The Center for Digital Thriving is a research and innovation center at Harvard Graduate School of Education. We are proudly based at Project Zero, which has a long history as a home to research that leans into areas where there is little or perceivably zero communicable knowledge or consensus.
Our mission is to create knowledge and research-based resources that help people — especially youth — thrive in a tech-filled world.
We envision a world where people can thrive as we live with ever-changing technologies.
This is a world where people, and youth especially, have digital agency: meaningful choice, intentionality and control over the ways technology fits into our lives.
Digital technology is reshaping our lives and affecting young people in particular.
It can enhance their well-being, learning, and social connections. It can also amplify the challenges that already exist for them during adolescence. And since young people are often the first to embrace new tech, they can encounter its advantages and drawbacks more quickly and vividly.
Young people have multifaceted relationships with technology, so one-sided perspectives fall short. Respecting the complexity of life with technology is our best bet for making digital thriving a reality for all.
At the Center for Digital Thriving, we are making and holding space for conversations about tech that are both critical and optimistic. We are co-developing research and resources with youth, educators, psychologists and experts from various domains that support digital agency and lead us toward digital thriving.
OUR IMPaCT
Every year, we reflect on what we’ve built, what we’ve learned, and what we heard from the young people and educators who shape our work. Then we package it up into our annual Impact Report to make sure we’re always looking back as we move forward.
2025 Impact Report
COMING SOON! Meeting the (AI) Moment
As generative AI reshaped classrooms and daily life, we focused on a single guiding question: how do we strengthen youth and educator agency when it feels especially challenged? In 2025, we launched our 8 Mindshifts educator course, released four co-designed AI classroom resources, welcomed a new cohort of Digital Thriving Fellows, and brought youth-informed insights to national media, the Vatican, and the American Philosophical Society. This was the year we worked in community to name what we’re all living through — and built tools to navigate it with intention.
2024 Impact Report
Leading with Listening
In 2024, we put youth voice at the center of everything — from a national study on teen burnout and grind culture to the launch of our first-ever app and an interactive Youth Voice Playbook. We conducted 30+ hours of teen advisory sessions, surveyed 1,545 teens, and secured over $1M in new funding to launch our AI research portfolio. This was the year we leaned into translating what we heard into a variety of mediums people could actually use.
OUR TeAM
Emily Weinstein
Co-Founder, Executive Director
Emily is a psychologist, researcher, author, lecturer, and mom of two young children. More >
Carrie James
Co-Founder, Managing Director
Carrie is a sociologist, researcher, the current Co-Director of Project Zero, and a parent of two tech-loving teens. More >
Beck Tench
Co-Founder, Research + Design
Beck is a designer, technologist, researcher, and dog mom. More >
Eduardo Lara
Senior Research Manager
Eduardo is a cat dad who is passionate about well-being, mental health, and diversity and inclusion in research. More >
Lauren Palazzo
Strategy + Engagement Director
Lauren is a communications strategist, longtime collaborator in tech and design, and a mom of two. More >
DAN BE KIM
AI Fellow & Translational Research Designer
Dan Be is a startup founder and educational technologist who is an avid AI tinkerer in her free time.
More >
Ana Maria Pavić
Communications Lead
Ana Maria is a communications professional with a passion for amplifying youth voices and sharing stories that highlight people’s lived experiences. More >
Yesenia Aguilar
Operations & Project Coordinator
Yesenia is a multilingual educator and program manager with over a decade of experience bringing people together across languages, cultures, and experiences. She is passionate about helping young people recognize their unique strengths. More >
Davida Padi
Communications Intern
Davida is a PR professional with experience in public health and healthcare. She’s interested in the correlation between technology, law, and culture, and how they intersect with young people. More >
Sophia Choukas-Bradley
Clinical Psychology Lead
Sophia is a licensed clinical psychologist, an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, and the director of the Teen and Young Adult Lab. More >
Destinee Ramos
Researcher
Destinee is a Harvard College student Class of 2026 with a passion for social media research and teen well-being. More >
OUR VaLUES
Critical optimism
We believe that improving digital well-being requires a multifaceted perspective that 1) attends to both the benefits and harms of life with technology, and 2) upholds a solutions-minded, future-oriented and genuinely hopeful stance.
Brave Action
We commit to taking courageous steps and making bold decisions in the face of uncertainty, resistance, and difficulty.
Learning THROUGH Listening
We know the power of youth-centered research to inform, enlighten and clarify. We believe that listening to youth is fundamental and we are committed to learning with and from them.
Thriving for All
We believe that every person deserves to thrive in our digital world regardless of their origin, identity, income, status, or ability. It is our responsibility to uphold inclusive approaches in our research and resource development, ensuring a sense of belonging and representation for all.
Actually Helpful
We commit to creating useful, timely resources that benefit real people.
OUR COLLaBORATORS
When stars from different constellations in the research universe come together, magic happens. Many thanks to our current collaborators for joining us on the journey toward digital thriving.
OUR FUnDERS
Our work is catalyzed by generous founding grants from Susan Crown Exchange and Pivotal Ventures, a Melinda Gates Foundation. Thank you for believing in our vision.