Anne Birgitta Pessi
DTh, Director of the CoPassion Team, Professor in Church and Social Studies
Anne Birgitta is a top scientist who also knows how to talk about research in an arousing way. Her mission is to make the world a better place through research. Anne Birgitta’s research topics include, among others compassion, altruism, values, self help, voluntary work, civil society, and experiences of individualized religiosity and good life. In the CoPassion team, Anne Birgitta is a servant leader who always remembers to praise her team. Anne Birgitta also directs a research project CoCare (Academy of Finland).
Catarina Ahlvik
MA (Economics), Researcher
Catarina is fascinated by the transformative power of compassion and mindfulness. Her research falls within the frame of positive organizational scholarship and human sustainability in organizations. Within the CoPassion team Catarina examines the effects self-compassion has on teamwork. In addition to the research on self-compassion Catarina also studies mindfulness and how it affects leadership. Catarina also teaches self-compassion and mindfulness in companies.
Henrietta Grönlund
DTh, Adjunct Professor in Church and Social Studies, University Lecturer in Urban Theology
Henrietta is an eternal idealist and reformer of the world who ponders upon the fundamental questions of life, which is evident also in her topics of research. She has studied, for example, values, individuals’ experiences in voluntary work, and the relationship between religiosity and philanthropy. In the CoPassion team, Henrietta studies corporate volunteering. Her expertise from both the practice and research of civic action is a unique resource.
Jari Hakanen
PhD, Research Professor
(Finnish Institute of Occupational Health)
Jari is a recognized and rewarded Research Professor who enjoys helping young researchers. Jari has studied work through the viewpoints of, for example, well-being in the work place, work engagement, and work-family interaction. Jari has brought the viewpoint of resources into Finnish research on working life, to stand alongside research on job burnout. The CoPassion team draws especially on Jari’s expertise in the fields of positive organizational scholarship and quantitative methodology.
Elina Juntunen
DTh, BA (Social Sciences), Postdoctoral Researcher
Elina has a deep understanding of the role of the Church in the Finnish welfare state. Both in her research and in her work as service leader in the Diaconia University of Applied Sciences, she moves along the boundaries of the Church and the rest of society. She has studied for instance if diaconal work could or should fill the gaps of social security system. At the moment, Elina is interested in spirituality in the working life and the deep meanings of work. These are also the themes she studies in CoPassion, as well as the relationship between compassion and innovations.
Frank Martela
PHD, Postdoctoral Researcher, Trainer
(Filosofian Akatemia)
Frank is passionate about conducting scientific research to understand more about living a good life and its various manifestations. At the moment, he is particularly interested in what makes human beings intrinsically motivated to help other people. In addition, his research themes include compassion, meaning in life, intrinsic work motivation and pragmatist philosophy. In CoPassion, Frank researches compassion within organizations through the effectiveness of interventions supporting it.
Miia Paakkanen
MA (Economics), Researcher, Trainer
Miia is in search of ‘Compassionate Mindset’; an attitude and a way of being and leading with compassion. She’s an economist who’s interested in the role of compassion, love, and social connection in organizations, leadership, and team dynamics. Miia researches the impact of compassion at work and coaches leaders and teams in compassion and emotional skills. Miia’s unique expertise draws from Positive Organizational Scholarship and Positive Psychology. The question that Miia finds worth thinking of is: “Do you see possibilities for greatness in people and in teams?”.
Anna Seppänen
MA (Theology), Researcher, Communications co-ordinator
Anna is a social ethicist with business ethics as her particular research interest. She is always as inspired by the difficult conceptual considerations as the small joys of life. Anna is interested in how individuals behave in economic settings and how the ethicality of their actions can be assessed. Her research themes include the social responsibilities of companies, continental philosophy of the late 20th century and responsible investment. In CoPassion Anna is responsible for research on corporate volunteerism, and for communications.
Jenni Spännäri
DTh, Postdoctoral Researcher
Jenni is particularly interested in the power of communities, and the ways communities are forever recreating themselves and supporting one another. A special area of interest in Jenni’s research has been older adults: their views and capabilities, and their role in communities. In the CoPassion project, Jenni studies the ways in which compassion is connected with innovativity and the development of good ideas and practices in organizations. Her enduring passion is to ponder the concept of wisdom in the context of work and beyond.
Tii Syrjänen
Project Manager of the CoPassion Team, MA (Theology)
Tii works as project manager, thus supporting the researchers’ work and taking care of the steering committee work. Tii keeps things in order and manages smoothly all stakeholder connections in CoPassion. Alongside taking care of the practicalities, Tii cares deeply for the research themes of the CoPassion project. Her PhD studies concern different crisis situations in the working life, and ex- amines how workers cope, for instance, during organizational changes and employee co-operation negotiations.
Susanna Toivonen
PhD, Associate Professor of Sociology
(Centre for Health and Equity Studies, Stockholm University)
Susanna is particularly interested in people’s experiences on well-being. She researches how socio-economical factors influence health and health and health inequalities. In organizational research, she is interested in examining working life through view points of coping, leadership, entrepreneurship, and the workspaces of the future, amongst others. To the CoPassion team, she brings inspiring greetings from Sweden, where the themes of a good working life are analyzed through, for example, the concept of trust. Susanna takes part in research examining the effectiveness of compassion interventions.
Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara
PHD, Adjunct Professor in Special Education, University Lecturer
Lotta is the pioneer of positive psychology in Finland, with a talent to change the world into a better place through research and teaching. In her publications, Lotta has, for example, mapped students’ experiences of happiness, happiness and depression among bullied children and examined how their personality strengths are perceived in a school environment. In the CoPassion team, she focuses in particular on the effects of training personality strengths in a work environment.
Kaisa Vuorinen
MED, Researcher, Trainer
Kaisa is a brilliant teacher with ample experience as a special needs teacher of students requiring most demanding support. Kaisa is an inventive researcher. Through her PhD research and public science publications she is introducing positive pedagogy into Finnish schools. Her passion is to teach Finnish school kids to find their own strengths and passions and live a meaningful life. In the CoPassion project, Kaisa works as trainer in the character strength interventions, and takes part in research on the effectiveness of interventions.
Steering Group of CoPassion Team
Sari Kuusela (chairman) Consultant, coach, Organisaatioelämää
Tapio Aaltonen Management consultant, coach, writer, Novetos
Karoliina Jarenko CEO, Filosofian Akatemia
Pirjo Kuusela Corporate social responsibility manager, Nordea Finland
Heikki Lehmusto Partner, Boardman
Mirva Matikkala Strategy & Business Planning manager, LähiTapiola
Jukka Mäkelä Mayor, City of Espoo
Janne Nikkinen Researcher, University of Helsinki
Leena Nissinen Psychotherapist, Acoma
Jarkko Rantanen CEO, Academy of Emotions
Jari Raitanen CEO, Devoi
Nuppu Rouhiainen Programme leader, Tekes
Esa Saarinen Professor, Aalto University
Sanna Salonen HR director, Finnish National Gallery
Kimmo Sarekoski HR director, City of Espoo
Margit Sjöroos Concept designer, Conbalance
Pirjo Ståhle Professor, Aalto University
Kenneth Söderholm HR Expert
Merja Ylä-Anttila Head of news, MTV
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