Jenny Anderson

Jenny Anderson is an award-winning journalist and author who co-wrote The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better with education expert Rebecca Winthrop. A former New York Times reporter, she has spent several years researching student engagement, working with hundreds of teens, educators, and parents to understand why adolescents lose their love of learning and how to help them reconnect.

In The Disengaged Teen, Anderson and Winthrop combine original research and interviews with young people to examine the teen disengagement and mental health crisis, introducing four modes of learning—Resister, Passenger, Achiever, and Explorer—and offering practical, science-based strategies for parents, educators, and caregivers. Anderson frequently speaks and writes about education, motivation, and agency, appearing on podcasts and media programs to discuss how families and schools can help teens become more engaged, resilient learners.