Blog: Race & Equity

Economic Support for the Transition to Adulthood

Transitioning to the responsibilities and demands of adulthood can be both exciting and challenging for us all. But without support, the challenges can make the path to a financially secure adulthood more difficult, as young people need to prioritize securing necessities like housing or food, and delay or forego opportunities that could increase their economic mobility. In the second session of the 2025 Adolescent Brain Development Symposium, researchers, policymakers, and youth advocates discussed how we could use financial assistance to help young people navigate this transition to adulthood and how we should implement these types of programs.

Building a Thriving Workforce: Career Preparation During Adolescence

“Workforce development and focusing on career preparation is fundamentally a developmental question,” says Andrew Fuigni, co-executive director of UCLA CDA, to kick off the first panel discussion of our 2025 Adolescent Brain Development Symposium on economic opportunity.

So, how do we create career preparation policies and programs that effectively support young people in the pursuit of meaningful careers while integrating developmental science to support positive development and future outcomes?

The Impact of Civic Engagement on Belonging

In the second discussion of our 2024 Adolescent Brain Development Symposium, science journalist Lydia Denworth spoke with Veronica Terriquez, PhD, MEd, professor at UCLA, Jose Salvador Orellana, executive director and co-founder of LOUD for Tomorrow, and Jessa Bayudan, volunteer and alumni of LOUD for Tomorrow, about the importance of creating spaces for diverse communities where adolescents feel they belong and are empowered to become agents of change.

“Who are you going to be?”

“Who are you going to be?” You hear that question a lot around Halloween. And during adolescence.

The Joy, Happiness, and Beauty of Celebrating Blackness

Our Digital Communications Intern Allyson Nesmith, writes about the ways that she celebrates her identity as a Black woman and the joy of her experiences.

Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools—The Developmental Science Perspective

Monique Morris's Pushout documentary highlights the importance of aligning educational environments with adolescents' developmental needs for respect and empathy.