skip to content
Visit Visit Steps for Youth

The Center’s Year in Review, 2019

December 4, 2019
Image for 2019


It’s been a busy year at the Center for the Developing Adolescent! Some of our highlights from 2019 include:

  • February: Dr. Ron Dahl participated in the filming of Dr. Monique Morris’s documentary, Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools
  • April: Hired our new Executive Director, Deb Levine, to work closely with Center scientists to grow and scale the vision of the Center
  • June: Co-sponsored a think tank with the Center for Research in Child Development and the John Templeton Foundation at the Center for Scholars and Storytellers
  • July: Showcased a new logo and brand for the Center; Launched our monthly newsletter and blog
  • August: Collaborated with NASEM, Frameworks, and the FAST collaborative on the launch of the new report, The Promise of Adolescence: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth
  • September: Launched our new website at developingadolescent.org
  • October: Co-hosted a briefing with the FAST collaborative and Senator Kamala Harris’s office on The Promise of Adolescence
  • October: Our Founding Director, Dr. Ron Dahl, presented at the FAST Health Briefing in Los Angeles on What is adolescent developmental science and how can it help change systems/policies?
  • October: Co-sponsored Alliance for Girls’ annual summit, A Movement for Equity, with Kaiser Permanente, the Akonadi Foundation, and Charles Schwab
  • November: Doubled the size of our staff
  • December: Secured new funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation

This is only the beginning for the Center.

In 2020, we’ll be convening the first meeting of the National Scientific Council on Adolescence. We’ll also be working to engage youth more deeply in our work, devising new impact measures for programs based on developmental science of adolescence, and expanding our efforts to increase equity in adolescent health, well-being, and education. And we’ll be premiering our new podcast: Adaptivity, The Science of Adolescence.

We’re grateful to all of you working to promote positive trajectories for young people.

We wish you all a wonderful holiday season, and a great start to your new year.

Sincerely,

The Center for the Developing Adolescent

Related News

Image for Two young people holding pride flag at school

What the Research Says About Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth

June 30, 2025

This month, in honor of Pride, we spoke with NSCA member Stephen Russell about the research on how to support young people who identify as LGBTQ+ in ways that enhance their own health and well-being, which also benefits the communities where they live.

Image for Supporting Entrepreneurship and Economic Innovation during Adolescence

Supporting Entrepreneurship and Economic Innovation during Adolescence

May 30, 2025

Research has shown that adolescents are exceptional learners and are more willing than adults to explore situations with uncertain outcomes. In the last session of the 2025 Adolescent Development Symposium, researchers and young entrepreneurs discussed why brain development during adolescence makes us particularly inclined to innovate and participate in entrepreneurship, and how this can be a way for young people to take positive risks and even set them up for future success.

back to top