Emma Seppala, Ph.D.

Emma Seppälä, Ph.D, is the Science Director of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education and the author of "The Happiness Track" (HarperOne, 2016). She holds additional roles as Co-Director of the Yale College Emotional Intelligence Project at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, and Faculty Director of the Yale School of Management’s Women’s Leadership Program.

Seppälä consults with Fortune 500 leaders and employees on building a positive organization. She has delivered keynotes at TEDx Sacramento, TEDx Hayward, and for companies like Google, Apple, Facebook, Bain & Co, Ernst & Young, as well as at a United States Congressional Hearing. Her expertise covers a wide range of topics including emotional intelligence, high performance, and workplace culture. Her articles have been featured in Harvard Business Review, The Washington Post, QUARTZ, Business Insider, Stanford Medicine, Psychology Today, Fast Company, Forbes, Huffington Post, MindBodyGreen, Greater Good Science Center, and Scientific American Mind. She is also the founder and editor-in-chief of Fulfillment Daily, a popular news site dedicated to the science of happiness.

A frequent guest on "Good Morning America," Seppälä's work and research have garnered attention in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, NPR, The Boston Globe, and The Atlantic. She has also appeared on ABC News, Fox News, and Huffington Post Live. Her research has been featured in documentary films including "The Altruism Revolution," "What You Do Matters," and "Free the Mind," which highlights her research on yoga-based breathing for military veterans. She has received several research grants and awards, including the James W. Lyons Award from Stanford University for founding Stanford’s first academic class on the psychology of happiness and teaching well-being programs for Stanford students.

Seppälä graduated from Yale (BA), Columbia (MA), and Stanford (PhD). Originally from Paris, France, she is fluent in French, English, and German, and conversant in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.