Western Positive Psychology Association – 9th Annual Conference

April 4-6, 2025

Sacramento, CA held on the California State University – Sacramento (CSUS) Campus !

WPPA Team Photo – Saturday, April 5, 2025 – following the Gratitude Buffett, Jeanne Nakamura and Chris Egger keynote, and community sharing led by Stewart I. Donaldson, President and Co-Founder of WPPA.

Heartfelt thanks to our Academic Faculty Conference Chair – CSUS 2025 – Melikşah Demir, Ph.D., keynote speakers, presenters, attendees, CGU, UNM, and CSUS volunteers, and to our sponsors The Rekhi Singh Foundation, the LOV Lab /LOV Center, and Sacramento State Department of Psychology.  

Stay tuned, more photos coming soon.

Guy A. West Memorial Bridge is a 1,100 foot pedestrian and bicycle bridge spanning the American River connecting California State University Sacramento to the northeast river bank.

The Western Positive Psychology Association, welcomed presenters and attendees to our 9th annual conference on Positive Psychology from the US  western region, plus  Europe, Canada, Korea and more.  The conference was held in Sacramento, CA, USA on the California State University – Sacramento (CSUS) Campus.  This was our second in-person conference since 2020.  Our Tenth Annual Conference will be next year – 2026!  We hope you all will join us!

Conference Theme:

Cultivating Community and Connection: Advances in Positive Relationships and Well-being. 

Exciting research generated through insights nurtured post-acute COVID-19 isolation and building on two decades plus of dedicated researchers’ investigations are bringing us new understanding and insights into the science of positive psychology in everyday life and beyond.  In the words of Chris Peterson, “other people matter!”  The 9th conference goal’s was to explore how we can build and cultivate community and connections through the advances in positive relationships and well-being.

WPPA is dedicated to creating a collaborative scientific community of faculty, researchers, students, scholars, and practitioners to advance and support the field of positive psychology.  Our vision is to increase scientific research, collaborative investigations, and recognition of positive psychology’s contributions by creating an impactful and sustainable academic presence of positive psychology in the western region of the United States and beyond through our member community, newsletters, webinars, and our annual conferences.

Photo from City of Sacramento Visitors website – www.cityofsacramento.org/visitors

In a WPPA first, the 9th annual conference was held in Sacramento, the state capitol of California. On attendees’ visit, many included a guided tour of the Capitol building, a visit to Old Sacramento and the waterfront, or visit Sutter’s Fort for a taste of California’s gold rush era.  The Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town plus exceptional parks nearby offer many visitor attractions.  Visit www.cityofsacramento.org/visitors

Airport and Accommodations: The Sacramento International Airport (SMF) was named 2023 Airline Pilots International Airport of the Year.  SMF is 12.7 miles from CSUS with easy directions for getting to, from and around CSUS campus. 

WPPA Conference CSUS 2025 headquarters was held in the beautiful modern University Union.

CSUS University Union Information Desk – WPPA 9th Conference Headquarters 2025

 

 

 

 

 

 

California State University – Sacramento (CSUS) prepared a four page guide to ten (10) nearby hotels as well as a campus map.  The Larkspur Landing, Sacramento offers conference attendees a special conference rate. Reserving online is easy via the link 9th Annual WPPA Conference @ CSUS.

Donating to the Conference: If you would like to make a donation to support this conference please contact Shari Young Kuchenbecker, Ph.D.. Support for student attendees is always welcome and quick links are available on the Group Registration page through the link and QR code below.

We look forward to seeing you in Sacramento.

REGISTER to ATTEND

Registration WPPA 9th Annual Conference Held on the CSUS campus 4.4-6.2025

Regular Registration
$75 – Student
$150 – General

Please note that all registration fees are non-refundable.  

We keep our registration fees very low supporting faculty-student research collaboration within and between educational institutions.  As such, our conference methods are streamlined.  Should you be unable to attend after registering, please know your payment will be contributed to support student participation and amenities.  We appreciate our students and our community.

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WPPA – CSUS 2025 Conference Program

We received a tremendous number of excellent oral podium presentations, symposia, workshops, and posters submitted to the 9th Annual Western Positive Psychology Association Conference.  Our review committee completed the evaluations and rankings.  Submissions were very competitive, and we are enthusiastic about the exceptional quality of the research and presentations we selected.  Along with invited talks by top positive psychology leaders and engaging educational and professional workshops, our selected oral, symposium, workshop, and poster presenters created one of the finest WPPA Conferences yet.  Our program planners created together via the positive leadership of Melikşah Demir three (3) days of positive psychology learning and community experiences for us all.

