Dr Denise Quinlan is a director of the NZ Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience. She has lectured on strengths and positive psychology around the world. As the only trainer from Australia/New Zealand selected to deliver the University of Pennsylvania’s ground breaking Penn Resiliency Programme, she has worked alongside Prof. Martin Seligman and Dr. Karen Reivich training educators at leading schools in Australia and the UK (Geelong Grammar School, St Peter’s Adelaide and Wellington College). Denise has worked extensively in wellbeing development in state and private education over the past decade in New Zealand, Australia, and the UK. NZIWR’s strengths programmes draw on Denise’s validated strengths programme, demonstrated to enhance wellbeing, engagement and relatedness. As an adjunct Professor at the IE University, Madrid she has taught strengths-focused leadership to global business leaders. She has served on Committee for the International Positive Psychology Association and is an NZAPP Executive Committee Member. Her work has been published in international academic journals and edited volumes on positive psychology, wellbeing in education, and restorative practices.

​

>Masterclass (with Lucy Hone): Taking a Whole-School Approach to Wellbeing: Lessons learned from a decade of science and practice. 

While education centres globally understand the need to promote and protect wellbeing, they often find themselves stuck – not knowing where to start, what to prioritise, and how to go about whole-system wellbeing change. Authors of the Educators’ Guide to Whole-school Wellbeing: A practical guide to getting started, best-practice process and effective implementation (Taylor & Francis, 2020), Dr Denise Quinlan and Dr Lucy Hone have worked with hundreds of diverse learning institutions and interviewed leading educators, practitioner and researchers. In this masterclass, they will review lessons learned from a decade of research and practice, sharing key steps for creating and implementing individualised wellbeing plans that fit the culture and context of different learning institutions. Two of the leaders in the world’s positive education field, Denise and Lucy are known for their integration of scientifically informed approaches, evidence-based strategies and practical stories from promoting wellbeing in busy real-life settings. 

​