BALTIMORE — For decades, parents, teachers, and community leaders have worked tirelessly to help young people reach their full potential. Now, a groundbreaking new book from one of Baltimore’s most influential philanthropic leaders argues that the key to doing so lies not in discipline or programs alone, but in understanding how the adolescent brain actually develops.
In Thrive: How We Can Use Brain Science to Better Serve Adolescents (The New Press), Lisa M. Lawson, president and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, calls for a fundamental shift in how society supports young people. Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience and her years of experience leading one of the nation’s most respected philanthropic organizations, Lawson shows that adolescence is not a problem to fix — it’s a powerful period of growth and possibility.
“If we understand what’s happening in young people’s brains, we can build the systems and support they need to thrive,” Lawson said. “That’s how we shape a better future — not just for them, but for all of us.”
A New Look at the Adolescent Brain
Lawson’s book is rooted in a growing body of research that challenges old assumptions about brain development. According to the National Institutes of Health, adolescence is a second window for growth, with the prefrontal cortex — the part of the brain that controls judgment and decision-making — continuing to mature well into a person’s mid-twenties.
That insight changes everything, Lawson argues. Risk-taking, boundary-pushing, and peer influence — behaviors often viewed as troublesome — are actually signs of a brain still learning how to balance impulse and reason. With the right guidance and support, those same impulses can fuel creativity, leadership, and resilience.
From Science to Systems
Since taking the helm of the Annie E. Casey Foundation in 2019, Lawson has used these findings to shape Thrive by 25, a bold initiative focused on improving outcomes for youth and young adults ages 14 to 24. Under her leadership, the foundation has invested in programs that connect neuroscience to real-world policy and practice — from apprenticeships that link learning to earning, to reforming juvenile justice through opportunity-based probation.
Her approach centers around five essentials Lawson calls “the cables that hold up the bridge to adulthood”:
- Basic needs such as housing, food, and safety;
- Permanent connections with caring adults;
- Relevant education linked to future careers;
- Financial stability and credit-building; and
- Youth leadership, ensuring young people have a voice now, not just later.
“These are not abstract ideas,” Lawson notes. “They’re what young people themselves say they need — not just to survive, but to succeed.”
Baltimore Roots, National Impact
Though Lawson’s work reaches across the country, her message is deeply connected to Baltimore, where she lives and leads the Casey Foundation. The city’s young people — many navigating systemic inequities — stand to benefit from the kinds of supports Thrive calls for.
Initiatives like the SOUL Family Framework, which connects youth in foster care to permanent family networks, and the Partnership for Youth Apprenticeship, which gives students early work experience, are helping reimagine what healthy development looks like in action.
Building Bridges Together
Lawson’s message is simple but urgent: no young person builds their bridge to adulthood alone. She calls on all sectors — families, schools, employers, nonprofits, and policymakers — to work together, guided by what science now tells us about how the adolescent brain grows.
“We know so much more now about the critical window of adolescence than we once did,” Lawson said. “If we use this knowledge to support youth and young adults better, we won’t just improve the trajectory of their lives — we’ll build a brighter future for all of us.”
Thrive: How We Can Use Brain Science to Better Serve Adolescents is available now from The New Press. For more on the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Thrive by 25 initiative, visit aecf.org.