Faculty Academic Conference Chair:  Melikşah Demir, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology and Rekhi Singh Endowed Professor in Happiness at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS) is our 9th Annual Conference Faculty Chair.  His leadership and guidance are creating a stellar conference program contributing to our growing WPPA community across California and western states including Oregon, Washington, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Pennsylvania,  Colorado, plus Australia, Europe, Korea and beyond.  We celebrate Melikşah’s visionary theme and leadership – together.

Theme: Cultivating Community and Connection: Advances in Positive Relationships and Well-being. Session topics included:

• Positive Relationships and Well-Being
• Positive Psychology in Education
• Gratitude and Emotional Well-Being
• Cultural Perspectives and Identity
• Leadership and Workplace Dynamics
• Creativity, Purpose, and Flourishing

The WPPA CSUS 2025 Conference Program was jam packed.

Friday evening (April 4, 2025) we welcomed attendees at our conference meet & greet reception/dinner and

• Saida Heshmati, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, CGU,  The Power of Positive Emotions!

Saturday’s (April 5, 2025) program features in part:

• Stewart I. Donaldson, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, CGU,  Flow 2.0: Honoring Mike C’s Legacy
• Bob Emmons, Ph.D., UC Davis Professor Emeritus, Gratitude for Realists: Myths, Misconceptions & Misgivings in the Search for the Grateful Life
• Kendall Cotton Bronk, Ph.D.,  Professor, CGU, The Power of Purpose
• Melikşah Demir, Ph.D,   Associate Professor and Rehki Singh Endowed Professor in Happiness, California State University – Sacramento (CSUS), Capitalizing on Friendship:  The Role of Need Satisfaction in Happiness Across Adulthood 
• Jeanne Nakamura, Ph.D., Professor, CGU and Chris J. Egger, The Future of Positive Psychology
• Chris J. Egger, Ph.D. student in the Positive Developmental Psychology program at Claremont Graduate University (CGU), Claremont, CA.
• Giacomo Bono, Ph.D., Professor, California State University, Dominguez Hills, Flourishing in the Face of Discrimination:  How Joy and Gratitude Build Community and Resilience
• Jennifer P. Villalobos, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, CGU, Pathways to Peace:  Leveraging Character Strengths for Social Justice and Intergroup Peace

PLUS. Meet & Greet with speakers, The Poster Session, Workshops, and much much more.

WPPA CSUS 2025 Academic Poster Award Winners

WESTERN POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY ASSOCIATION
Rekhi Singh Foundation Poster Award for Academic Research Excellence

1st Place Award
DongHee Kang & Youngho Kim
Department of Sport Science, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Poster Title: The Effects of the Drone Sports Program on Positive Psychological Attributes in Out-of-School Adolescents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2nd Place Award
Senon Rivera, Lily Vang, Z Zulfhar, Miguel Leonardo Dela Cruz Alcantara, and Gregory Hurtz, California State University – Sacramento, CA
Poster Title: Measuring Profiles of Perceived “Performance” across Multiple Life Role Domains

3rd Place Award
Stef Tousignant
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Poster Title: What Good is Parental Gratitude? Navigating the Realities of Modern Parenting

2025 WPPA Full Program_HQ2

Brief WPPA 9th Annual Conference Schedule:

Held on the campus of California State University – Sacramento – University Union

All Keynote and Symposia held on 1st Floor – Ballroom 1  

*Friday Evening, April 4, 2025 Welcoming (2nd Floor Cotton Suites Foyer) 
4:00 pm – Registration and Check-In (registration open throughout conference)
6:00 pm – Welcome to CSUS & WPPA 2025 – Conference Opening
Meliksah Demir, Ph.D., 9^th Annual Conference Faculty Chair & Host
Shari Young Kuchenbecker, Ph.D. WPPA Executive Director & Co-Founder
6:30-7:30 pm – Keynote Address – Saida Heshmati

The Power of Positive Emotions

7:30- WPPA CSUS Welcome Reception

*Saturday, April 5, 2025 WPPA Positive Psychology Conference (1st Floor – Ballroom I)
7am – Registration and Check-In (registration open throughout conference)

