Yalda Uhls, MBA, Ph.D.

Founder & Executive Director, Center for Scholars & Storytellers, UCLA

Yalda T. Uhls, MBA, Ph.D., is a developmental psychologist, founder of UCLA's Center for Scholars & Storytellers (CSS), and an adjunct professor at UCLA, where she teaches Digital Media and Human Development. Her work helps parents, educators, researchers, and content creators better understand how media and technology influence children and adolescents—and how storytelling can be harnessed to support healthy development and well-being.

Before beginning her academic career, Dr. Uhls spent nearly two decades as a senior film executive at major studios, including MGM and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Drawing on her unique experience in both entertainment and developmental science, she founded the Center for Scholars & Storytellers to bridge research and media, helping creators develop content that positively impacts young people.

Dr. Uhls' research focuses on how traditional and digital media shape children's and adolescents' social and emotional development. She was among the first researchers to study the impact of social media on youth well-being and has received numerous honors for her work, including the Society for Research in Child Development's Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award. Her research has been featured by The New York Times, Time, USA Today, NPR, and other national media outlets, and she has presented her work to organizations including the White House, Google, Pixar, the NFL, and Harvard Business School.

Dr. Uhls is the author of Media Moms & Digital Dads: A Fact Not Fear Approach to Parenting in the Digital Age. Through her research, teaching, and public engagement, she is committed to translating science into practical, compassionate guidance that helps families navigate an increasingly digital world.