Inaugurated in 2017, the annual Kessler-Freedheim lecture honors Dr. Jane Kessler, Professor Emerita of Psychology and former director of the Mental Development Center, and Dr. Donald Freedheim, Emeritus Professor of Psychology and former Director of the Schubert Center. We deeply mourn the loss of Dr. Freedheim (1932-2023), whose visionary leadership and dedication to child psychology will forever be remembered.
"The series helps us recognize the distinguished history of research and work with children on our campus," said Jill Korbin, the Lucy Adams Leffingwell Professor of Anthropology and Senior Advisor to the Schubert Center.
Adolescent Social Media Use and Mental Health: Helping our Kids Thrive in a Digital Age
Speaker: Dr. Megan Moreno is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is also the youth Co-Medical Director at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health. Her research focuses on the intersection of technology and adolescent health, and she serves as the principal investigator of the Social Media and Adolescent Health Research Team (SMAHRT).
Technology and digital media are woven into the fabric of modern adolescence, and today, the messages around teen tech use include words like “addiction” and “brain rot.” In this talk, Dr. Moreno will begin by considering current narratives and frameworks around adolescent technology and digital media use. We've seen how they align with historical approaches in other times of technological advancement. She will then provide an overview of the 5Cs, a framework created through the American Academy of Pediatrics Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health. Dr. Moreno will present the evidence and experience that guided the creation of the 5Cs and how it can be leveraged for use by families, practitioners, and researchers.
Date: April 9, 2025, from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m.
Learn more about our event here.
How Teen Brain Research Shaped and Continues to Impact Juvenile Justice Reform
Speaker: Dr. Laurence Steinberg, Distinguished University Professor, and Laura H. Carnell, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Temple University.
Major findings in developmental neuroscience over the past couple of decades 
have shed new light on our understanding of adolescence. In particular, the prefrontal cortex part of the teen brain, which controls executive function, and its connectivity with the limbic system, is still developing through late adolescence and into young adulthood. Dr. Laurence Steinberg, an expert in adolescent development, will discuss how these developmental characteristics of adolescence make teens different from and less culpable than adults in the criminal justice system. Dr. Steinberg will explore how this research has led to transformative change in the U.S. legal system and juvenile justice policy over the past 20 years as well as implications for future youth justice reform efforts.
Date: March 21, 2024
View our event brief: The Impact of Adolescent Developmental & Brain Research on Juvenile Justice Reform
Resources:
- Understanding Adolescent Development, Reforming Juvenile Justice
- The Bridge to Somewhere
- Getting it Right: Realigning Juvenile Corrections in Ohio to Reinvest in What Works
Please read more about this event, register, and save it to your calendar here.
Integrating early care, education, and poverty reduction: A three-pronged approach to supporting child development at scale [2022-2023 Kessler-Freedheim Lecture]
Speaker: Dr. Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Courtney Sale Ross University Professor of Globalization and Education at NYU Steinhardt
Date: April 25, 2023
Resources:
- Cradle to Kindergarten: A New Plan to Combat Inequality
- Resources for Early Learning and Child Development
- Reducing the Impact of Poverty on Early Child Development
Please read more about this event, register and save it to your calendar here.
The changing landscape of youth suicide and suicidal behavior: An examination of racial differences and risk factors [2021-2022 Kessler-Freedheim Lecture]
Speaker: Dr. Arielle Sheftall, Assistant Professor, and Principal Investigator at the Suicide Prevention and Research Center at Nationwide Children's Hospital
Date: November 3, 2021
Resources: Black Youth Suicide - A Growing Crisis
Anti-racist, Inclusive, and Resilient: Pitfalls, lessons and advances in research strategies concerning Black youth in the U.S. [2020-2021 Kessler-Freedheim Lecture]
Speaker: Dr. Dexter Voisin, Dean, Professor & Chair of Social Work, University of Toronto
Date: April 21, 2021
Resources: Getting Started: Embedding Child & Youth Research with an Anti-Racist Frame; Anti-Racist Research Principles - Resource List
Disparities in the Diagnosis and Care of Children with Autism [2018-2019 Kessler-Freedheim Lecture]
Speaker: Dr. David Mandell, Kenneth E. Appel Professor of Psychiatry, the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Date: February 26, 2019
Resource: Disparities in Diagnosing and Caring for Children with Autism
Finding a Path to Equity: Media’s Role in Advocating for Cleveland’s Youth [2018 Kessler-Freedheim Keynote Forum]
Co-hosted by The City Club of Cleveland
Panelists:
- Leila Atassi, Reporter, Cleveland.com
- Margaret Bernstein, Director of Advocacy and Community Initiatives, WKYC
- Rachel Dissell, Reporter, The Plain Dealer
- This conversation will be moderated by City Club Youth Forum Council Chair, TiOlu Oresanya
Date: May 4, 2018
Making the Slow Transition to Adulthood: Lessons in Experience, Identity and Inequality [2017 Kessler-Freedheim Lecture]
Speaker: Dr. Richard Settersten, Jr., Director of Hallie E. Ford Center for Healthy Children & Families at Oregon State University
Date: March 7, 2017