Paul Ekman Group Paul Ekman Mission

Mission

Our founder, Dr. Paul Ekman, has dedicated his life's work to studying human emotion and nonverbal communication. In 2004, the Paul Ekman Group was formed to help share his findings with the world.

Our mission is to provide science-based resources and tools for understanding facial expressions. Through our training, we help people detect deception, boost emotional awareness, and enhance their relationships.

I strive to improve people's understanding of their emotional life and aid those responsible for public safety by taking the discoveries I made and translating them into practical tools and training programs, based on solid research about the nature of our emotions, trust, and deception.

-Dr. Paul Ekman

Founders

Paul Ekman, PhD

Chief Executive

Dr. Paul Ekman is the co-discoverer of micro expressions, the originator of training tools Micro Expressions, Subtle Expressions, Micro Expressions Applied Training, CAP (Charting your Anger Profile) and the author, co-author, or editor of 13 books.

Dr. Ekman is recognized as the pioneer in facial expression, deception, and emotion. He was the scientific consultant for the FOX TV series ‘Lie to Me,’ and appeared in Time Magazine’s list of the “100 Most Influential People in the World” in 2009. For more information about Paul and his work, visit our page dedicated to him here.

Mary Ann Mason, PhD, JD

VP, COO

Mary Ann Mason J.D., PhD is a Professor at the Graduate School, University of California, Berkeley. She is an expert on public policy issues related to the effects of parenting on academic careers, as well as national policy issues regarding working families, child custody, step-families, and children’s rights.

As the wife of Paul Ekman, Mary Ann joined PEG in 2011. She is enthusiastic about the fact that he can now apply his fifty years of research on emotion and deception to populations like families, couples and the workplace, as well as law enforcement.

Advisors

Erika Rosenberg, PhD

Training

Erika Rosenberg met Paul Ekman at the University of California, San Francisco, while she was pursuing her PhD in Health Psychology. With Paul she dove into the affective science and detailed study of facial expression. Erika now occupies a unique niche at the interface of science and meditation, as a world-renowned expert in facial expressions of emotion, a scientist who studies emotions and meditation, and a meditation teacher who regularly includes science in her teachings.

Eve Ekman, PhD

Training

Eve Ekman is an interdisciplinary scholar, researcher and trainer in the fields of stress management, empathy, mindfulness and the psychology of wellness, with a background in applied clinical skills, including six years as a medical social worker at San Francisco General Hospital Emergency Department, and acute mental health crisis intervention for children and adolescents. Eve has been the emotion skills teacher trainer for the randomized controlled trial emotion and mindfulness training, Cultivating Emotional Balance, for the last four years.

John Pearse, PhD

Quality Assurance

John is a chartered psychologist and member of both the British Psychological Society and an associate member of the Division of Forensic Psychology. John is responsible for quality assurance and the training/mentoring of new trainers within our partner organization Paul Ekman International (PEI). He brings a fascinating mix of psychological research, scientific publications and many years of experience in law enforcement and national security to this work.

Paul Kelly, MA

Law Enforcement Liaison

Paul F. Kelly has been with the Paul Ekman Group since 2005, and currently serves as Director for North American Workshops, and as Liaison to Law Enforcement, Military, National Security, and Corporate Security clients. He also serves as Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees for the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Paul is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and ASIS International.