Imagine a world where wellbeing wins for everyone, including individuals with autism. Katie Curran believes this is possible, and she loves making it happen. The engine that drives her purpose forward: the science of happiness.
Katie is the Chief Wellbeing Officer of Proof Positive, a non-profit organization dedicated to spreading the science and skills of happiness for individuals with autism, and their families, educators, and service providers.
Katie has more than 20 years of clinical experience working with autistic individuals. She’s widely recognized as a creative force when it comes to autism intervention, developing strategies and tools that fuse Positive Psychology with Applied Behavior Analysis to improve wellbeing.
Katie’s zest for her work makes her a sought after speaker and workshop leader. In her role as a Primary Instructor on UPenn’s Master Resilience Training team, she led interdisciplinary teams around the world to train educators, soldiers, athletes, and government officials on the skills of resilience and human flourishing.
Prior to Proof Positive, Katie held tenure at three of the world’s leading behavioral institutions (i.e., Sheppard Pratt Mental Health Institute, Kennedy Krieger Institute, and Princeton Child Development Institute). Her sense of purpose was ignited when she realized that behavioral interventions, alone, were not enough to develop thriving lives for autistic individuals and their communities. Early in her career, she recognized an opportunity to prioritize wellbeing as a pathway to improve learning trajectories and quality of life outcomes.
Always curious, she has authored articles on the topics of Goals Setting, Hope Theory, Character Strengths, and Learned Happiness. She serves as a global representative to the International Positive Education Network; held a seat on the MAPP Alumni Board at University of Pennsylvania and was a founding board member for the Global Autism Project.
Katie holds a Masters of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) from the University of Pennsylvania and earned her Bachelors of Psychology with honors from Towson University in 2004. With her love for lifelong learning, Katie is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Nonprofit Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania.
Katie lives in Princeton, NJ with her partner, Maria, and their two kids. She is most grateful for the joy she finds getting lost in nature, playing (just about anything…as long as she is winning) with family and friends, and spoiling her dog, Georgie.