Jonathan Zaff

Dr. Zaff is a developmental psychologist whose research focuses primarily on understanding how to create the conditions within which all children and youth thrive, particularly youth from backgrounds that have been historically oppressed.

Prior to joining the faculty at Northeastern University, Dr. Zaff was the founding director of the CERES Institute for Children & Youth at Boston University. CERES conducts community-engaged applied research and evaluations in order to drive positive educational and life outcomes for children and youth. He was also the founding executive director of the Center for Promise, which was the research division of America’s Promise Alliance and a university-based research center first at Tufts University and then Boston University. Dr. Zaff began his career as a research associate at Child Trends and founded a youth policy organization.