Our History and Mission

Greater Good Education (GGE) was founded in 2012 by Vicki Zakrzewski, Ph.D., as part of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, with the goal to present education professionals with practical, scientific insights that help them bring the “science of a meaningful life” into their lives, schools, and classrooms. Drawing on her experience as a classroom educator and school leader, Vicki focused on disseminating these insights in three areas: 1. For PreK-college educators to use in their classrooms with students; 2. For educators to foster their own well-being; and 3. For school leaders to help them build positive school cultures.

In the early years, GGE’s work centered on Greater Good Magazine articles, workshops, keynotes, consulting, special projects such as The Purpose Challenge and Gratitude in Education, and the highly successful (and now discontinued) Summer Institute for Educators—a 6-day in-person event that brought together educators from all over the world to Berkeley to study the science and its practical application in classrooms and schools. In 2015, the Einhorn Family Charitable Trust generously offered to help grow GGE, which resulted in the 2020 launch of Greater Good in Education, a free, online resource hub of over 350 research-based and informed educational practices.

Since 2020, GGE has continued to expand through online courses, community meetings, and communities of practice, reaching millions of educators around the world in almost every country. GGE has also partnered and consulted with many schools, organizations, state-level initiatives, and programs such as the Jim Henson Company (check out the pilot of Wowsabout!), UNESCO, CalHOPE, Pixar/Disney, the Mind and Life Institute, Committee for Children, Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, MindUP, the International Schools of Brussels and Bangkok, Futures Without Violence, the Learning Policy Institute, and more. Greater Good Schools, a project that brings together school and district teams to integrate the “science of a meaningful life” system-wide, is currently in its pilot phase.

GGE is especially grateful to its funders over the years who have made this all possible, including the John Templeton Foundation, the Kern Family Foundation, Einhorn Family Charitable Trust, Room to Breathe, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the New Pluralists, the Webber Family Foundation, and the Fetzer Institute.

For more information about any of GGE’s offerings and resources, please visit our program page or reach out to us at ggsceducation@berkeley.edu.

Greater Good Education’s (GGE) mission is to help educators better understand the roots of prosocial behavior and well-being—what we call the “science of a meaningful life”—and how to create learning environments that nurture both. Drawing on disciplines such as social-emotional learning, mindfulness, character education, and related topics, GGE provides education professionals with practical, science-based insights and tools that help them bring this science into education. Ultimately, GGE hopes to work alongside education professionals all over the world to help them build kinder, happier school communities where everyone belongs.