Fellow Travelers
We know that no one person, organization, or company can successfully address the challenge alone, so it’s imperative that we collaborate to design and maintain a healthier digital experience for all young people and their families. Our Fellow Travelers blog series features colleagues from around the world who focus on digital wellness from a different perspective than the Digital Wellness Lab, enabling us to share expertise in key areas of digital wellness that we don’t explore as deeply.
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Fellow Travelers: Dr. Aparna Samuel Balasundaram
Dr. Aparna Samuel Balasundaram, Global Head of Wellbeing and Resilience at AI & Immersive Operations, BPS, Wipro, shares a behind-the-scenes look at how Trust and Safety teams work to protect vulnerable users—particularly children and teens—from digital harm by creating digital ecosystems that are ethical, inclusive, and safe.
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Fellow Travelers: Sarah Rebick
Sarah Rebick, Director of the Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki, offers an educator’s perspective on achieving digital balance. She emphasizes the importance of intentionally limiting technology to encourage students to foster deep connections and fully immerse themselves in physical experiences.
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Fellow Travelers: Kerry Crofton, PhD
Author Dr. Kerry Crofton offers a refreshing, action-oriented approach to digital wellness. It’s not about ditching tech, but about mindful engagement, creating healthier habits and fostering deeper connections with nature.
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Fellow Travelers: Dr. Rachel Kowert
As the founder of Psychgeist, Dr. Rachel Kowert, reframes the conversation from negativity and parental guilt, and emphasizes that video games and all digital media can be tools for parents and young people to interact with technology safely and responsibly.
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Fellow Travelers: Laura Marciano, PhD
Dr. Laura Marciano, a research associate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, understands the importance of teens’ unique experiences and makes direct conversation and engagement a crucial preliminary step in her research process.
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Fellow Travelers: Ying Xu, PhD
Dr. Ying Xu, Assistant Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, shares more about her research on designing AI technologies that promote language and literacy development, and wellbeing for children and families.
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Fellow Travelers: Leah Plunkett, JD
Leah Plunkett, Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, discusses the critical importance of protecting digital privacy for kids, and how thoughtful design and product choices can positively impact their online environments.
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Fellow Travelers: Carson Domey
Carson Domey, executive director at the Coalition for Student Wellbeing, speaks about the value of incorporating mental health education and digital literacy skills into K-12 education curricula.
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Fellow Travelers: Amanda Morin
Amanda Morin, author and neurodiversity consultant, provides guidance on how to band together as a digital village and make online spaces safe and supportive for everyone.
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Fellow Travelers: Adele Taylor
Adele Taylor, Senior Manager, Youth Programs and Partnerships at NoFiltr, urges tech platforms to take a safety by design approach to building products.
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Fellow Travelers: Jared Matas, EdD
Discover how OunceIT’s EdTech specialist Jared Matas, EdD empowers schools to use technology intentionally, fostering creativity, curiosity, and healthier digital habits.
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Fellow Travelers: Larissa May
Larissa May founded #HalfTheStory after facing her own struggles with social media, and has spent the past nine years driving the rapidly growing global movement towards digital wellness.
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Fellow Travelers: Lena Slachmuijlder
Lena Slachmuijlder, a peacebuilder for over 30 years, shares her views on why and how tech companies should make their products healthier for young people.
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Fellow Travelers: Michelle Ciulla Lipkin
Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, Executive Director at NAMLE, shares why making media literacy education highly valued and widely practiced as an essential life skill is personal.
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Fellow Travelers: Antonia Holder
Antonia Holder, mom and tech company founder, shares her thoughts on the responsibility of parents and caregivers for their children’s digital wellness.