Dr. Bradford Brown is Professor of Human Development and former Chair of the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received an A.B. in sociology from Princeton University and Ph.D. in human development from the University of Chicago before joining the faculty of the University of Wisconsin in 1979. Dr. Brown's research has focused on adolescent peer relations. He is especially well known for his work on teenage peer groups and peer pressure and their influence on school achievement, social interaction pasterns, and social adjustment. He is the former Editor of the Journal of Research on Adolescence and a past member of the Executive Council of the… Society for Research on Adolescence. He also chaired (2006-2008) the SRA Study Group on Parental Involvement in Adolescent Peer Relations. He is the co-editor or co-author of five books, including The Development of Romantic Relationships in Adolescence (with Wyndol Furman and Candice Feiring), The World's Youth: Adolescence in 8 Regions of the Globe (with Reed Larson and T. S. Saraswathi), and Linking Parents and Family to Adolescent Peer Relations: Ethnic and Cultural Considerations (with Nina Mounts). Dr. Brown has served as a consultant for numerous groups, including the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, the National Academy of Sciences Board on Science Education as well as the Board on Children, Youth and Families, and the Blue Ribbons Schools program of the U.S. Department of Education.
Jeylan T. Mortimer is Professor of Sociology at the University of Minnesota.