Susan Rivers, Ph.D. is the Executive Director and Chief Scientist at iThrive Games, where she uses her expertise in adolescent social and emotional development to lead innovative game and experience design that promotes and protects teen mental health. Dr. Rivers earned her doctorate in psychology as well as a Master's of Science and a Master's of Philosophy from Yale University, held postdoctoral appointments at Yale University and Cornell University, was a lecturer at Skidmore College, served as research faculty in the Department of Psychology at Yale University for over a decade, and was a co-founder of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. She is a fierce believer in the genius of young people and an advocate for their wellness, spending the last two decades developing, leading, and evaluating programs and efforts that support their social and emotional development. With iThrive, she has co-designed responsive and immersive games, tools, and experiences for teens that support their wellness and learning about themselves, society, and the world. Her research has been funded by the William T. Grant Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the Institute of Education Sciences, the Einhorn Family Charitable Trust, Air Force Research Laboratory, and others. She is serving a 5-year term as a Principal Member of the Social and Behavioral Education Research Peer Review Panel with the Institute of Education Sciences. Dr. Rivers is also the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Games, Self, and Society and is an alum of the Large-Scale Social Change Leadership Fellowship with the Billions Institute.

• A strength you admire in teens: "Teens are the greatest collaborators, especially in the massive project of solving the world's biggest problems. They are natural risk takers and inspiring imagineers of what's possible and they cherish social relationships and have the courage and audacity to question authority and the status quo."  

• Favorite iThrive project: "iThrive Studio, our teen-centered co-design program, is my most favorite. The practice of teen co-design is integrated into everything we do. Sharing space with teens. Shifting power dynamics so adults are learning from teens. Deeply listening to teens as they engage in design activities to catch a glimpse of their lived experience and their vision for what is possible. Co-design is ALWAYS transformative for my understanding of teens and humanity, and always instructive for what we need to be focused on at iThrive."

Eghosa Asemota, M.P.A. is the Senior Director of Marketing and Communications at iThrive Games, where she uses her background in storytelling to communicate our approach with prospective clients and partners and does so with an asset-framed lens to ensure what we put into the world amplifies and reflects the genius and needs of young people. Eghosa holds a B.A. from Binghamton University, an M.P.A. from Cornell University, and a digital marketing certification from the Yale School of Management. Prior to leading marketing communications and visual design at iThrive, she spent four years with a video company specializing in nonprofit and NGO storytelling, using her passion for stories to support their work, reach, and impact. Eghosa has worked with organizations and agencies like the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, the Institute for Middle Eastern Understanding (IMEU), and Freedom for Immigrants to ensure their key messages reach their target audiences in resonant, integrity-preserving ways. At iThrive, her creativity supports the narrative and visual elements of games, tools, and experiences we create with clients and partners for teens.

• A strength you admire in teens: "Teens are always on the vanguard of change and asking the bold questions that bring forth disruptive ideas that make systems better for them and all of us. Despite voting age restrictions, teens, with their organized protests, social demonstrations, digital literacy, and public discourse on social media channels, remain the most civically engaged demographic in the world. From where they are, they are committed to realizing a world they and their peers can thrive in. It's an honor to listen to and learn from them each time, and play a part in co-designing that world with them."
• Favorite iThrive project: "Sam's Journey holds a special place in my heart. The game-based learning experience speaks directly to the questions teens are contending with and asking themselves in an increasingly digitized world about identity and public and private expression. I'm thankful this resource exists for them to engage with those questions safely in a playful, reflective, and connection-building way."

Michelle Bertoli, M.A. is the Senior Director of Learning at iThrive Games, where she draws on over a decade of experience in social and emotional learning to design interactive experiences that support emotional growth in young people. Michelle holds a B.A. from Vanderbilt University and an M.A. from Yale University. Prior to leading the instructional design of social and emotional skill-building games, tools, and programs at iThrive, she supported research at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence including the rigorous evaluation of the Center's signature RULER approach and the development of classroom practices to support students with learning differences. With over a decade of scholarly research in education, adolescent development, and positive psychology including published works in the Journal of Health Psychology, Journal of College Student Development, and the Journal of Classroom Interactions, Michelle is masterful at infusing learning objectives and product goals with social and emotional learning objectives that support young people in responsive, accessible, and trauma-informed ways. 

• A strength you admire in teens: "How deeply they're examining society and their place in it. Teens are so much less bound than adults by how things have been done before, giving them an inspiring willingness to play with fresh ways of being and doing in the world."
• Favorite iThrive project: "I have a special place in my heart for Museum of Me because I've seen it open up completely new realms of dialogue, connection, and engagement in classrooms in which many of the students have felt alienated from school for most of their learning lives. This unit and the others we've co-created with educators who really "get" teens make possible the kind of deep self-reflection, empathy, coping, and critical thinking skills that follow teens well beyond the walls of the school building."

