Who We Are
The Youth, Media, & Wellbeing Research Lab grows out of the expertise, interests, and experiences of seasoned and emerging scholars committed to exploring adolescent development and the various factors that contribute to their identity and wellbeing. A project of the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College, the Lab builds off the legacy of deep social science research that grows out of the lives of women and girls, families and communities. Our work is bolstered by the perspectives and insights of Wellesley College undergraduates who contribute to our research projects.
Our Team
Director/Principal Investigator, Senior Research Scientist
Dr. Linda Charmaraman is a senior research scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) at Wellesley College and received her PhD in Human Development and Education from University of California Berkeley. She is director of the Youth, Media, & Wellbeing Research Lab. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, Children & Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, among others. Linda’s research interests include social media and adolescent health, digital citizenship, methodologies to target hard-to-reach populations, and how social identities (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, political) affect wellbeing. She has been surveying a cohort of over 1000 middle school students into their high school years and beyond since before the pandemic, focused on adolescent social tech use, health, wellbeing, and civic engagement. Media mentions include New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, Good Morning America, USA Today, ABC News, NBC News, Discover Magazine, The Conversation, and others. In 2023, Dr. Charmaraman provided written testimony for the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing regarding Protecting Our Children Online. She was also a proud member of the task force for the 2023 American Psychological Association’s health advisory on social media use in adolescence. She is featured in a PBS Learning online toolkit series on adolescent social media use, sponsored by the New York State Education Department. Together with a youth advisory board, she co-organizes free Digital Wellbeing workshops for middle school girls from underserved backgrounds across the nation each summer (wcwonline.org/summerworkshops).
Alyssa Gramajo is a Research Associate at the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College. At WCW, Gramajo supports the work of the Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab as the project coordinator for data collection. In this capacity, Gramajo is a liaison to schools overseeing recruitment and scheduling, data management, dissemination projects, and manuscript editing. She also works closely with the lab’s Wellesley College student research assistants and interns.
Maya is a postdoctoral researcher with the Youth, Media and Wellbeing Lab. Her multi-method research interests focus on the psychosocial risks and benefits of historically underrepresented adolescent’s social technology use and applying the social ecological framework to adolescence in the digital age. She also has experience working in nonprofit management for youth programs around civic engagement and storytelling.
Youth Advisory Board
The Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab’s Youth Advisory Board (YAB) informs the development of our STEM & Digital Wellbeing Workshops. The YAB is made up of former workshop attendees or co-facilitators. Our YAB members provide valuable feedback on developments regarding the week-long summer programs and collaborate with researchers and other peers while engaging in personal development opportunities, such as graphic design skills, networking, public speaking, and near-peer mentorship. The Youth Advisory Board includes middle school, high school, and college-aged youths. The YAB is funded by a Technology and Adolescent Mental Wellness grant through the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
WCW UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTS AND INTERNS
Viviana is the Wellesley Centers for Women Class of 1967 Intern. She is a part of the website management team, Digital Wellbeing Workshop team, the Systematic Review of Marginalized Youth on Social Media team, and the Media, Identity & Election Study team.
Viviana Cardenas-Habell '27
Majors: Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences, Anthropology
Kathryn is a part of the Building our Bonds Authentically (BOBA) project, the Systematic Review of Marginalized Youth on Social Media team, the Digital Wellbeing Workshop team, and is Youth Advisory Board member.
Kathryn Geertsma '27
Major: Mathematics, Women's and Gender Studies
Natalie was a Sophomore Early Research Program intern. She is part of the Election, Media, & Identity Study team and the Systematic Review of Marginalized Youth on Social Media team
Natalie Huynh '28
Major: Data Science, Education Studies
Gatsby is a part of the Teen & Dog Study team, the Election, Media, & Identity Study team, and the Neurodivergency and Chatbot Companion team.
Gatsby Langston '28
Major: Political Science, Minor: Anthropology
Lily is part of the communications management team and Digital Wellbeing Workshop team.
Lily Mosisa '28
Major: Computer Science, Political Science
Syenna is a part of Digital Wellbeing Workshop team, Teen & Dog Study team, communications management team, and the Black Girls Create project.
Syenna Williams '27
Major: Women's and Gender Studies, Pre-Med Track
Tina is a part of the Building our Bonds Authentically (BOBA) project.
Tina Zhang '28
Major: Psychology, Sociology
Yolanda is a part of the Teen & Dog Study team.
Yolanda Zhang '27
Major: Economics Minor: Statistics
Hangyeol is a part of the Digital Wellbeing Workshop team, the Systematic Review of Marginalized Youth on Social Media team, and the Neurodivergency and Chatbot Companion team.
