Youth Advisory Board
The Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab’s Youth Advisory Board (YAB) informs the development of our STEM & Digital Wellbeing Workshops. As former workshop attendees or co-facilitators, YAB members provide feedback on developments to the week-long summer program and collaborate with researchers and other peers while engaging in personal development opportunities (graphic design skills, networking, public speaking, near-peer mentorship). The board includes middle school, high school, and college-aged youth. The YAB is funded by a Technology and Adolescent Mental Wellness grant through the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Dr. Linda Charmaraman is Director of the Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab and seeks to amplify youth voices in the co-creation of our summer digital wellbeing workshops. One of her goals is to use the power of data to inform inclusive programming for those underrepresented in the design of social technologies.
Dr. Catherine Delcourt is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction Lab and Media Arts and Sciences (MAS) program at Wellesley College.
Catherine co-leads the Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab activities pertaining to STEM & Digital Wellbeing Workshop and developing apps for healthy social media use in middle school. Her research interests focus on how people relate to each other through social technologies and the social implications of our increasing dependence on the internet.
Alyssa is the Project Coordinator for the Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab. In this capacity, Alyssa serves as the liaison for YAB members, overseeing board recruitment, administration, and related tasks. She is excited to work with Board members to help shape the development of the STEM & Digital Wellbeing Workshop. In her free time, Alyssa enjoys adventuring with her family and spending time at her sewing machine.
Youth Board Members
Samantha is 12 years old and is from Queens, New York. She is a member of the Youth Advisory Board and a prior participant of the STEM & Digital Wellbeing Workshop. Samantha enjoys swimming, playing the piano, and dog-sitting. She is excited to partake in the Youth Advisory Board with the hope of strengthening her leadership and collaborative skills to improve future workshops.
Amara is a 14 year old that lives in Massachusetts and goes to Coakley Middle School. She was born in Kenya in Africa and moved to the U.S. at the age of 7. Amara is excited to participate in the Youth Advisory Board and to improve the summer workshop for future members. She loves art, baking, drawing, and road trips.
Brin is a 14-year-old that lives in Massachusetts and goes to CCHS. They were born in Russia and moved to the U.S. very young. Brin is excited to participate in the Youth Advisory Board and hopes to provide helpful ideas to improve future participants. He loves photography, drawing, writing, and biking.
Evelyn is 15 years old and is currently a sophomore in high school. She is from Hudson Massachusetts and lived there her entire life. She participated in the Wellesley College’s STEM & Digital Wellbeing Workshop and she felt connected to it and what Wellesley College had to offer immediately. The workshop inspired her to join the Youth Advisory Board and she is excited to share her thoughts and help others as much as possible. In her free time Evelyn enjoys self care, all forms of arts (performing, visual, design, etc), learning, traveling, watching movies and tv shows, lastly collaborating and socializing with others. She looks forward to improving her leadership and service skills with YAB this year!
Ailish is 12 years old and in 7th grade. She does choir, soccer and likes to play Roblox and watch Netflix. She is very excited to join the Youth Advisory Board because she wants to help improve the thought on social media and digital wellbeing.
Margaret Macie Zuniga Murga (Macie) is 12 years old and lives in Natick Massachusetts. I participated in the STEM & Digital Wellbeing Workshop. I am a member of the Youth Advisory Board. I enjoy playing video games like roblox, going through youtube for art and baking inspo. Also I enjoy playing instruments like the Clarinet and Alto saxophone. I am a student of Kennedy Middle School. Also I do a lot of different afterschool activities like jazz, jazz lab, honors Wind Ensemble, and theater out of school
Livi Vaz is 12 years old and is in 7th grade. She lives in Medfield, Massachusetts and enjoys playing field hockey, volleyball and calling her friends for fun. Livi is a member of the Youth Advisory Board at Wellesley College and really enjoys it. She joined the YAB because she wanted to make a difference and help increase self love and self esteem. She also did a summer workshop over the summer which really made her want to join the YAB!!
Mentors
Sancha Gonzalez is currently a junior at Wellesley College studying Political Science with an interest in American Politics and American Studies. She is passionate about the intersection of policy and protest, and how their relationship impacts minority populations.
