Motivated by the opportunity to make a difference, in his 20s, John Pellitteri started working with young people in one of the most impoverished communities in New York. His goal was to help them better understand and manage their often intense daily challenges, stress and emotions.
At a time before the term Emotional Intelligence (EI) had been formally developed, Pellitteri used emotional experiences, such as music therapy, sport and martial arts to connect with these youth on their own terms, listen to their reality, and start a dialogue to help them understand and use EI to gain greater control over their choices, actions and, ultimately, their life.
What he found in the process was that he learned as much about EI from them as they did from him!
Today, Emotional Intelligence (EI) is often the subject of expensive corporate leadership programs. However, Pellitteri has made it his mission to continue working with the communities in most need, and giving them EI tools on a life-changing scale.
Learn how you can incorporate EI into your environment to create positive change. John Pellitteri believes that emotions are a key to improving our society by promoting optimal human development.
To support this vision, he co-founded the International Society for Emotional Intelligence to support research and intercultural collaborations that advance the field of emotional intelligence (EI) and to provide training that promotes the application of EI abilities in personal, professional and community contexts.
John is a psychologist and music therapist with over 30 years of professional experience in clinical and educational settings. He has conducted research on EI, written two books on the topic and has made presentations in more than a dozen countries. As an associate professor at Queens College, City University of New York he trains graduate students in school and mental health counseling.
John has practiced martial arts his whole life, has run the NYC marathon many times and enjoys music, nature, and poetry.
