other. “I'm just one person with one set of experiences, and we have a dozen students who all have their own lived experiences to add.” Members of the class have shared relevant research projects they worked on as well as first-hand knowledge of environmental injustice. “Watching the students grow into a space where they feel comfortable and confident sharing what they've seen, what they've done, what they've learned—it makes the entire class so much richer.”

Throughout the course, students learn that to have a meaningful impact in translational ecology, communication is key. To further sharpen adaptive communication skills, Lauren includes creative coursework, like writing a haiku about a research paper, and an abstract stripped of scientific jargon. And they talk about the reality of their future professions. “We spend a lot of time in class discussing who the stakeholders are in our work as conservationists,” Lauren says. Landowners, community members, hunters and anglers, and policymakers can all be valuable ecological resources and partners—but may not all be using the same specialized language, which can stifle conservation efforts. Lauren learned this early in her career.

“I grew up in rural Pennsylvania surrounded by excellent naturalists. They learned from their parents and their parents’ parents,” she shares. “I went to school for biology because that's what I loved.” When she came home, equipped with new academic knowledge, however, she realized she couldn’t communicate with her local community about ecology. “We were no longer the same,” she says. “It was a devastating realization that I just spent a lot of time and money to learn a language that no one around me spoke and, in doing so, lost some of that connection to these incredible naturalists.”

Lauren hopes her class will prepare students for the communication challenges they will face as conservation professionals, particularly as the need for climate action is met with a spike in distrust of science. “But really, we’re all just people, and folks want to know what you’re interested in,” she reassures. “Having the skills to distill what you’re passionate about and share it in a conversation, I think, is one of the most critical pieces.” Being inclusive, Lauren says, is productive. “It's really about the bridge building that has to exist in conservation work in order for us to move forward at the pace that we need to in our rapidly changing world.”

Martin Seligman offers catastrophizers ways to build resilience with a more optimistic mindset

lyonsj@upenn.edu — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 19:32:02 +0000

Martin Seligman offers catastrophizers ways to build resilience with a more optimistic mindset

lyonsj@upenn.edu Tue, 01/17/2023 - 14:32

January 17, 2023

In this Time Magazine article, Dr. Martin Seligman of the Penn LPS Master of Applied Positive Psychology program talks about catastrophizing—when one’s reaction to a negative event is the assumption that things will only get worse. His research demonstrates that this type of thinking impedes happiness and “is a major risk factor for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).”

Seligman’s just-published book, Tomorrowmind, co-authored with Dr. Gabriella Rosen Kellerman, offers ways for catastrophizers to build resilience by developing a more positive mindset.

Read the full article “How to Manage Catastrophic Thinking” at Time.com.

Read more about Tomorrowmind at the publisher’s website.

A Master of Environmental Studies alumna powers up her career in sustainable energy

lyonsj@upenn.edu — Wed, 23 Dec 2020 19:45:49 +0000

A Master of Environmental Studies alumna powers up her career in sustainable energy

lyonsj@upenn.edu Wed, 12/23/2020 - 14:45

“Climate change is solvable,” says Samanvitha Danda (Master of Environmental Studies ’20). “Some people think it’s a lost cause and don’t want to do anything about it, hence we’re not making a lot of progress. But the minute people understand that every action counts, and there is so much we can do to solve this problem, we get more buy-in from different stakeholders and we can make a change.”

Samanvitha’s passion for climate action led her to study chemistry, environmental science, and zoology during her bachelor’s degree, and upon graduation she realized she wanted to delve deeper into the field of sustainability. She chose Penn’s Master of Environmental Studies (MES) to continue exploring her options. “What I really liked about this program was that it didn't have one set curriculum,” Samanvitha explains. “Most of the programs I looked at had modules that were compulsory for a one- or two-year degree. I wanted to be a little more flexible and look into several different areas.”

Samanvitha Danda, MES ’20

At Penn, Samanvitha could supplement her sustainability curriculum with courses that interested her from across the University. She decided to take a course focused on life cycle assessment after encountering the strategy in an introductory course; she also learned the programming languages R and Python in a data management course from the Master of Behavior and Decision Sciences program. Both electives informed her capstone study: “A sustainability assessment of the Solarize Philly program,” partly inspired by her summer internship at Philadelphia Energy Authority. “That is just what I was looking for. I was able to tailor my degree to exactly what I wanted,” Samanvitha reflects.

