Research output per year
Research output per year
Professor
PL 3 (Fabianinkatu 33)
00014
Finland
Finland
Research activity per year
Anne Birgitta Pessi is a Professor at the University of Helsinki, a position she has held since 2012. A passionate advocate for the exploration of humanness, compassion, and human connection, her academic expertise spans Wellbeing Sociology, Theology, and Organizational Studies. Currently, she directs a Research Council of Finland funded project (2023-2027) focused on safety and sense of safety, particularly in relation to minorities, the arts, and religious communities. She also directs a project, funded by Blood Service Research Fund, examining motivations and existential wellbeing behind blood, stem cell, and organ donation (2025-2027).
Pessi is the Director of the Doctoral School of Theology and Religious Studies. Pessi is a partner at CoHumans Ltd. and a sought-after keynote speaker on topics such as trust, psychological safety, and the transformative power of compassion to various organizations, including workplaces and NGOs.
She has been a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters since 2012. She has received several prestigious academic awards, including the Nils Klim Prize (2008) and the Jutikkala Prize (2013). Her doctoral dissertation, which received recognition from the International Society for Third-Sector Research (2006), was awarded multiple honors. Pessi has held research positions at prominent international institutions, including Stanford University (2016–2018), Boston University (2010), the London School of Economics (2005-2006), and UC Irvine (2013) as a Tobis Fellow.
Pessi directed the CoPassion project ("The Revolutionary Power of Compassion") from 2015 to 2017, a multidisciplinary research initiative that she designed for, and was funded by, Business Finland with a budget of €1.7 million. She has also led several Academy of Finland funded projects, including RiTS (Religion in Transforming Solidarity, 2008–2011) and CoCare (Cooperation in Care: Meaning Systems, Chances, and Conflicts, 2014–2018). Throughout her career, Pessi has contributed to numerous international research projects (e.g., an EU-funded “Welfare and Values in Europe” project, in 2006–2009, and Church in Today’s European Society project 2011–2015).
Pessi’s research interests encompass a wide range of topics, including compassion, volunteering, altruism, civil society, solidarity, the theology of altruism, and experiences of the good life and the sacred. She has published extensively, with over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and more than 250 publications in total.
Title of a Docent, Itä-Suomen yliopisto
2006 → …
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Scientific › peer-review
Pessi, A. B. (Project manager)
01/01/2025 → 31/12/2026
Project: Research project
Pessi, A. B. (Project manager) & Pauha, T. (Participant)
SUOMEN PUNAINEN RISTI, VERIPALVELU
01/01/2025 → 31/12/2026
Project: Corporate funding
Grönlund, H. (Project manager), Pessi, A. B. (Project manager), Huotari, R. (Participant), Illman, R. G. (Participant), Issabayeva, M. (Participant), Jokiniemi, E. (Participant), Kauppila, H. M. (Participant), Murshed, M. E. R. (Participant), Palmén, R. (Participant), Paloniemi, M.-A. (Participant), Pauha, T. (Participant), Pauha, T. (Participant), Rask, A. M. (Participant), Seppänen, A. (Participant), Sinisalo, R. (Participant), Spännäri, J. (Participant), Spännäri, J. (Participant) & Tayyab, M. (Participant)
01/09/2023 → 31/08/2027
Project: Research Council of Finland: Academy Project
Grönlund, H. (Participant) & Pessi, A. B. (Participant)
01/05/2020 → 30/09/2023
Project: Research project
Pessi, A. B. (Project manager)
01/09/2018 → 31/03/2020
Project: Research project
Grönlund, H. (Recipient), Nortomaa, A. I. (Recipient), Spännäri, J.A.-L. (Recipient), Pessi, A. B. (Recipient) & Hopia, A. (Recipient), 2018
Prize: Prizes and awards
Pessi, A. B. (Member of organizing committee) & Grönlund, H. (Member of organizing committee)
Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Organisation and participation in conferences, workshops, courses, seminars
Pessi, A. B. (Participant)
Activity: Other activity types › Other
Pessi, A. B. (Speaker)
Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
Pessi, A. B. (Speaker)
Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
Grönlund, H. (Speaker: Chair) & Pessi, A. B. (Speaker: Chair)
Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Organisation and participation in conferences, workshops, courses, seminars
20/06/2024
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media
07/05/2024
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Press / Media
Pessi, A. B. & Kuusjärvi, V.
10/04/2024
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media