Roberto Rivera Joins 7 Mindsets Leadership Team

Rivera is the Founder of The Good Life Organization, which 7 Mindsets recently acquired

(Roswell, GA) February 8, 2017 — 7 Mindsets, the national leader in mindsets-based social and emotional learning, is excited to announce their new Chief Empowerment Officer, Roberto Rivera, along with the acquisition of The Good Life Organization (TGLO). Throughout 2017, The Good Life Organization’s curriculum, Fulfill the Dream, will be integrated into the 7 Mindsets Academy Portal. Both curricula can be used in schools, after-school programs, faith-based settings, and other community programs.

Roberto Rivera is a predoctoral Fellow with the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Research Group at the University of Illinois at Chicago, specializing in the relationship of youth voice to social and emotional learning. As a Research Collaborator for CASEL, he studies the intersection of SEL, culturally relevant pedagogy, and youth voice.

As a teen, Roberto was labeled an “at-risk” and “disadvantaged” student with learning disabilities. As an adult, he overcame these labels and completed his college degree at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he created his own major entitled “Social Change, Youth Culture and the Arts.” Today he holds a master’s degree in Youth Development with a focus on Social Justice, Urban Education, and Hip-hop from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has received awards from former President Bill Clinton and Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin.

“I’m thrilled to join the 7 Mindsets team,” said Rivera. “I’m excited to connect up our research and practice in a way that expands the empirical base to our approach, while evolving a model that transforms schools and communities in the process.”

The Good Life Organization publishes multi-media educational tools and trains educators, youth workers, and parents in connecting positive youth development to community development. TGLO is best known for its Fulfill the Dream curriculum and its whole-community outcomes in Chicago and Milwaukee schools. Those outcomes include GPAs going up by a full point cumulatively in one quarter, attendance increasing from 55% to 96% in one month, and alternative schools reaching 100% graduation rates. This work has extended beyond school walls in urban communities, sparking gang peace treaties and inspiring community events that helped people save their homes.

“The mission of our new leadership team is to create an environment of hope in all schools across the nation.” said Lupita Knittel, the President of 7 Mindsets. “We’ve joined forces with The Good Life Organization as a major step towards that vision.”

For more information on Roberto Rivera, see his SXSW Edu closing keynote here.

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