About Us
Today, HIP’s mission is rooted in the findings of social psychological experiments of Asch, Milgram and Zimbardo, among many other. These experiments, as well as myriad heinous acts throughout history, reveal the “banal” side of evil, as described by Hannah Arendt. No one is exempt from the possibility of being coerced by the dark side of human nature.
However, the reverse also appears true. The “banality of heroism”, an idea first explored in a 2006 article written by Dr. Zimbardo and Dr. Zeno Franco, is a guide for HIP’s work, suggesting that each and every seemingly ordinary person on this planet is capable of committing heroic acts.
From this core belief, the Heroic Imagination Project was born with a mission to use important findings in psychology to equip ordinary people of all ages with the knowledge, skills, and strategies necessary to choose wise and effective acts of heroism during challenging moments in their lives.
Board of Directors
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Philip Zimbardo
FOUNDER
Internationally recognized as the “voice and face of contemporary psychology”, Zimbardo is a Stanford University Emeritus professor of psychology.
For a comprehensive review of Phil’s work, please see philipzimbardo.com.
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Matt Langdon
PRESIDENT
A teacher of heroism since 2006 to a wide range of audiences around the world. His book, The Hero Handbook was published in 2021.
His focus has been on building a community around heroism studies, resulting in the The Hero Round Table conference series.
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Thomas Sartor
VICE PRESIDENT
Grew up working for his family’s paving company and segued into managing Hero Round Table conferences around the world. As an executive board member for The Heroic Imagination Project, Thomas contributes his profound focus on empathy to HIP’s event team, trainings, and international relationship building.
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Ari Kohen
SECRETARY
Professor of Political Science, Schlesinger Professor of Social Justice, and Director of the Norman and Bernice Harris Center for Judaic Studies. He has published two academic books and several journal articles on the topic of heroic behavior.
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Vanja Pešić
TREASURER
Passionate about people and mental health resilience-building, Vanja is obtaining her master’s degree in global social work at Boston College. With a macro-oriented lens, Vanja focuses on HIP’s goals and long-term impact.
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Jonathan Chen
A leader in the development and implementation of successful business strategies for both online and traditional companies in a variety of industries. Jonathan led the eBusiness Practice at C-Change and co-led the Energy Practice at Gemini Consulting before founding and leading Liknon. Jonathan helps HIP plan and manage sustainable growth.
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Allison Evans
Award-winning Psychology Professor at California State University, Bakersfield, who also facilitates online/hybrid curriculum design training. HIP's programs benefit from Allison's expertise in psychology and elearning.
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Zoë Huml
Zoë is a competitive skier and a senior at Stanford Online High School, interested in neuroscience and psychology. She designed the Hero Club curriculum and helps students all over the world launch Hero Clubs at their own schools.
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Brian Riches
Currently an active researcher in heroism science, Brian has a background in developmental and positive psychology. Similar to the work we do at HIP Brian worked with a team of researchers to create, and evaluate an online toolkit to help young people foster purpose in life. Brian is also engaged in developing and testing the social science and evaluation protocols that HIP uses to measure the efficacy of our programs.
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Ellie Jacques
Ellie Jacques is an educator and organizational development practitioner. She has worked with HIP on and off since 2014 and is an experienced career and workforce development advisor. Ellie joined the HIP board in 2023 to support education that de-emphasizes economic roles and focuses instead on the embodied, everyday hero roles that people can play in their communities.