“The MES program really sets you up for success through all of the skills you can gain from being in the program, as well as all of the opportunities that you get working on projects, doing internships, and being able to connect with people,” adds Samanvitha. Even so, it was no small challenge to land a job in a competitive field when she graduated during a global pandemic, so she leveraged the resources available to her both during the program and after graduation. “One piece of advice—which was given to me by people who were one year ahead of me in the program—was to gain transferable skills,” she says. That’s one reason she took courses in geographic information systems (GIS) and data management and life cycle assessment; it’s also why she completed Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Professional Certification during the program. Internship opportunities like Solarize Philly as well as Penn’s SAS Sustainability gave Samanvitha experience with different types of projects plus the soft skill of collaborating with a wide array of people including students, building managers, and academic experts. “Sustainability is an issue that the world is facing collectively,” says Samanvitha. “Solving any problem, from reducing carbon emissions to renewable energy to waste management, involves projects that require people with different skill sets—and you need to have the ability to speak their language, understand what they're saying, and work together towards a common goal.”

Networking is also extremely important for a job-seeking graduate, says Samanvitha. As a student, she joined campus groups such as Climate Leaders at Penn, and made the most of department reimbursement to attend sustainability conferences and learn from industry professionals. After graduating in May, Samanvitha chatted with MES alumni about their experiences applying for jobs, what kinds of opportunities they’d heard of and where they might be posted, and which organizations were doing the kind of work that interested her. It was through these conversations that Samanvitha became familiar with the sustainability consulting firm EcoAct, and sought out employment opportunities on their website. She accepted a position as an analyst at EcoAct just a few months after graduation.

EcoAct is an international consulting firm that helps businesses and organizations with their climate strategies and other sustainability goals—similar to the energy-focused analysis Samanvitha had been doing in her capstone and life cycle assessment projects. “Energy plays an important role in almost everything we do in our lives. It affects every single activity,” she explains. As an analyst, Samanvitha supports the organization’s consultants on several projects, drawing on her tailored curriculum to do greenhouse gas emission calculations and life cycle assessments. Likewise, her courses in sustainability and supply chain management prepared her to work in corporate sustainability. “I understand the language,” she says. “I understand the technical terms and different reporting frameworks and everything I need to jump into it.”

With more experience at the consulting firm, Samanvitha sees herself drawing on her collaborative skills to work as a sustainability consultant herself—someday. “At the moment, this is exactly the type of job that I want to be doing,” she says.

Ana Margarita Olivos

lyonsj@upenn.edu — Wed, 06 May 2020 19:48:04 +0000

Ana Margarita Olivos

lyonsj@upenn.edu Wed, 05/06/2020 - 15:48

Founder and CEO, Humana Consultores en Dinámica Organizacional

Education:

Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics, University of Pennsylvania, 2014
Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Diego Portales University, Santiago, Chile 2003
Human Resources certificate, Engineer in Business Administration, INACAP, Chile, 2001
Diploma, Human Resources Management and Administration, University of Chile, 1991
Bachelor of Arts, Ballet, University of Chile, 1991

Ana Margarita Olivos came to Penn’s Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics program from a small town called Calamas in the northern part of Chile. She ran her own organizational development firm that offered programs to individuals as well as public and private companies. As she explains it, “I helped my clients define and develop their professional interests” and Ana also explored how she could develop her own professional interests.

“I was looking for a master’s degree program related to organizational dynamics and I found it at Penn. I then secured funding from Chile’s Ministry of Education which underwrites international education so scholars can return and make an impact on our country’s developmental momentum. Once approved, my husband and I sold our home and moved to Philadelphia with our two daughters.

It was important for me to gain specific skills that I could transfer back to my home. Business in Chile has become so global that international companies face far fewer barriers to entering the country’s copper mining and agricultural industries. With the increase in multiculturalism, our local firms will have to manage complex operational change.

