Stephen P. Wright, Ph.D.
Scientific Advisor, Board of Directors
Dr. Stephen Wright brings a wealth of scientific knowledge and research experience to the Board of Directors as a Behavioral and Physical Health Scientist who has worked on issues such as community, resilience, and the impact of physical activity on cognition. Dr. Wright worked with Urie Bronfenbrenner at Cornell University in examining the role of mentors and joint activities with others who were significant in their lives. In his research on “sense of community,” he showed that people feel a sense of purpose from their contribution to their community or group, and that they share in the larger purpose they see their group having in society.
He studied with Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center to explore scientific analyses of personal strengths, resilience, and other factors that enable people to thrive and lead more meaningful and fulfilling lives. He founded www.MeaningAndHappiness.com to share the scientific findings on some of these topics with the public.
More recently, Dr. Wright has been studying exercise and cognition, first as an NIH grant-funded postdoctoral research scholar and then as a scientist in the Department of Medicine at Georgetown University. He has taught at Cornell University, the University of Maryland, and in South Korea, and has presented his research nationally and internationally.