Hangyeol Park
Major: Psychology, Education Studies
CONSULTING STAFF AND INTERNS
Leela is a member of the Digital Wellbeing Workshop team.
Leela Ahn
High School Class of 2027
Luna is part of the Digital Wellbeing Workshop team and Media, Identity and Elections team.
Luna Do
Major: Media Arts and Sciences
Qualitative Interview Specialist, National Institute of Out-of-School Time (NIOST), Teen & Dog Study
Research Associate, Licensed Mental Health Counselor
Chloe was a 2025-26 Wellesley Centers for Women Class of 1967 Intern. She is part of the Election, Media, & Identity Study team, the Neurodivergency and Chatbot Companion team, and is a Youth Advisory Board member.
Chloe Guntrip '26
Major: Political Science, Psychology
Angela is a part of the Building our Bonds Authentically (BOBA) project team and Digital Wellbeing Workshop team. Previously, she was on the communications team.
Angela Li '26
Majors: Psychology and Computer Science
Caitlin is a part of the Digital Wellbeing Workshop team and the Systematic Review of Marginalized Youth on Social Media team.
Caitlin Mbuakoto
PhD Student at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Emma was the 2024-25 Wellesley Centers for Women Class of 1967 Intern. She is part of the Systematic Review of Marginalized Youth on Social Media team.
Emma Medrano '25
Major: Psychology, Minor: Education Studies
Ceci was the Wellesley Centers for Women Class of 1967 Intern. She is part of the Teen & Dog Study team, Digital Wellbeing Workshop team, and is a Youth Advisory Board member.
Ceci Miller '26
Majors: Anthropology and Psychology
Marinka is part of the Digital Wellbeing Workshop team. Previously, she was on the website management team.
Marinka Peralta '26
Major: Media Arts and Sciences
Isabela is a part of the Digital Wellbeing Workshop team. Previously, she was on the communications team.
Isabela Sanchez Taipe '26
Major: Media Arts and Sciences
Kaitlyn is a part of the Building our Bonds Authentically (BOBA) project team.
Kaitlyn Wang '23
Major: Neuroscience
Beth is a part of the Adolescent Media Project (AMP), Teen & Dog Study, Media & Identity Study, and the Election, Media, & Identity Study team.
Research Associate and Data Analyst
Alice is a part of the Building our Bonds Authentically (BOBA) project, Media, Identity & Election Study team, and the Digital Wellbeing Workshop team.
Alice Zhang
PhD Candidate at Carnegie Mellon University
Lab Alumni
These are alumni of the Youth, Media, & Wellbeing Research Lab, having served as staff, research interns, or data collectors.
Our Partners
Funders
This work is made possible by the support of major federal and foundation grants and gift-funded awards. Funding has come from the National Institutes of Health; Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media & Child Development; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Connections program; I Am Strong Foundation; Morningstar Family Foundation: Wellesley Centers for Women’s 35th Anniversary Fund; Susan McGee Bailey Women’s Perspective Fund; Harold Benenson Memorial Grant; Nan May Holstein New Directions Award; Wellesley Centers for Women Class of ‘67 Internship Programs; Wellesley College Social Science Summer Research and Early Sophomore Research Internship Programs; Technology and Adolescent Mental Wellness Youth Advisory Board Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Metrowest Women’s Fund; Metrowest Health Foundation.
Research Partners and Visiting Scholars
Grants and Mixed-Method Consultant
Professional Coach, Facilitator, and Consultant
Collaborator on neurodivergent youth and social media research
Associate Professor in Communication Studies at Northeastern University
WCW Visiting Scholar, Consulting projects include parental monitoring of social media, Media & Identity Study
Medical Editor/Pediatrician
Research Collaborator on the Adolescent Media Project (AMP)
Boston Children’s Hospital, Digital Wellness Lab
Catherine co-leads the Youth, Media, & Wellbeing Research Lab activities pertaining to summer STEM workshops and developing apps for healthy social media use in middle school.
Associate Professor of Computer Science
Consultant for Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and racial equity
Founder of KDRUMM Consulting LLC, Social Emotional Learning Expert
Research and Methodology Consultant on the effects of social media on sleep
Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School
PI of the Building our Bonds Authentically (BOBA) project
PI of the Developmental Risk & Resilience Lab, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Research Collaborator for Youth Advisory Board (YAB)
PI of the Social Media and Adolescent Health Research Team (SMAHRT)
PI for the The Teen & Dog Study
Tufts Institute for Human-Animal Interaction, Tufts University
Systematic Review of Marginalized Youth on Social Media team.
Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland
Contact
Youth, Media, & Wellbeing Research Lab
Wellesley Centers for Women
Wellesley College – CHE
106 Central Street
Wellesley, MA 02481-8203
youthmediawellbeing@wcwonline[dot]org
781 283 2486
