Born to Flourish
All are welcome to join us for the fourth installment in our Virtues for Well-being seminar series on Wednesday, February 11th, 2026, from 1-1:50 PM, in FXB G13 or online. Lunch provided.
Event Description
This talk will consider scientific evidence that suggests that we can change our brains by transforming our minds and cultivate habits of mind that will improve well-being. These include happiness, resilience, compassion, and emotional balance. Each of these characteristics is instantiated in brain circuits that exhibit plasticity and thus can be shaped and modified by experience and training. Mental training to cultivate well-being has profound implications for the workplace including its impact on leadership, creativity, employee health, productivity, and collaboration.
Speaker Biography
Our speaker, Dr. Richard Davidson, is the William James and Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Founder and Director of the Center for Healthy Minds. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in Psychology in 1976. Dr. Davidson’s research is broadly focused on the neural bases of emotion and emotional style and methods to promote human flourishing including meditation and related contemplative practices. He has published over 600 papers, numerous chapters and reviews, and edited 20 books. Dr. Davidson’s newest book, “Born to Flourish” with Cortland Dahl, is set to release in March 2026. He is also author (with Sharon Begley) of “The Emotional Life of Your Brain” published in 2012, and co-author with Daniel Goleman of “Altered Traits” published in 2017. Dr. Davidson was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine in 2006. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2017 and appointed to the Governing Board of UNESCO’s Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) in 2018. In 2014, Dr. Davidson founded Humin (formerly Healthy Minds Innovations), a global nonprofit on a mission to make wellbeing real by translating science into action.
Speaker Information
Dr. Richard Davidson
Organizers
ⓘ Harvard Chan School hosts a diverse array of speakers, invited to share both scholarly research and personal perspectives. They do not speak for the School, and hosting them does not imply endorsement of their views, organizations, or employers.