O U R  B O A R D  M E M B E R S

The founding board members (in 2020) were: Rev. Prof. Sahaya G. Selvam, Dr Carolyne Chakua, Dr Wairimu Churu, Ms. Prina Patel, and Mr Dominic Kamau. 
They have given way to other members in form the current board for Positive Psychology Association of Kenya.

tOP OFFICIALS

PPAK BOARD

We have six officials and three members on the board
Dr. Carolyne Chakua
CHAIR
Dr. Carol is a counseling psychologist, educator and parent coach passionate about parenting, mental health and quality education....
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Rev. Prof. Sahaya G. Selvam
Vice -CHAIR
Selvam’s academic preparations include undergraduate degrees in Philosophy, Sociology, and Religious Studies, and master’s degrees in Philosophy of Religion and ... Read More
Wairimu Beatrice Churu, PhD.
SECRETARY
Wairimu Beatrice Churu, a married mother of three young adults, is a faculty member in Tangaza University in Nairobi - Kenya ... Read More
Vivian Odeng - Agan
TREASURER
Vivian Odeng holds a Bachelors’ Degree in Commerce – Banking and Finance, which lead to working in various roles in the Banking Sector... Read More
Additional board members
Mary Kittakah
Vice Treasurer 
Mary is currently a Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Dream Sponsors Inc., a grassroots organization that supports young people realize their potential. In this capacity, she is also part of a research team that is interested in understanding the impact of Dream Sponsors’ transformative program, known as My Girl TRIBE™ for adolescent girls. From 2021 to 2023, she worked in Mali, West Africa as a Staff Counsellor in the United Nations Peace Keeping Mission MINUSMA providing psychological support to both civilians and peacekeepers from all over the world. 
Dr. Kirindi Odindo
Vice Secretary
Dr. Kirindi Odindo is a Consulting Psychologist with local and international academic and professional experiences that span various regions in Africa, U.S.A and Australia...Read More
Dr Faith Njaramba
Professionals Representative
Dr. Faith is a highly experienced faculty member at Strathmore University Business School, boasting a successful record of accomplishment spanning over a decade. Dr. Faith specializes in facilitating action learning programs, guiding entrepreneurs, employees, and social entrepreneurs across East Africa. Currently, Dr. Faith leads the Strategy and Leadership hub within the Business School, which focuses on research, consultancy, grant acquisition, and industry partnerships in the areas of Strategy, Human Resources, Organizational Behavior, Marketing, and Leadership. 
Rebecca Gichuki
Students Representative
A trained therapist and counseling psychologist with a Bachelor’s Degree currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology from Africa Nazarene University. Her specific experience and interests lie in counseling psychology, workplace wellness, career counseling, and marriage and family therapy. Aside from counseling, she currently works as an HR Consultant, mainly involved in promoting workplace wellness, career guidance, and recruitment and selection. She has further experience working in Kenyatta Hospital, Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital, Lavington United Church Social Services.
Chair:
 Dr. Carolyne Chakua
Dr. Carol is a counseling psychologist, educator and parent coach passionate about parenting, mental health and quality education. She has worked in numerous educational and mental health institutions both in Kenya and USA for close to 20 years. Her work focuses on researching on and developing safety and emotional wellness programs for institutions that care for children. She envisions a community of caring, connected and conscious adults committed to creating spaces for all kinds of children to thrive. 

Dr. Carol is the Founder of STAWI Camp for WellBeing (www.stawicamp.com), and the author of Parenting With Your Heart in Mind - a practical guide to conscious, intentional and confident parenting. She is a full-time Faculty Member at Moi University, Department of Educational Psychology, and a Programmes Coordinator for the Guidance and Counseling Programme. 

She holds a PhD in Medical Education, a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology and an Undergraduate Degree in Education. Dr. Carol provides in-person and virtual workshops, parent coaching and therapy sessions for individuals and groups. She also runs Emotional Well Being Camps for Families, Organizations and Communities. She consults with educational, corporate and non-profit institutions in developing programs for the parent, teacher and caregiver of children in the 21st Century. 

