Ellen Galinsky is President of Families and Work Institute and the elected Past President of the Work and Family Researchers Network (WFRN). She also serves as senior research advisor to AASA, the School Superintendent Organization. Previous jobs include Chief Science Officer at the Bezos Family Foundation and faculty at Bank Street College. Her research is centered on children’s learning and thriving and has involved studies on work-life, child and adolescent development, youth voice, child-care, and parental development. 

Galinsky is the author of Mind in the Making, a best-selling book on early learning that the New York Times called “an iconic parenting manual,” and Judy Woodruff of the PBS NewsHour named “must reading for everyone who cares about America’s fate in the 21st Century.” Her book on adolescence, The Breakthrough Years, was selected one of the best parenting books in 2024 by the Greater Good Science Center. Adam Grant, author of Hidden Potential says that “it smashes common stereotypes of teens and tweens,” Dan Siegel, author of The Whole Brain Child calls it a “masterpiece;” Mitch Prinstein of the American Psychological Association says it’s “a tour de force.” Known for her work on executive function (EF) skills, she’s been called the “OG of EF.” In addition to being the author of nine mass market books, she’s written 90 books/reports and 360 articles for books, academic journals, magazines, and the Web.  

Other career highlights include serving as a parent expert in the Mister Rogers Talks to Parents TV series; being the elected President of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC); and being elected to the National Academy of Human Resources. In 2018, the Work and Family Researchers Network established the ongoing Ellen Galinsky Generative Researcher Award and she received their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022. 

A popular keynote speaker, Galinsky has been a presenter at five White House Conferences. She has been featured regularly in the media, including appearances on Good Morning America, the Today Show, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.