Wayfinder was born at the Stanford Institute of Design after asking one key design question: how can we reimagine adolescent education to develop a student’s sense of meaning, purpose, and belonging? Rather than recycle old solutions to curb student depression and anxiety, Wayfinder is addressing the youth mental health crises in a new innovative model — what we call SEL Reimagined.
Based on the research of Dr. Bill Damon, the Director of the Stanford Adolescence Center + Wayfinder Advisory Member, Dr. Damon and his team at the Stanford Center on Adolescence lead a growing body of research that shows that young adults are stressed not just because they have too much to do, but because they don’t know why they’re doing it. At the core, we help students find meaning - an antidote to the mental health crisis plaguing our students.
