Now a Bestseller!
"Stephanie Krauss demonstrates her grasp of the youth mental health crisis we face today and provides the guidance we need to cope with it. This compelling new work is for everyone who cares about young people – not just professionals – and I’m so grateful she has contributed to our understanding with such focus and compassion."
- Chuck Ingoglia, President and CEO,
National Council for Mental Wellbeing
If you care for kids in any capacity, pick up this book right now. It's innovative, humane, solution-oriented, and both powerful and incredibly practical.
--Anya Kamenetz, Author, The Stolen Year


Meet Stephanie Malia
Relentlessly focused on what kids need to thrive now and in the future.
I am an educator, social worker, and mom of two school-aged kids. Through my experiences teaching and running a school, I know getting young people to succeed academically does not always mean they are thriving or ready for what comes next. This was true in my own life. As a high school dropout, I needed people and opportunities within and beyond school to help me succeed.
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Today I work at the intersection of education, youth development, workforce development, and human services. My work and writing focus on what young people need to build lives and futures they love. I am fortunate to work with brilliant leaders across the US and globally who are working to make that possible.
I am the founder and principal consultant of First Quarter Strategies LLC; a senior fellow to Education Northwest and the CERES Institute for Children & Youth at Boston University; a senior advisor for Children's Funding Project; and, a staff consultant for the Youth Transition Funders Group.
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I have written two books: Whole Child, Whole Life: 10 Ways to Help Kids Live, Learn, and Thrive and Making It: What Today's Kids Need for Tomorrow's World. My work and writing have been featured on NPR, PBS, US News, EdSurge, Scary Mommy, and more.