The Inspiration Festival: A Celebration of Growth, Giving, and Positive Change

Dr. James B. Maas is a leading authority and international consultant on wellness (focusing on sleep and performance). He has been the Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow, Professor and past Chairman of Psychology, as well as a professor in the graduate fields of Education and Communication at Cornell University. He has also served a professor at the Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar. Dr. Maas received his B.A. from Williams College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Cornell. He holds the world record for university in-person teaching, having taught more than 65,000 students in his 48 years on the Cornell faculty. Dr. Maas is now the Chancellor of United Institution which offers more than 90 (K through graduate school) hi-tech online affordable board-certified courses in academics, business, management, and leadership.

Dr. Maas has held a Fulbright Senior Professorship to Sweden, has been a visiting professor at Stanford University and past president of the American Psychological Association's Division on Teaching. He received the Clark Award for Distinguished Teaching at Cornell, is a four-time winner of the Merrill Presidential Scholars Best Mentor Award and is the recipient of the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Teaching Award for being one of the nation’s most outstanding educators.

Dr. Maas is a noted filmmaker who has produced nine national television specials for PBS in this country, for the BBC in England, the CBC in Canada, and for Dutch, Danish and Swedish National Television. His films for such organizations as the National Geographic Society, General Motors, Exxon, Upjohn, Metropolitan Life, the McArthur Foundation and the United States Department of Transportation have won 44 major film festivals.

Dr. Maas is one of the world’s most sought-after corporate, medical, association, education and professional athletic team speakers. He has presented highly acclaimed programs for such organizations as IBM, Eastman Kodak, Apple Computers, Google, Campbell’s Soups, Kraft Foods, Pepsi Cola, Maytag, CitiGroup, JP Morgan Chase, ING, USAA, The GAP, Young President's Organization (YPO), World Presidents' Organization (WPO), World Business Council (WBC), Mutual Life, Maytag, S. C. Johnson, Equinox Fitness, Nestle, Simmons Company, Marriott, Starwood and Wyndham Hotels, Cunard, Crystal and Royal Cruise Lines, MCI/ Universal Studios, the Naval War College, US Navy, Beyer Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Steelcase, American College of Facial and Plastic Surgeons, American College of Rheumatology, American Urological Association, Urban Land Institute, United States Figure Skating Association, the National Basketball Association, NFL New York Jets, NFL Miami Dolphins, NHL Philadelphia Flyers, NHL Ottawa Senators, NHL Colorado Avalanche, NHL Nashville Predators, USA and Canadian Men’s Olympic hockey teams, Professional Hockey Trainers Association, and scores of prep schools, colleges and universities. He significantly changed student performance at schools such as Cornell, Stanford, Duke, Harvard, Williams College, Dartmouth, Vanderbilt, US Military Academy (West Point), Deerfield, Andover, Hotchkiss, and the Chinese International School in Hong Kong. Dr. Maas’ book, Power Sleep, published by Random House and HarperCollins, is a New York Times business bestseller and published in 12 languages. His children’s venture, Remmy and the Brain Train, is an award-winning children’s bedtime story designed to help improve daytime alertness, mood and performance. Sleep for Success! co-authored with Rebecca Robbins is a book designed for business executives, students, parents, and seniors. His book on sleep for athletes, Sleep to Win! co- authored with Dr. Haley Davis, received rave reviews from athletes of all ages. There have been over 200 articles in the popular press about Dr. Maas' work on sleep and performance. He appears frequently on national television on programs, such as the TODAY Show, NBC Nightly News, CNN, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, The View, Regis & Kelly, and ABC’s 20/20. OPRAH devoted a major segment to Dr. Maas and his research on sleep and performance.