Annick Janson (PhD) - Co-President

Annick Janson, PhD is a clinical psychologist, researcher and member of a social movement for families to lean in and guide the current changes in the disability sector. Annick co-developed the evidence-based ‘Now and Next’ award winning and ground-breaking family program rooted in positive psychology. She is passionate about assisting organisations to grow their peer workforce to impact on organisational outcomes, children progress and family wellbeing through empowerment.

Annick is an Associate, Centre for Applied Cross-cultural Research, Victoria University of Wellington. She was the Inaugural Research Director at the NZ Leadership Institute, University of Auckland Business School and the Partners in Learning Research Director, Microsoft NZ. As the recipient of a Gallup International Positive Psychology Fellowship, Annick represented New Zealand on the international leadership research stage. She has authored over 50 peer-reviewed research publications in the field of collective leadership including for UNESCO and the Human Rights Commission

Melanie Weir - Vice-President

Melanie Weir works with Langley Group in a role crafted to strengths, included in this role Melanie is a Senior Consultant and Facilitator, plus cares for the organisation's Positive HR function. Melanie passionately believes in growing the capability, wellbeing and resilience of people, business and communities. With an innate ability to maintain commercial perspective while offering innovative people based solutions, that increase positive engagement, wellbeing and resilience, Mel works with clients and community groups globally to flourish. Happy to dedicate a life’s work to enhancing the field and application of Positive Psychology, Mel studies and works to practically apply the science of Positive Psychology to workplaces and teams.

Robert B. Isler (PhD) - Executive Committee Member

Robert B. Isler has completed his PhD in the mid-1980s at the Swiss Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland before he moved to New Zealand with his family. Robert has been an Associate Professor at the University of Waikato at the School of Psychology and the Director of the Traffic and Road Safety Research Group and is now retired. He has produced substantial research output in Applied Cognitive Psychology of human factors/performance and road safety. He was teaching Neuroscience and Positive Psychology at

undergraduate and graduate level. He is also the founder of eDrive Solutions Ltd., a company specialising in creating new and innovative training approaches using interactive video simulations on computers, which have led to many practical and award winning evidence-based behavioural change interventions.

Over the last five years, he became interested in applying Positive Psychology principles to risky behaviours in teenagers. Instead of focusing on skills deficits, this approach seeks to support and enhance factors related to human strengths and resilience such as self-regulation and reflection. These are protective factors against risky behaviour - enhancing good mental health and wellbeing. In 2016, he spent his sabbatical study leave with Professor Willibald Ruch and his team in Positive Psychology at the University of Zurich in Switzerland and became engaged in research on the effects of mindfulness, character strengths and humour.

Camelia Petrus - Executive Committee Member

Camelia is a Psychology Post Grad from Massey University, Auckland, a certified assessor, and trainer in Emotional Intelligence in Leadership, Positive Psychology and Nonviolent Communication. Her understanding of behaviour at a scientific level combined with the firm trust in humanity and strong belief that we are all capable of much more is what fuels her ability to guide her students and clients on their journey to a more successful, relevant, meaningful, and fulfilling life. Her passion for personal growth comes from a long and successful career in behaviour change aimed at challenging others discover and nurture their strengths, level up and maximise their potential.

She is the founder of Core Purpose Ltd. in NZ which was born from a sense of joy and reward, coming from the profound and lasting outcomes generated by the projects, programmes, and courses she has delivered to organisations and leaders in NZ in the past few years.

At NZAPP, Camelia brings a high level of enthusiasm and is what drives her ability to encourage and empower the application of Positive Psychology and the Science of Wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand, throughout our inspiring initiatives.

Eryn Campbell - Executive Committee Member

Eryn is a newly hatched Clinical Psychologist with a passion for introducing positive psychology to the mental health system in Aotearoa New Zealand. She started her journey with the New Zealand Association for Positive Psychology in her third year at university, where she took a Positive Psychology course run by Robert Isler.

Eryn soon realised that positive psychology filled the gap left in clinical psychology – working towards wellbeing instead of against illness. Robert became her supervisor for her Honours and Masters degrees where she investigated the effects of positive emotions on the experience of chronic pain, something she has been living with since 2010.

Eryn helped Robert with the 2018 NZAPP conference, became his teaching assistant at the university, and became the Treasurer for the association shortly after that.

The past seven years she has been subsumed in study, which has culminated in a Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology, and it looks like she will be studying for the rest of her career – she just won’t have to hand in those pesky assignments anymore! Eryn currently Live's in Hamilton with her cat, Maya, and plans to stick around for a couple of years while she gets her feet under her.