Mind in the Making is Joining Families & Work Institute

A Letter from Ellen Galinsky, Founder of Mind in the Making:

On September 30, 2022, Mind in the Making is joining Families and Work Institute (FWI).

Given the pandemic and rapidly changing landscape, this move presents an important opportunity both for the MITM team and me personally to take on new research on the major issues of our times as well as on early childhood and youth voice.

The transition to FWI—a nonprofit, non-partisan research organization and think tank I co-founded in 1989 to focus on the changing workforce/workplace and changing families and their children—will also allow me to expand my own research projects around civic science.

One of the first endeavors is a partnership with the University of Minnesota. Starting in fall 2022, I will serve as co-director of a forthcoming Civic Science Center alongside Philip David Zelazo, PhD, Nancy M. and John E. Lindahl Professor, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota. The new Center aims to be the “go to” place for understanding and promoting the development of executive function skills and related essential life skills in children, adolescents, parents and practitioners who work with them.

“Ellen Galinsky has a distinguished history of working directly with communities to address some of society’s most pressing problems,” said Zelazo. “Together we will coordinate research, policy and practices to close opportunity and achievement gaps by helping children and youth succeed in school and in life.”

I am proud of the work we’ve accomplished during the past six years at the Bezos Family Foundation. Our team forged new state and national partnerships to share the science of early learning, created new actionable resources to promote executive function-based life skills within children and adults and developed soon-to-be-released digital learning modules that will greatly increase the accessibility of our early childhood training.

As Mike Bezos, Vice President of the Bezos Family Foundation shared, “Ellen Galinsky and the entire MITM team have been valuable contributors to our investments in the science of learning and the experiences that youth need to thrive. The Foundation remains as committed as ever to fueling and amplifying research. We look forward to exploring opportunities to work together with MITM in the future where our individual missions intersect.”

Please stay updated on our work as it evolves by following us on Facebook and Twitter!

With gratitude,

Ellen

Author, Mind in the Making and The Breakthrough Years (forthcoming)