Center for Scholars & Storytellers
Maya Hernandez, PhD, currently serves as the Next Generation Initiatives Senior Manager at Go For Broke National Education Center, where responsibilities include developing a national civic engagement program for young adults and managing a summer Journalism Institute. With extensive experience in research and program development, contributions at the Wellesley Centers for Women and the Center for Scholars & Storytellers focus on youth media and wellbeing. Hernandez has held various roles at UC Irvine, including Graduate Student Scholar and Researcher, examining the intersection of social technologies and adolescent mental health. Previous experience includes clinical research at Stanford University and data management roles at Boston Children's Hospital. Educational qualifications include a PhD and MA in Social Ecology from UC Irvine, a BA in Psychology from Johns Hopkins University, and a program in Health Careers at Harvard University.
Center for Scholars & Storytellers
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The Center for Scholars & Storytellers (CSS), at UCLA, collaborates with leading scientists to provide research-based insights for content creators crafting authentic and inclusive stories for children (ages 2-9) and adolescents (ages 10-25). Our focus is on entertainment content that supports young people's social and emotional health and well-being, emphasizing changing ingrained cultural narratives around the critical issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA), mental health, and inequality. CSS brings academic rigor and real-world entertainment expertise to every project we undertake. By partnering with more than 60 subject-matter experts, scientists, graduate students, research assistants, and academic collaborators worldwide, we help the entertainment industry reimagine and strengthen its content so that young people can thrive and grow. Our original research and valuable insights and tools have been featured in several major media sources such as ABC News, EdSource, NBC News, the New York Times, Today, and more. In just a few years, CSS has grown across all content sectors and is being used by some of the industry's most well-known names, including media companies (Disney, Paramount, Pixar), tech (YouTube, Google), gaming (Twitch, Ninja), public health (Surgeon General, LA County of Education), and consumer products (Mattel, Lego, Barbie). CSS was founded in 2019 by award-winning Dr. Yalda T. Uhls, a former senior film executive who subsequently received a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from UCLA. Dr. Uhls was recently named 1 of 9 DEI experts who are changing Hollywood. You can learn more about our work at scholarsandstorytellers.com or contact us directly here, https://www.scholarsandstorytellers.com/contact-us.