Diane Flannery, Ph.D.

Dr. Diane Flannery was Founding Director of The UCLA Family Commons and the Global Center for Children and Families from 2003-2010. With over 25 years of leadership in the intersecting non-profit, social service and social enterprise worlds, she brought a market-based approach to behavioral science that benefits parents and children. Prior to her work with UCLA, Diane founded Juma Ventures, where she pioneered an innovative model to help youth reach their highest potential that was recognized by the Harvard Business Review as a leader in its field.

Diane is also the Director of UTU Social Ventures, which runs a volunteer travel and cultural exchange program for families, Global Buddies. She serves on the Advisory Board of Women for Peace of the Western Cape in South Africa. Diane loves to travel and to read – both fiction and nonfiction – about the places she visits. She learns as much as she can about possible destinations before she goes, and deepens her understanding with further reading when she returns. Her most recent excursions were three Global Buddies trip to South Africa, Uganda & Cambodia with her 12-year-old daughter. She’s currently engrossed in books about Mauritius and Bhutan, two fantasy trips she hopes to manifest sometime in the next few years.

Diane is working to develop a habit of consistent daily exercise, trying to change a pattern of exercising for a few weeks until she gets too busy and stops. She very much hopes to find a way to fit exercise into her daily routine in a way she can sustain. Diane has made her peace with her habit of eating a small piece of chocolate every day – she has no problem whatsoever being consistent with chocolate.