Her greatest desire is that children, parents, and teachers experience healthy relationships with one another.... and that adults caring for children thrive through every season of their ‘parenting’ responsibilities.
Deputy-Chair:
Rev. Prof. Sahaya G. Selvam

Selvam’s academic preparations include undergraduate degrees in Philosophy, Sociology, and Religious Studies, and master’s degrees in Philosophy of Religion and Psychology of Religion, and PhD in psychology from the University of London. 
Selvam’s focus in positive psychology revolves around the conceptualisation of character strengths in religious and cultural domains, particularly in the African context. His Master’s dissertation project examined the ubiquity of character strengths in African religions and culture. His doctoral work explored the mediating role of character strengths in a Christian-mindfulness based intervention attempting to facilitate recovery from addictive behavior. 
He has just completed a ground-breaking work on hospitality and wellbeing – for which he has also validated a scale. He has authored almost 40 articles and book-chapters on character strengths and religious-spirituality. Currently, he leads the training in character coaching. As for his personal life, Selvam is a person of South Asian origin, ministering as a Catholic priest with Salesians of Don Bosco in East Africa since 1992. He blogs at www.sahayaselvam.org                       
Secretary:
Dr. Beatrice Churu, PhD.

Beatrice Churu holds a PhD in Religious Studies from Kenyatta University and a Masters in Social Anthropology from St. Marys’ University Minnesota. She is also a Caring Economics Conversation Leader and has a Masters in Cultural Transformation from the Center for Partnership Studies in the USA.
She has over 30 years teaching experience in schools and university settings. She also has a wide experience in accompaniment of individuals and groups in growth processes in a number of countries in East, Central and Southern Africa.
Her first degree in Education opened her up to a multiplicity of interests and pathways for promoting individual and communal development. Her current areas of research and teaching include Positive Psychology-based interventions to promote individual and community aptitudes to address development challenges, and psycho-spiritual approaches to individual and socio-cultural resources and challenges.
Within the field of Positive psychology, Dr. Churu’s particular interest is on the discovery and use of character strengths to leverage individuals’ engagement in family, educational and careers development. In these areas, she is available to give workshops and trainings for both adults and teenagers in work and educational settings.                                                                                
Dr Kirindi Odundo – Vice Secretary

Dr. Kirindi Odindo is a Consulting Psychologist with local and international academic and professional experiences that span various regions in Africa, U.S.A and Australia where she earned her clinical graduate qualifications in an integrative neuropsychological and behavioral health program. Though her background was in clinical hospital settings, there was a realization that preventative measures were implicated in both organic and psychogenic presentations, leading to positive psychological explorations in multi-faceted contexts including educational and community. Through additional advanced training culminating in certifications as a coach, mediator, trainer and facilitator, this has resulted in over 20 years’ experience integrating Mental Health and Psychosocial Support and organizational development using both clinical, social and occupational modalities that utilize a multi-faceted and multi-pronged approach in various human security sectors for both individuals, groups and systems. 

A Founder of the PEACE Together Initiative – she scales community activism in social impact and social justice through social innovation and youth leadership,Mentorship and Development that centers on Transition and Change management; Wellbeing Integration, resilience building and sustainability. Her interests have focused on acquisition of Cultural Competencies and Socio-Emotional indicators for community resilience and well-being enhancement. Her passion Is in thought leadership, coaching, mentoring and training that redefines the mainstream away from external structural references towards the development of value-based collective socialization and purpose-centered community empowerment.
Vivian Odeng - Agan - Treasurer


Vivian Odeng holds a Bachelors’ Degree in Commerce – Banking and Finance, which lead to working in various roles in the Banking Sector. She also holds a Masters in Business Administration – Human Resource, and has been in HR practice for 21 years. Vivian Odeng is also a Trained Mediator and member of International Mediation Institute. Areas of mediation are family and workplace mediation. She is also a Student of Applied Positive Psychology and the current Treasurer of Positive Psychology Association of Kenya.


 Vice Treasurer: Mary Kittakah

Mary is currently a Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Dream Sponsors Inc., a grassroots organization that supports young people realize their potential. In this capacity, she is also part of a research team that is interested in understanding the impact of Dream Sponsors’ transformative program, known as My Girl TRIBE™ for adolescent girls. From 2021 to 2023, she worked in Mali, West Africa as a Staff Counsellor in the United Nations Peace Keeping Mission MINUSMA providing psychological support to both civilians and peacekeepers from all over the world. She holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from United States International University (USIU- Africa) and a Bachelor’s degree from Montclair State University, New Jersey, United States. She also holds a certification in Values Centered Leadership from DePaul University.In the past, she has supported military veterans after their service to Kenya. She participated in the team that led the petition to establish a Military Veterans Law, to the Senate of Kenya. The petition became Law in June 2022 when it was signed by the President. She has also held a managerial and supervisory position of trauma counselors. She worked for several years in the north of Kenya leading a team of counselors to support victims of torture and war trauma. In this capacity, she was also a trainer who provided needs based trainings for supervisees and personnel from several organizations.
                                                                                              
