Kellie Cummings, MAPP is Vice President of Marketing at VIA Institute on Character. She is a Lecturer at Johns Hopkins University’s Master of Arts in Communication program and served as a 2022 Fellow with the Project on Positive Leadership through the University of Louisville College of Business, during which time she created the Anchor Relationships™ workshop and complementary website: www.anchorrelationships.com. 

As an award-winning brand marketing and communications professional who has advised senior executives, Fortune 500 brands, and The U.S. White House, she believes that the science of well-being helps organizations foster cultures of purpose and meaning. Her deep love of character strengths took root at the University of Pennsylvania where she received her Master’s in Applied Positive Psychology, a field of science centered on human strengths. She went on to serve on the Board of Directors for the University of Pennsylvania’s MAPP Alumni Association where she led the launch of an online magazine that attracts readers from around the world.

Previously, Kellie led a communications team at global financial services company, T. Rowe Price, where she pioneered the development of human-centered customer segmentation to help communicators develop more resonant customer messages. Earlier in her career, she worked on Madison Avenue in NYC and developed promotional videos that were instrumental in raising funds to establish the renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center. She graduated from Trinity University where she was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society and received the T-Pin for her service to the community. She later studied film at New York University.

Kellie’s writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Huffington Post, Association for Talent Development (ATD), Ethical Corporation, American Banker, and Marketing Profs among other publications. In 2011 she became accredited with the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and was a speaker at IABC’s 2019 World Conference in Vancouver. She has won 7 awards for her marketing and communications work, including the Platinum MarCom award for her communication leadership during the 2008 financial crisis.

She believes that learning about the science of wellbeing has enabled her to expand on her deep marketing and communication experience and help organizations and teams foster thriving environments. She is grateful to the field of positive psychology for helping her build more joy and connection with her friends and family.