HOPE AS A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION: Masterclass from leading US Academic on Harnessing the Science & Power of Hope in Oklahoma and Beyond

February 06 2023

The Chief Executives’ Forum is delighted to join with the Northern Ireland Civil Service to welcome Professor Chan M Hellman to Belfast for a masterclass event on harnessing the science and power of hope in the development and delivery of public services.

Professor Hellman is based at the University of Oklahoma and Director of The Hope Research Center.  His research is focused on hope as a psychological strength helping children and adults overcome trauma and adversity.  This research informed the development of the “Hope Centered and Trauma Informed training programme.

The state of Oklahoma has been declared a ‘hope centered state’ and in this context, Professor Hellman is providing training to 30,000 state employees across 111 state agencies.  The work has seen significant gains in reduced burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and turnover within the workforce. The state has also seen significant gains in client outcomes, including educational achievement, wellbeing and parent child relationships.  In addition, the state has seen increased collaboration across sectors in communities, with measurable increases in trust, communication and cohesion.

Professor Hellman is now working with several other US states to deliver this approach.  He is also working in Northern Ireland with Foyle Women’s Aid, and we will hear from its Director, Marie Brown, about why FWA took this approach and the impact it is having. 

Chan is the co-author of the award-winning book “Hope Rising:  How the Science of Hope Can Change Your Life” with his co-author Casey Gwinn published by Morgan James.  As a result of this work, Chan was one of five invited workshops for Jane Goodall’s Activating Hope Summit held November 2021.

Access to this masterclass is free of charge to CEF members and members of the NICS. 

14:00 Networking

14:30 Masterclass commences

16:00 Masterclass ends

Please Note:

To register for this event please click on REGISTER button below and enter the password 'topcat' when prompted. 

As part of your organisation’s membership of the Chief Executives’ Forum there is no charge to attend this event.