Press Release: Center for the Developing Adolescent Announces New Leadership
Center Names Scientists as New Co-Executive Directors and National Scientific Council Co-Directors
LOS ANGELES, Calif., October 1, 2020—The Center for the Developing Adolescent has announced neuroscientist Adriana Galván, PhD, and psychologist Andrew Fuligni, PhD, both at UCLA, as the Co-Executive Directors for the organization. The Center has also named psychology professor Jennifer Pfeifer, PhD, at the University of Oregon, and developmental psychologist Joanna Lee Williams, PhD, at Rutgers University, to be Co-Directors of the Center’s National Scientific Council on Adolescence. Founding Director Dr. Ronald Dahl will serve as Chair of the Center’s newly reconfigured Advisory Board.
The Center will continue its mission to improve adolescent health, education, and well-being through developmental science. Its new strategic plan focuses on communicating the positive opportunities of the adolescent years, improving research and practice focused on positive adolescent development, and influencing equitable and evidence-informed policies that support adolescents.
“I am excited to step into this role at the Center for the Developing Adolescent alongside my longtime collaborator, Andrew Fuligni,” said Dr. Galván. “During this extraordinary time in history it is more important than ever to ensure we lift up, respect, and applaud all youth voices. We are honored to work with partners within and outside the Center to uphold its mission and strategic vision.”
“I am thrilled to be working with Adriana and the rest of the Center team and our partners to bring a renewed focus on the unique opportunities of adolescence,” added Dr. Fuligni. “Our science and our richly diverse youth have so much to offer to our communities today. I am humbled and energized to join this effort.”
Dr. Galván is currently the Dean of Undergraduate Education at UCLA. She is a professor of psychology and director of the Developmental Neuroscience Lab at UCLA. Dr. Fuligni is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and the Department of Psychology at UCLA. He is also a Senior Scientist in the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, where he directs the Adolescent Development Lab at UCLA. Both were part of the Center’s founding leadership team and previously served on the Center’s Advisory Board.
The Center also named Co-Directors for its National Scientific Council, the group of 15 leading researchers in adolescent development who guide the Center’s science-based policy and practice recommendations. Dr. Pfeifer is a professor of psychology and director of the Developmental Social Neuroscience Lab at the University of Oregon. She is also science director for the Center for Translational Neuroscience at UO and Associate Editor of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. Dr. Williams is an associate professor in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. She is also a faculty affiliate at Youth-Nex: the UVA Center to Promote Effective Youth Development and at the Center for Parent and Teen Communication.
The Center’s work is sponsored by Funders for Adolescent Science Translation (FAST), a diverse group of investors with the shared goal of reducing inequities and promoting positive development for adolescents, using research as the catalyst for change. FAST members include the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Bezos Family Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Ford Foundation, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Raikes Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Hemera Foundation.
For more information on any of our new leaders, the Center, or adolescent development, visit developingadolescent.org.
About the Center for the Developing Adolescent
The Center for the Developing Adolescent works to equitably improve adolescent health, education, and well-being. We do this by building bridges between research, programs, and policy.
Media Contact
Meghan Forder, meghan.forder@developingadolescent.org