Dr Faith Njambi - Professionals' Representative

Dr. Faith is a highly experienced faculty member at Strathmore University Business School, boasting a successful record of accomplishment spanning over a decade. Dr. Faith specializes in facilitating action learning programs, guiding entrepreneurs, employees, and social entrepreneurs across East Africa. Currently, Dr. Faith leads the Strategy and Leadership hub within the Business School, which focuses on research, consultancy, grant acquisition, and industry partnerships in the areas of Strategy, Human Resources, Organizational Behavior, Marketing, and Leadership. Dr. Faith holds a PhD in Organizational Behavior from Strathmore University. Her doctoral research, titled "Leading during a crisis: leadership styles, psychological capital of employees, fear as antecedents of the organizational resilience of SMEs in Kenya," reflects her expertise in organizational resilience and leadership during challenging times. She has a substantial publication record, with over ten publications listed on her Google Scholar profile. Dr. Faith has received training in Managing Small Agribusinesses and Managing Triple Helix Partnerships at Maastricht University through The Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education scholarship. Dr. Faith has prior professional experience in the Banking and Saccos sector in Kenya. Currently, Dr. Faith serves as a Board Member of Mzima Investment Company. She is in The Positive Psychology Association of Kenya as a Professional Board member. 
Rebecca Gichuki - Students Representative

A trained therapist and counseling psychologist with a Bachelor’s Degree currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology from Africa Nazarene University. Her specific experience and interests lie in counseling psychology, workplace wellness, career counseling, and marriage and family therapy. Aside from counseling, she currently works as an HR Consultant, mainly involved in promoting workplace wellness, career guidance, and recruitment and selection. She has further experience working in Kenyatta Hospital, Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital, Lavington United Church Social Services.

Additional members include...

Dominic K. Mwangi

Dominic Kamau Mwangi has served as the Dean of Students and Lecturer in Positive Psychology at Tangaza University College.He is a Doctoral Student of Psychology.

Ms. Prina Patel

Prina Patel has a Master’s Degree in Applied Positive Psychology from Angalia Ruskin University, UK. She brings perspectives from working in a broad range of fields...

Mary Kittakah

Mary is currently a staff counsellor at the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission (MINUSMA) in the country of Mali, West Africa.
She holds Master’s ...
 Member: Dominic K. Mwangi
Dominic Kamau Mwangi has served as the Dean of Students and Lecturer in Positive Psychology at Tangaza University College.He is a Doctoral Student of Psychology.
He holds a Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology specializing in the Psychology of Forgiveness, Psychology of Meaning and Purpose under Positive Psychology. He holds other degrees in Philosophy and in Education. He also has other relevant qualifications in media and mass communication, leadership and management from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA).
He is a Media Personality, hosting The Power Talk Show on Y254 TV, which is currently aired every Wednesday from 08:30 – 09:30 PM and on Thursdays from 11:00 – 12:00 PM.
He is a Professional Speaker, Leadership Trainer, and an Events’ Moderator. He has also authored two Motivational and Psychological Support books and co-authored research book-chapters within the field of Psychology.
Member: Mary Kittakah

Mary is currently a staff counsellor at the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission (MINUSMA) in the country of Mali, West Africa.
She holds Master’s Degree from (USIU- Africa) and a Bachelor’s degree from Montclair State University, New Jersey, United States. She also holds a certification in Values Centered Leadership from DePaul University.
A board member of Positive Psychology Association of Kenya, she is interested in the character strength of Humor for which she co-presented a webinar for PPAK in 2020 and a TEDx Talk of the same theme.
 In the past, she has supported military veterans after their service to our country. She participated in the team that led the petition to establish a Military Veterans Law, to the Senate of Kenya, The petition is now a bill awaiting to become an Act of Parliament. She has also held a managerial and supervisory position of trauma counselors. She worked for several years in the north of Kenya leading a team of counselors to support victims of torture and war trauma. In this capacity, she was also a trainer who provided needs based trainings for supervisees and personnel from several organizations.  
Prina Patel has a Master’s Degree in Applied Positive Psychology from Angalia Ruskin University, UK. She brings perspectives from working in a broad range of fields from investment banking, manufacturing, and education. Prina is passionate about developing resilience and holistic wellbeing in children and youth, and in using strengths and appreciative inquiry-based approaches to enable the positive development of professionals, teams, and organisations.
Prina is available for training and workshops in positive psychology and on the application of positive psychology interventions, workshops on strengths, individual and/or group coaching. Her well-developed strengths in the list of Values in Action include: Love of Learning, Curiosity, Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence, Humour, Creativity.

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