About Us

Connected Futures was developed by a team of experts in clinical and developmental psychology.
Together, we have years of experience in studying the science of positive youth development.

Professor Elizabeth Raposa1

Elizabeth Raposa, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Fordham University

Dr. Raposa is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Fordham University. She holds a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is a licensed clinical psychologist. As an expert in the effects of stress on youth development, she conducts research on the ways in which positive relationships with parents, peers, and mentors can mitigate the impact of stress on adolescents and young adults. She provides research consultation to formal mentoring programs on best practices for supporting youth and has extensive experience working with youth from diverse backgrounds as a clinician, professor, and mentor.

Stella Kanchewa, PhD

Stella Kanchewa, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Bellarmine University

Dr. Kanchewa is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Bellarmine University. She holds a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and is an expert in factors that promote positive psychosocial development during adolescence and the transition to adulthood, with a particular focus on mentoring and other supportive relationships. Her research has helped to inform best practices for formal mentoring programs, and she has extensive experience working with adolescents and young adults through curricula designed to promote social support and social capital in young people’s lives.

Jean E. Rhodes, PhD

Jean E. Rhodes, PhD
Frank L. Boyden Professor of Psychology
University of Massachusetts, Boston

Dr. Rhodes is the Frank L. Boyden Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She has devoted her career to understanding and advancing the role of intergenerational relationships in the intellectual, social-emotional, educational, and career development of marginalized youth. She has hasled the movement for integrating evidence-based practices into youth mentoring programs.

Sarah Schwartz, PhD

Sarah Schwartz, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Suffolk University

Dr. Schwartz is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Suffolk University. She holds a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Boston and a Master’s degree in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research focuses on prevention and intervention programs for children and adolescents, with a particular interest in youth mentoring. She has authored a range of articles and book chapters on formal and informal mentoring relationships, and has pioneered rigorous research on youth-initiated mentoring, a new model of mentoring which empowers adolescents to recruit mentors from within their existing social networks.