7am-8:30am – Continental Breakfast
8:20am WPPA CSUS Welcome – Meliksah Demir and Shari Young Kuchenbecker
8:25am – Introduction of Keynote Speaker
Stewart I. Donaldson, Ph.D., WPPA President & Co-Founder
 8:30am – Keynote Address – Stewart I. Donaldson
Flow 2.0:  Honoring Mike C’s Legacy

9:10am – 10:20am – A.  Symposium – Flourishing in the Face of Discrimination:  How Joy and Gratitude Build Community and Resilience – Chair:  Giacomo Bono, Ph.D. (Ballroom I)

9:10am – 10:20am – B. Teaching Positive Psychology – Christopher Old, Ed.S., Natalie Sherrell, MA., & Meliksah Demir, Ph.D. (2nd Floor, Cottonwood Suite 1&2)

10:30am – Keynote Address – Bob Emmons
Gratitude for Realists:  Myths, Misconceptions and Misgivings in the Search for the Grateful Life
11:30 – 12pm – Meet and Greet with Bob Emmons
11:30 – 1pm Lunch Break -Box Lunch Provided

Noon – 1pm – Keynote Address – Kendall Cotton Bronk
The Power of Purpose
1pm – 2:15 Oral Presentations + Symposia (Ballroom, Breakout Sessions 1 & 2)

2:30 – 4:00 pm Coffee & Tea Service
2:30 – 4:00 Poster Sessions
4:00 – 5:15 Oral Presentations + Symposia (Ballroom, Breakout Sessions 1 & 2)

5:30 – 8:00pm Keynote Address, Gratitude Dinner, Awards + After Conference Sharing

5:30 pm – Keynote Address – Jeanne Nakamura & Chris J. Egger
The Future of Positive Psychology

6:30pm – Gratitude Buffet Dinner

7:00-7:15 pm Gratitude, Recognition, and Awards
7:15-7:30pm After Dinner Gratitude & Positive Psychology Community Sharing
Led by Stewart Donaldson, WPPA President & Co-Founder
7:30 – Donaldson, Demir, Bronk, Nakamura, Egger, Young Kuchenbecker
Meet & Greet

* Sunday, April 6, 2025 Workshops and Sightseeing
8am – 8:50am Registration and Check-In for Workshops

All Workshops held on the 2nd Floor, Cottonwood Suite I&II, III, and Orchard Suite

9:00 -10:30 am – Workshops

10:30-12:00 pm – Workshops

• Teaching Positive Psychology: An Exploration of the Rewards, Challenges and Shared Experience (How to AND MORE)
  • Saturday, April 5, 2025 9:10-10:20am
• Discover Your Best Self: Strengthen Your PERMA+4 with Positive Psychology Interventions (PPIs)
• Exploring How a Health Coaching Intervention Can Help Improve the Quality of Life and Wellbeing of Breast Cancer Survivors
• Beyond the Finish Line: Building Connection, Purpose, and Mattering in Competitive Sports
• Purposeful Play!

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ALL WPPA Conference Days – Friday-Sunday
Parking at Sacramento State requires a permit at all times.
Please secure your parking in advance of your presentation time at https://www.csus.edu/parking-transportation/parking/.  Daily parking permits are $8.  You may purchase a parking permit at a vending machine that accepts $5, $1, Visa and Mastercard.  If you would like to pay by phone, there is a 35¢ transaction fee.  Simply download the Sac State Mobile App (iOS, Android + Shuttle Tracking), tap “Commute,” tap “Register,” follow the instructions to register then tap “Start New Parking,” entering your license plate and the Sac State location code “5115.”   UTAPS Welcome Center at 6000 J Street, MS, 6076, Sacramento, CA 95819.  Phone: (916) 278-7275; parking@csus.edu.

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We are grateful to our sponsors including Sacramento State Department of Psychology, WPPA, and the LOV Center and LOV Lab (The Leader and Organization Vitality Lab (LOV-Lab).  We also welcome our new partnership with Dr. Satinder Singh Rekhi, his wife Harpreet Rekhi, and The Rekhi Foundation for Happiness. This generous support provided to our 9th WPPA conference is greatly appreciated.  Aiming to expand the practice and knowledge of Happiness Science and Positive Psychology, The Rekhi Foundation has established happiness centers at many universities and also support Meliksah Demir, Ph.D. through his Rekhi Singh Endowed Professor in Happiness at CSUS.  Bringing The Rekh Foundation commitment to WPPA, our shared missions and visions advancing the science of positive psychology are honored as we build this alliance together for a better future together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking forward to seeing you in Sacramento, April 4-6, 2025!