Board Of Directors
- Randy Taran
- David Taran
- Dana Cappiello
Advisory Council
- Dr. Laura Delizonna (Founder, Choosing Happiness)
- Michael Eldredge (Oracle)
- Melissa Hollatz (Partner at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich and Rosati)
- Claudia L’Amoreaux (Future of Learning Strategist, Natoma Group)
- Carole Pertofsky (Director of Health Promotion Services at Stanford University)
- Dr. Piya Sorcar (Founder and CEO of TeachAids)
- Meng Chade-Tan (Jolly Good Fellow, Head of Personal Growth, Google)
- Karen Webb (Dean of Alliant University)
- Ralph Wolff (President of WASC, accrediting commission for senior colleges and universities)
Management Team
Randy Taran, CEO & Chief Happiness Officer
Randy is the Founder of Project Happiness and is co-author of the Project Happiness Handbook, an interactive journey that illustrates best practices in promoting social and emotional learning.
To explore the question, “What brings lasting happiness?”, Randy produced a documentary film where students from three continents worked together on this quest, interviewing George Lucas, Richard Gere, neuroscientist Richard Davidson, and ultimately, the Dalai Lama.
An experiential-learning curriculum grew from the film, integrating current research in Positive Psychology, Neuroscience and Mindfulness. These programs are being used in classrooms and youth programs globally.
Randy first expressed her interest in youth while manufacturing and designing high fashion children’s sportswear for the US and Canadian markets. She then founded Spring Communications to develop and produce youth-oriented television and film programming. With screenplays optioned by Hallmark and a documentary series on the subject of peace, Randy collaborated with organizations including the Dalai Lama Foundation and Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots.
Randy speaks regularly on various happiness and youth-related issues, and is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post. Randy serves on the Board of the Dalai Lama Foundation. She lives near Palo Alto with her husband, three kids and three dogs. Randy is a Yoga Alliance certified teacher and holds her MBA in International Business and Marketing from New York University.
Brian Rusch, Communications Director
As Communications Director for Project Happiness, Brian Rusch oversees marketing, public relations, social media, design, and special events.
Brian got his start as a celebrity fashion stylist in Hollywood and was the celebrity fashion editor for Vanidad magazine. He went on to create three multi-media companies and has authored four books, produced two audio CDs and he has produced and directed more than 70 films, including the award-winning documentary Aloha Life.
While his focus is getting press for others, Brian has been featured as an expert in The Wall Street Journal, California Apparel News, The Oregonian, Portland Monthly, Prevention, DNA, The Boston Globe, Workout for Men Only, and The Los Angeles Times. His first company FashionTeen.com was groundbreaking as one of the original pop culture portals that blended fashion and celebritainment with the internet and was the basis of a thesis subject at MIT.
Away from Project Happiness, Brian is an active member of many other charitable organizations including Make It Right 9, the Hawaiian Cultural Foundation, the International Yoga Federation, Rotary International, the Surfrider Foundation and Protect Our Winters. He is also an active member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, the International Documentary Association, The Recording Academy (The Grammys) and the Hawaiian Academy of Recording Arts. Brian and his partner reside in San Francisco, California with their two dogs and their cat.
Emmanuel Ande Ivorgba, Program Director, Africa
Emmanuel Ande Ivorgba has made several contributions to human development, especially in the fields of Philosophy (Metaphysics), Peace Education, Interfaith Dialogue, Youth Empowerment, Education for Liberation, Religion and Spirituality, among others.
Emmanuel Ande Ivorgba currently serves as Executive Director of New Era Educational and Charitable Support Foundation, a Nigeria-based registered nonprofit empowering youths in West Africa with capacities to emerge from a life on the streets, drugs and dysfunctional families, to becoming leaders capable of helping themselves and their communities.
Emmanuel also serves as Council Ambassador to the Parliament of the World Religions, based in Chicago-USA. He also serves as Global Ethics Study Circle Coordinator for the California-based The Dalai Lama Foundation. Emmanuel has been a student and participant in Project Happiness since 2006. In 2007, with support of friends from the Mount Madonna School, Project Happiness and The Dalai Lama Foundation, Emmanuel founded Creative Minds International Academy; a Jos-Nigeria based co-educational institution providing values-based education, creative self-expression and positive character development. He lives in Jos, Nigeria with his family- Hope, Samuel and Daniel.
Emily Crubaugh, Volunteer Coordinator
As the volunteer coordinator for Project Happiness, Emily creates the volunteer programs for the organization and recruits, trains and manages the volunteers working both in the Project Happiness offices as well as throughout the world.
Emily is one of the students who participated in the original Project Happiness film project. She was so inspired by the work of the organization and in particular the work that was being done by Emmanuel, that she began traveling with her mother to Nigeria to bring tools and text books to the African country. Through the efforts of Emily and her family, they were establish the computer labs at Creative Minds International Academy as well as at several other schools in Nigeria.
Emily graduated from Brown University in 2011 with a B.A. in Development Studies. While at Brown she headed up the BRYTE (Brown Refugee Youth Tutoring and Enrichment) Program which oversaw 120 volunteers working with 50 families to tutor recent refugees in the Providence, Rhode Island community.
Jill Pettegrew, Project Coordinator
As Project Coordinator, Jill acts as office manager, and manages the organization’s vast database of schools, volunteers, donors, and other friends of the project.
Jill comes to Project Happiness with over 15 years in non-profit experience ranging from healthcare to theatre to spiritual institutions. She holds a masters degree in counseling psychology with a specialty in somatics (mind/body), and is completing her training hours to become a licensed marriage and family therapist. Jill keeps a daily meditation and gratitude practice, co-facilitates women’s dance healing circles in the Bay Area, and has a long-standing massage therapy practice.