Announcing the winners of the 2025 Tools Competition!
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ThinkHumanTV delivers evidence-based emotional skills training and assessment by integrating with major streaming sites like Netflix and Disney+. The platform employs a research-based training methodology and curricula developed by our founding team of Columbia cognitive scientists. The methodology involves explicitly teaching emotion science principles in a systematic manner and illustrating these concepts by leveraging popular media.
Ilya Lyashevsky
CEO
Ilya Lyashevsky
CEO
Ilya is a cognitive science faculty member Columbia Teachers College and a serial social entrepreneur, having previously cofounded WeShelter, a nonprofit using mobile technology to alleviate homelessness, which logged over 500K charitable actions. He also has two decades of experience developing software in various engineering and management positions at startups, Fortune 500 companies like Motorola, and government agencies like the NYC Dept of Social Services. He holds a PhD in cognitive science, with a social-emotional learning concentration, from Columbia, and an MS and BS in computer science, with a creative writing minor, from Stanford.
Melissa Cesarano
President & Chief Learning Officer
Melissa Cesarano
President & Chief Learning Officer
Mel is a cognitive scientist, professor at Columbia University, and cofounder of Affectifi Inc. She has over a decade of experience in research, curriculum development, and consulting for educational and media organizations and startups. She holds a BA in Cognitive Neuroscience with a minor in poetry from the University of Pennsylvania, an Ed.M. from Teachers College, and a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from Columbia University.
