Bio
Virginia Millar (MAPP 3, 2008), a lifelong learner and educator, is a Special Education teacher in Atlantic City, NJ. Inspired by her many students who thrive in the midst of seemingly overwhelming challenges, Virginia embraces the science of positive psychology as the means to elevate and empower human strengths. She graduated from MAPP in 2008 and since then has incorporated the lessons and interventions of positive psychology into both her 8th grade curriculum and after-school Girl Power Club, for which she designed the curriculum. She is currently measuring the club’s impact on students’ self-reported well-being and correlations with growth on standardized test scores toward strengthening the case for well-being as an explicit goal in public schools. Virginia has written about this work in her chapter in "Global Perspectives in Positive Education", edited by Rob Stokoe and available on Amazon.
Virginia has happily stayed connected with the MAPP program by acting as alumni secretary, past editor of the alumni newsletter, and is currently beginning her seventh year as an assistant instructor and second year as Student Liaison for the MAPP program.
Virginia is also a global representative for IPEN (International Positive Education Network) and most recently instructed in a pioneering school district-wide training at the Shawnee Institute, in partnership with Penn.
Virginia and her husband Bill reside at the southern New Jersey shore where they have raised two lovely young adults and now enjoy all the shore has to offer, including biking, rowing, SUP, and sailing.
