About Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl

Dr. Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl is the NoVo Foundation Endowed Chair in Social and Emotional Learning and Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois Chicago. A former middle school and alternative high school teacher for youth at risk, she earned her MA from the University of Chicago and her PhD from the University of Iowa, followed by postdoctoral work as a Fellow in the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Clinical Research Training Program in Adolescence at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University.

Internationally recognized for her expertise in social and emotional learning (SEL), Dr. Schonert-Reichl’s research centers on the factors that promote empathy, compassion, altruism, and resilience in children and youth. She has led numerous studies evaluating SEL programs such as Roots of Empathy, MindUp, and Kindness in the Classroom, and has also examined SEL’s impact on teacher well-being and how SEL can be integrated into teacher preparation programs. Dr. Schonert-Reichl has collaborated with neuroscientists and psychobiologists to explore the biological underpinnings of children’s social and emotional development, including stress physiology and social epigenetics. A leading figure in SEL assessment, she spearheaded the development of the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI), a population-level measure capturing children’s self-reported well-being and social and emotional competencies.

Used globally and translated into multiple languages, the MDI has been administered to more than 400,000 children and is being used in international projects, including a current initiative in Tuluá, Colombia. Her contributions have earned her numerous accolades, including the 2021 Janusz Korczak Medal for Children’s Rights Advocacy, the 2019 Postsecondary Leader of the Year Award (Canadian EdTec), the 2015 Joseph E. Zins Distinguished Scholar Award for outstanding SEL research, and the 2009 Confederation of University Faculty Associations BC’s Paz Buttedahl Career Achievement Award in recognition of sustained outstanding contributions to the community beyond the academy through research over the major portion of a career.

In total, she has authored over 185 scholarly publications, has co-edited two books on mindfulness in education, and has a recent co-edited book Social and Emotional Learning in Action: Creating Systemic Change in Schools (2023). She is Editor-in-Chief of Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy, the first academic journal dedicated to SEL, published by Elsevier. Dr. Schonert-Reichl serves on several influential boards and advisory groups, including the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), the Karanga Global Alliance for SEL and Life Skills, and UNESCO’s MGIEP. She also chairs the Scientific Research Advisory Committee of the Goldie Hawn Foundation and has advised the OECD’s Education 2040 initiative and the British Columbia Ministry of Education on SEL-informed curriculum reforms.

Since 2006, Dr. Schonert-Reichl has participated in dialogues with the Dalai Lama on compassion and educating the heart—experiences highlighted in the 2017 documentary The Last Dalai Lama? Her work has been featured widely in media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, The Atlantic, and Scientific American Mind, underscoring her global influence in the field of SEL and child development.