With my experiences in the Organizational Dynamics program, I’ve been able to gain new perspective on how the ability to recover and adapt to change–or resilience–can be integrated into the operational make-up of an organization. I know that Chileans already possess this capacity for resilience, given our country’s history of natural disasters and complex political issues. The program allowed me to also explore how I can help Chilean businesses create a workplace culture that fosters a commitment to continuous training as well as a mindfulness of the consequences that come from refusing to adapt.

Because of Organizational Dynamics, I know that it is possible to develop a highly effective organization that can co-exist in an environment that has high-risk for continuous challenges and need for change.”

Cecil Johnson

lyonsj@upenn.edu — Wed, 06 May 2020 19:42:51 +0000

Cecil Johnson

lyonsj@upenn.edu Wed, 05/06/2020 - 15:42

Head, Talent Pool Development & Planning, Johnson & Johnson

Education:

Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics, University of Pennsylvania, 2014
Bachelor of Science, Business Management, Hampton University, 1989

Philadelphia native Cecil Johnson has always explored educational and developmental opportunities not only for himself but for the communities where he lives and works. When Cecil was in pharmaceutical sales management, he began to think about the future and where he wanted his career to head. He considered shifting to more of the talent management side but wondered, “How do I get there from here and what would it look like? Is there a way I can marry my business experience and education into this new field?” So he sought advice from a vice president who happened to be an alumna of Penn’s Organizational Dynamics program.

“As soon as I went to an on-campus information session, I knew that the Organizational Dynamics was the right program for me, and I have never regretted my decision. I was impressed by how the program offered high levels of science and rigor and provided me with the opportunity to become what I’ve always wanted to be. And coming from the corporate world, where advancement is very competitive, I found the learning environment at Penn to be refreshingly supportive and equitable.

"The program was all about my intention and how I was creating a means to differentiate myself as a practitioner. In fact, my capstone focused on developing a new organizational metaphor where I explored the parallelisms between an employee-organizational relationship to that of the romantic, interpersonal relationship. I was able to draw from behavioral science and academic research to demonstrate how cross-cultural coaching can help an employee gain affinity with an organization, but without the emotional challenges. I worked with several PhDs on this project and their interest in my research was not only humbling but they added such credibility and legitimacy to my project.

"As a practitioner, the program has helped me develop a more robust toolkit to use when I coach employees and engage with colleagues. Another thing I discovered is this program has helped me to look at my organization more fully. I have gained the ability to step back and view situations more completely. Organizational Dynamics has also provided me with an enhanced view in which to observe education and life beyond my role and title.”

Aaron Brodsky

lyonsj@upenn.edu — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 21:11:37 +0000

Aaron Brodsky

lyonsj@upenn.edu Mon, 02/17/2020 - 16:11

Biological Chemistry
Research Specialist, Clinical Vector Core, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Education:

Master of Chemical Sciences, University of Pennsylvania ’23
Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, University of Delaware ’06

Upon graduating college with a degree in chemistry, Aaron Brodsky conducted viral blood testing for the American Red Cross and then took a job creating generic pharmaceuticals. He now manufactures viral vectors for use in gene therapy—while also completing Penn’s Master of Chemical Sciences (MCS) program part time. Aaron chose the MCS program because he wanted to develop a broad knowledge base that would serve him well in his research career and position him for opportunities in industry later in life. He says that balancing school and work is demanding but refreshing. “On days when I go straight from class to work, it’s actually nice. After getting crammed with new information, work feels relaxing by comparison,” he laughs.

Aaron says his coursework is helping him to understand more of the chemistry behind the manufacturing processes that he uses at work, for example, “how the viruses interact with the substances we use to preserve them.” He says his advisor has been a pivotal part of his experience in the program. “She's helped guide me in the right direction and stay positive when the coursework has gotten challenging. It’s a supportive culture, it’s not ‘sink or swim,’ and that has made a huge difference for me,” he says.