Jane Lee, P.M.P. is Senior Director of Operations and Mental Health at iThrive Games, where she uses her expertise in psychology and project management to direct the production of games and tools that support positive youth development. She earned her B.A. in psychology from Syracuse University and is a certified project manager. Prior to iThrive, Jane assessed SAMHSA, OAH, and school-based programs at the Centerstone Research Institute (CRI), leading evaluation plan designs, cross-team collaboration, and data collection coordination. Always operationally gifted, she was integral in the planning and implementation of CRI's technology and youth wellness initiative in 2014, which ultimately became iThrive Games. An active gamer, Jane combines two passions at iThrive: games and psychology, believing play can strengthen skills in young people like pattern literacy, logic, teamwork, and creative problem-solving, to support them in meaningful, wellness-supporting ways.

• A strength you admire in teens: "They way they question our world and have a natural inclination towards shaking things up for the better."

• Favorite iThrive project: "I loved working on iThrive Sim during the pandemic because I got to see how impactful it was for teens to have a space to play, connect, and communicate at a time when distance learning meant being muted on Zoom.

Dorothy Batten, MBA is the founder of iThrive Games and president of its Board of Directors. iThrive's visionary and first donor, Dorothy is a mentor, motivator, and advocate of the innovative design work iThrive does with clients and partners, and for teens. Her envisioning of a world where technology and games is designed with empathy for teens in support of their mental health is the genesis of iThrive's story and lives still in the wellness-supporting design approach it takes. As president of the D.N. Batten Foundation, she makes grants to support innovative approaches to tackle mental health and environmental conservation issues. A fierce supporter of impactful community programming in Charlottesville, VA, she serves on several boards including RARE.org, the Women's Initiative, and the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation.

• A strength you admire in teens: "I admire how teens generally become more open during those years - open to new ideas, open to doing things differently, seeing the world through new lenses, new ways of expressing themselves, and their willingness to take risks and try new things."

• Why iThrive? "I love how iThrive does not 'judge' teens and view them in a stereotypical way. iThrive encourages teens to be true to their authentic selves while also finding ways to connect to and respect their peer's authentic selves."

Susan Colpitts, MS, is a member of iThrive Games' Board of Directors. A retired CPA and longtime advocate for the underserved and marginalized, Susan brings her 25 years of experience and expertise as a nationally recognized leader in the wealth management industry to iThrive Games, where she helps inform growth strategy and support financial sustainability. In addition to working with iThrive, Susan is a certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, the current co-owner and business manager of Ghent Elementary School in Norfolk, Virginia, and a co-executive director of the Mindfulness Meditation Alumni Association. Her volunteer activities also include acting as Chair of the City of Norfolk Department of Social Services Advisory Commission, a member of the United for Children Executive Committee, a trustee of Saint Mary's Episcopal School in Memphis, TN, and as a director (and former Chair) of Virginia Humanities.

iThrive Games values the genius of young people, and engaging teens as compensated experts in the game and experience design is a core pillar of our approach. Teens are at the table for all phases of our design process, helping our social and emotional learning experts explore issues, build playful and impactful solutions, and get new tools and experiences out into the world. Our co-design model with teens is not about checking a box. It is about mutual inspiration and transformation that would not emerge any other way.

iThrive Games' teen reach is expanding daily. A diverse and growing circle of teens engages with us through our Teen Hub, where we share paid opportunities for teens to lend their wisdom and creativity to projects. iThrive also maintains a network of engaged teen advisors from our design programs, partnerships, and playtesting sessions with schools, museums, camps, out-of-school-time organizations, and homeschool networks nationwide.

We have seen firsthand how contributing to the creation of games and other playful experiences sparks teens to take the lead; explore, express, and cope with the issues they face; and imagine new possibilities for themselves and the world. As we collaborate with teens, they open our eyes and hearts to deeper understanding, care, and creativity.

If you are a teen - or know one - who loves games, consider joining our Teen Hub to stay informed about opportunities to design with iThrive.

iThrive Games maintains close working partnerships with a regionally diverse network of inspired and inspiring educators who advocate for teen-centered approaches to learning and wellness. Through project-based engagements, educators of teens and young adults lend their grounded expertise to our work. They partner with us to envision new games, build immersive game-based learning units, ideate direct-to-teens mental health tools, and more. We collaborate with educators who care deeply about young people and who are working tirelessly in their own right to imagine and experiment with the learning approaches of the future. Join our mailing list if you work with young people to stay in the loop with our work and upcoming opportunities to collaborate with iThrive.