Sarah Zeller-Berkman, PhD is Academic Director of the Youth Studies Program which includes a BA, MA and Advanced Certificate in Youth Studies which she developed and runs.  She is a Distinguished Lecturer in the program.  Sarah is also a founder and director of multiple grant funded programs included a longitudinal, critical, participatory action research project called ‘The Intergenerational Change Initiative (ICI)’ and a paid gap year program for 18-24 year-olds interested in supporting the wellbeing of youth and communities called ‘Working the Gap’.

Prior to joining CUNY SPS, Dr. Zeller-Berkman worked on various initiatives for city government, foundations and non-profits including Mozilla Foundation, the Mayor’s Leadership Team on School Climate and Discipline and the Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives.  For seven years she was a director at The Youth Development Institute where she led the Community-Youth Development Unit.  She also was a fellow at La Guardia Community College, taught in Youth Studies at Brooklyn College, and a founding member of the Public Science Project at the CUNY Graduate Center.

Dr. Zeller-Berkman holds a BA from Emory University and a Doctorate from CUNY Graduate Center’s Social Personality Psychology Program.  Dr. Zeller-Berkman has spent the last 25 years as a practitioner, researcher, evaluator, capacity-builder, professor and scholar in the field of youth and community development. She has worked in partnership with young people on participatory action research projects about issues that impact their lives such as sexual harassment in schools, incarceration, parental incarceration, economic mobility, housing and high-stakes testing.