For his culminating capstone project, Aaron is optimizing an important processing step in viral manufacturing called tangential flow filtration (TFF). Gene therapy viruses are grown in cells and then pumped through a filter with tiny pores (approximately 20 mm) to remove water and other particles and deliver a concentrated product. “Our filtration step hasn't had any studies done on it, so the goal of my research is to find the optimal speed and pressure for pumping the solution through the filter to minimize the loss of viruses and maintain their potency.” That would save time and money, and could potentially lower the cost of remarkable new treatments for cancer and other diseases.

Aaron’s supervisor and another senior colleague at work are helping him shape the project and apply research findings from the field of water purification. In the meantime, Aaron is preparing to start his last required course for the degree. He reflects, “It’s been fun. I’ve enjoyed all my classes and professors, so I feel lucky to be here.”

Joseph Glaser-Reich

lyonsj@upenn.edu — Thu, 06 Feb 2020 18:32:40 +0000

Joseph Glaser-Reich

lyonsj@upenn.edu Thu, 02/06/2020 - 13:32

Aviation Survival Technician

Education:

Master of Applied Positive Psychology, University of Pennsylvania ’18
Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature, Brown University ’11

Not everyone gets the job of their dreams, but Joseph Glaser-Reich started planning and preparing in college for his career as a rescue swimmer. “It's one of those jobs where you don't really have to wake up in the morning and wonder whether what you're doing is making a difference or not,” he laughs. Survival technicians like Joe are trained to maintain and repair survival equipment, administer emergency medical assistance, and work with a tightly coordinated team of aviation specialists to carry out maritime rescues via helicopter. Training is arduous; completing the qualifications places Joe in a select unit of the United States Coast Guard. “There aren’t that many of us,” says Joe, “It’s a small, incredibly diverse and awesome group of people.”

A liberal arts graduate who studied contemplative practices such as meditation in college, Joe found that he missed the academic rigor of his Ivy League undergraduate degree. “Enlisted jobs definitely require a high level of intelligence, but they tend to be more hands-on,” he explains. Attracted to positive psychology’s emphasis on body-mind integration, as well as founding scholar Martin Seligman’s work with resilience training for the U.S. Army, Joe pursued the Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) to explore the question of how to support specialists in his field. “I am interested in what it is that determines who keeps going—who makes it through rescue swimmer school, who makes it through Navy SEAL training, who survives being shipwrecked at sea,” he reflects. For his capstone project, Joe worked with experts on sports psychology and military resilience to develop a suite of performance psychology skills that could be taught to aspiring rescue swimmers along with mindfulness meditation. “This could do some good for a group of people that I care about, who are doing really good work for other people,” says Joe. “For me, having this focus added a layer of complexity and nuance to the program.”

Since graduation, Joe balances active duty and mentorship of rescue swimmer candidates while remaining engaged with the MAPP program as an assistant instructor. “MAPP is a phenomenal academic environment to be in. It’s academia with heart,” says Joe. “Every individual in this program is doing something incredibly interesting, and the ability to sit down and talk with these people—to call them friends—was an unexpected and wonderful piece of the experience.”

ADDENDUM

Joe served on detail with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) headquarters to co-lead a DHS-wide mindfulness pilot from 2019-2021. Currently, he is teaching mindfulness and performance courses for University of California San Diego’s Center for Mindfulness and co-directing their First Responder Division.

Noof Mohammed Al Jenibi

lyonsj@upenn.edu — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 20:34:00 +0000

Noof Mohammed Al Jenibi

lyonsj@upenn.edu Wed, 02/05/2020 - 15:34

Chief Happiness and Well-being Officer, United Arab Emirates University
Head of Research Unit, Emirates Research Center for Happiness

Education:

Master of Applied Positive Psychology, University of Pennsylvania ’18
Master of Human Resource Management, Abu Dhabi University
Bachelor of Science in Information Security, United Arab Emirates University

“We have a huge responsibility,” says Noof Mohammed Al Jenibi (Master of Applied Positive Psychology ’18). “Now that we’ve had a chance to be a part of the positive psychology community at Penn, we have to give back by helping others and being generous with our knowledge.” During her time in the Master of Applied Positive Psychology program, Noof studied evidence-based research and practical applications with world-class theorists and practitioners. “Imagine reading your favorite books, then having the chance to meet the authors and listen to their perspective. Imagine being a student of the founder of positive psychology!” she reflects. Although the hybrid program is designed to accommodate students who live remotely and work full-time, Noof found it advantageous to move to Philadelphia during her year-long course of study. “I had the chance to work at the Positive Psychology Center (PPC) at Penn, where I felt like I was part of a great community, and I had the chance to attend some of the lectures which are held at the PPC,” she explains.

