Affective Software, Inc.

Who We Are

Affective Software, Inc is a software company with patented technology founded by world renowned psychologists Dr. John Gottman and Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman, The Gottman Institute, Rafael Lisitsa, and other colleagues to develop and deliver the Gottmans' famous “Love Lab", "The Gottman Assistant for Clinicians", "The Gottman Relationship Coach", and related groundbreaking marriage and relationship counseling methods and technologies to the mass market. Dr. Vladimir Brayman (CTO) joined the company soon after its creation.

Our mission is to democratizе research-based assessment and intervention methods and deliver them to ALL those who need them.

Together with our sister company, The Gottman Institute, we strive to reach out to individuals, couples and families in order to help cultivate and maintain greater love and health in their relationships. It is our goal to maкe our services accessible to the broadest reach of people across race, religion, class, culture, sexual orientation, and ethnicity. Affective Software is combining the Gottmans’ science with cutting edge expertise in software, AI and Machine Learning to deliver proven relationship couples’ assessment methods and intervention exercises оп smartphones, tablets and computers.

The Team

Dr. John Gottman
Co-founder, Chief Scientist

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World renowned for his research on marital stability, divorce prediction and parenting.
Named one of the Top 10 Most Influential Therapists of the past quarter-century by the Psychotherapy Networker.
The recipient of numerous major awards.
The author of over 200 published academic articles and more than 45 books.
TV appearances include Good Morning America, Today, CBS Morning News, Anderson Cooper, and Oprah.

Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman
Co-founder and Chairwoman

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Co-founder and President of The Gottman Institute.
Named Washington State Psychologist of the Year.
The co-creator of the Gottman Sound Relationship House Theory, Gottman Method Couples Therapy and “The Art and Science of Love” workshops for couples.
The author/co-author of five books.
Media appearances include 20/20, Good Morning America, CBS Morning News, Today, and many international network TV news programs.

Rafael Lisitsa
Co-founder, President and CEO

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Worked with the world’s leading software architects in the highly acclaimed Microsoft Windows NT Base Kernel group on the foundational versions of Windows NT Operating System, multimedia streaming and real-time communications.
Extensive experience as a CTO, Corporate Director, Engineering Manager, Program Manager focused on strategic business initiatives.
Strong expertise in real-time mission critical control systems, Machine Learning, AI, Applied Mathematics, Audio / Video and Digital Signal Processing.
Author of 16 patents.

Dr. Vladimir Brayman
Chief Technology Officer

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Worked as the VP of Research at Clearsight Systems and the Chief Scientist at Widemile where he developed Marketing Optimization Platform - one of the first and most advanced in the market.
After Webtrends’ acquisition of Widemile, served as the Chief Scientist of Webtrends.
Served as an Affiliate Associate Professor at the University of Washington.
Deep expertise in Machine Learning, AI, Dynamical and Control Systems, Electronic Engineering, Digital Signal Processing.
Author of several patents.

Advisory Board

Dr. Paul Ekman
Scientific Advisor

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Professor Emeritus at UCSF, a pioneer in the study of emotions and their relation to facial expressions.
Named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME Magazine in 2009.
Ranked fifteenth among the most influential psychologists of the 21st century (2014).
Conducted seminal research on the biological correlations of emotions, demonstrating the universality and discreteness of emotions.
The author of 14 books and 170 published articles.

Dr. Robert Levenson
Scientific Advisor

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Professor of UC Berkeley, studying psychophysiology and affective neuroscience.
The focus is on the nature of human emotion and its physiological manifestations, on the role that emotion plays in interpersonal interactions.
Dr. Levenson served as:

- President of the Society for Psychophysiological Research,
- President for the American Psychological Society, and
- Co-chair of the Behavioral Sciences Workgroup at the National Institute of Mental Health.

Dr. Stephen Porges
Scientific Advisor

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Distinguished University Scientist at the Kinsey Institute, Professor at the University of North Carolina.
Recipient of National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Development award.
Dr. Porges served as:

- President of the Federation of Behavioral, Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, and
- President of the Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Developed the polyvagal theory that has stimulated treatments of physiological state and behavioral regulation.

Mark Walsh
Creative Director

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CEO of Motional.ai, working on Personal Virtual Assistants.
Was an animator and director at Pixar Animation Studios, working on “A Bug’s Life”, “Toy Story 2”, “Monsters, Inc.”
Was the directing animator of “Finding Nemo”, “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille”. Worked on “Up” and “Toy Story 3”, and directed Tom Hanks in “Toy Story Toons”.
Worked closely with Tim Allen, Wallace Shawn, Don Rickles, Joan Cussack, Tony Cox, Timothy Dalton, and Kristen Schaal.

Jeff Reynolds
Business and Marketing Advisor

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President and COO of the LRW Group, overseeing the strategic direction and day-to-day management of the LRW Group, a collaboration of data-driven companies that includes LRW, LRWTonic, LRWMotiveQuest, Kelton, Strativity and ISA
Under Jeff’s leadership, LRW has become known as one of the most innovative firms in the industry, tripling in size since 2011 and launching a virtual reality spin-off, AppliedVR, in 2014. Today, LRW is the fastest growing firm among the 20 largest in the industry, with 600+ employees in 9 offices worldwide. Jeff was introduced to the work of John Gottman at Northwestern University. Working with Dan McAdams, Jeff’s dissertation focused on the role of narrative in how couples perceive their relationships.