History
The UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent was founded in 2016 at UC Berkeley by Dr. Ron Dahl, our current board chair, and a leadership team of researchers studying the developmental science of adolescence. The original leadership team included Dr. Dahl along with Dr. Nick Allen, Dr. Andrew Fuligni, Dr. Adriana Galván, Dr. Jennifer Pfeifer, Dr. Ahna Suleiman, and Dr. Linda Wilbrecht.
After two years as a nonprofit organization based at an independent fiscal host, we returned to our roots as a university-based organization by joining UCLA in 2021.
The Center on the Developing Adolescent was founded on two principles: 1) A recognition that adolescence is a dynamic period when young lives can spiral rapidly in negative or positive directions along the life course trajectory and 2) A belief that advances in the scientific understanding of this unique developmental period hold great promise for informing practices, programs, and policies.
Our goal has always been to champion the adolescent years as a critical developmental life stage and window of opportunity.
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