Now the Chief Happiness and Well-being Officer at United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) as well as the head of a happiness research unit at UAEU’s Emirates Center For Happiness Research, Noof has the opportunity to give back by cultivating an environment for thriving at the university. Collaborating with the Minister of State for Happiness and Well-being, Her Excellency Ohoud Al Roumi, Noof’s team invites students and staff members to weigh in on programs, policies and even courses that are designed to promote their physical, financial, occupational and emotional well-being. “Changes have been made to meet staff and student needs,” says Noof. “It's really thrilling for me, now that I have the knowledge and skills to apply positivity in a scientific and evidence-based way.”

But the benefits of positive psychology don’t just belong in the workplace, Noof advises prospective students. “The knowledge that you will gain will not benefit you in your professional life only, but in your personal life,” she says, from establishing a personal meditation practice to setting the tone for focused, honest family conversations. “The world needs you,” Noof adds. “Whatever you learn from the MAPP program, it is a life-changing experience.”

Trisha Bhagde

lyonsj@upenn.edu — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 19:17:27 +0000

Trisha Bhagde

lyonsj@upenn.edu Tue, 01/21/2020 - 14:17

Physical Chemistry
PhD candidate, University of Pennsylvania

Education:

Master of Chemical Sciences, University of Pennsylvania ’19
Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, St. Xavier's College, Mumbai ‘17

In Penn’s Master of Chemical Sciences program, Trisha Bhagde’s physical chemistry research is concerned not only with atoms but with the atmosphere. “I have always wanted to understand the different reactions that lead to the atmospheric events that we see around us,” she says. “Global warming is a major issue now, and at this point, the environment is one of the most relevant things to study in order to understand where we’re going wrong and how we can fix it.”

Now working in a Penn lab dedicated to studying Criegee intermediates—a class of molecules which play a key role in oxidation reactions in the atmosphere—Trisha is able to combine her interests in physical and atmospheric chemistry as she learns lab techniques and conducts her capstone research. “What I do in the lab is mostly spectroscopy. There a lot of molecules in the atmosphere, and we need a kind of fingerprint to identify them,” she explains. Using the depletion method coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry, Trisha is characterizing a four-carbon Criegee intermediate by seeing how it absorbs different wavelengths of light. Because the molecule of interest is studied in the gas phase, Trisha and her fellow researchers characterize them under high vacuum conditions. “Our experiments are conducted in an isolated environment to accurately record the spectrum of the Criegee intermediate. High vacuum conditions also ensure low density as observed in the upper layers of the atmosphere, where the molecules are far apart from each other,” she says. “This method is simple and yet sophisticated, and gives a lot of information about the molecule in question.” Trisha complemented her lab and capstone research by taking classes in quantum chemistry, chemical dynamics, molecular spectroscopy and statistical mechanics in the chemistry department, and optics and astrophysical radiation from the physics department.

“I’ve always wanted a PhD, but I never had long-term lab exposure,” Trisha reflects. “While I do my capstone, I am in the lab five days a week, so it’s giving me an idea of what’s in store for a PhD.” She looks forward to pursuing physical chemistry in her future studies and contributing to the growing body of research on atmospheric change. “I’m just working on one molecule, but this could be a fingerprint for future atmospheric chemists to refer to,” she says of her capstone research. “It’s one step closer to understanding what’s going on out there.”

Michael Weisberg, PhD

lyonsj@upenn.edu — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 15:28:25 +0000

Michael Weisberg, PhD

lyonsj@upenn.edu Wed, 03/20/2024 - 11:28

Bess W. Heyman President’s Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy; Interim Director, Perry World House; Senior Affiliate, Partnership for Innovation, Cross-Sector Collaboration, Leadership, and Organization