Niobe Way

Dr. Niobe Way is an internationally recognized Professor of Developmental Psychology, the founder of the Project for the Advancement of Our Common Humanity (PACH) at NYU, and the Director of the Science of Human Connection Lab. She is also a Principal Investigator of the Listening Project, which has been funded by the Spencer Foundation and is currently funded by the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative and the Rockefeller Foundation, and is a member of the New Pluralists Collaborative.

Dr. Way is Harvard-trained, completed her postdoctoral studies at Yale, and holds an undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley. With nearly four decades of federally funded empirical longitudinal research, she specializes in child and adolescent development and well-being, exploring how families, schools, and broader cultural forces shape these areas. Her research was pivotal in changing the guidelines for Division 51 of the American Psychological Association, establishing friendships as a protective factor and adherence to norms of masculinity as a risk factor for boys and young men. Dr. Way was the President of the Society for Research on Adolescence, received her B.A. from U.C. Berkeley and her doctorate in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard School of Education, and was an NIMH postdoctoral fellow in the Psychology Department at Yale.

Dr. Way’s work has been cited in mainstream media for over a decade, and she has been profiled in The New Yorker and The New York Times. Her expertise covers a wide range of areas including adolescent development, the loneliness and mental health crises in schools and workplaces, the boy crisis, the crisis of connection, suicide and violence prevention, mental health promotion, fostering human connection and friendships, the crisis of connection among boys and men, raising teenagers, parenting, and implementing school- and work-based interventions to promote health and well-being. Additionally, her work addresses diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), reducing stereotyping, and fostering belongingness in the workplace.

Her latest co-edited book is "The Crisis of Connection: Its Roots, Consequences, and Solutions" (NYU Press). Dr. Way has authored or co-authored nearly a hundred journal articles and books, including "Deep Secrets: Boys’ Friendships and the Crisis of Connection" (Harvard University Press), which was the inspiration for "Close," a movie that won the Grand Prix Award at Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign film. Her newest book is "Rebels with a Cause: Reimagining Boys, Ourselves, and Our Culture."