Lyn Mikel Brown is a Professor of Education at Colby College and a member of the Research Practice Partnership Team (RPPT) that designed the TREE model and now oversees the project evaluation.

Lyn grew up Vanceboro and Calais, both Washington County border towns. She began her research on child and adolescent development at the Harvard Project on Women’s Psychology and Girls’ Development. She uses qualitative, voice-centered research methods to explore the intersections of culture, context, and development, with a particular focus on voice and youth engagement in schools and communities. As the founder of three youth-serving organizations, she’s developed a range of programs and curricula that support youth voice and civic engagement. Past projects include a 5-year longitudinal study of girls’ psychological and social development, an analysis of social class differences in girls’ experiences of schooling, and an exploration of the ways adults can effectively scaffold youth-driven social change work.