Jane Gillham, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Swarthmore College; Co-Director, Penn Resiliency Program

Dr. Jane Gillham is a psychologist, researcher, and educator. She is an Associate Professor at Swarthmore College and a Research Associate at the University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center.  Dr. Gillham co-directs the Penn Resiliency Project and the Positive Psychology for Youth Project. Her work focuses on the ways in which schools and parents can promote well-being in children and adolescents. 

Dr. Gillham completed her B.A. at Princeton University, her Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania, and her clinical internship at Yale Child Study Center. While at Yale, she also completed a fellowship at the Zigler Center for Child Development and Social Policy Research.  In addition to working at Swarthmore and Penn, Dr. Gillham has worked as a teacher and clinical psychologist for children, adolescents, and adults with developmental disabilities.

For the past 20 years, Dr. Gillham's research has focused on developing and evaluating school-based interventions that promote resilience and well-being and prevent depression in young people. Dr. Gillham is an author of several interventions and curricula for youth and adults including the Penn Resiliency Program (PRP) for Children and Adolescents, the Penn Resiliency Program for Parents, and the High School Positive Psychology Program. She has been an investigator and project director for several evaluations of these interventions, including two large evaluations of PRP funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. She serves as Principal Investigator and Co-Director for a U.S. Department of Education-funded evaluation of the High School Positive Psychology Program.
     
Dr. Gillham’s research is published in numerous articles in academic journals including Journal of Early Adolescence, School Psychology Quarterly, Psychological Science, Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, and Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Together with Drs. Seligman, Reivich and Jaycox, she is a co-author of The Optimistic Child.

Scientific Advisory Board