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Whole Learners© developers have 20 years of experience in research and supporting youth-serving organizations to implement best practices for adolescents to grow up healthy and thrive. As part of the University of Minnesota, the program was developed by the Konopka Institute for Best Practices in Adolescent Health and the Healthy Youth Development-Prevention Research Center.
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Konopka Institute for Best Practices in Adolescent Health
​The Konopka Institute's goal is to get reliable information into the hands of everyone who is in a position to help adolescents. 
​Our program is rooted in Dr. Gisela Konopka's  fundamental requirements for healthy adolescent development:
  • Participate as citizens, as members of a household, as workers, as responsible members of society
  • Gain experience in decision making
  • Interact with peers, and acquire a sense of belonging
  • Reflect on self, in relation to others and discover self by looking outward as well as inward
  • Discuss conflicting values and formulate one's own value system
  • Experiment with one's own identity, with relationships to other people, with ideas; try out various roles without having to commit oneself irrevocably
  • Develop a feeling of accountability in the context of a relationship among equals
  • Cultivate a capacity to enjoy life
 Healthy Youth Development - Prevention Research Center
The Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health is home to the University of Minnesota's Healthy Youth Development*Prevention Research Center (HYD*PRC), one of the premier sites in the country for adolescent health research. At the HYD*PRC researchers are learning about the best practices for providing adolescents with the necessary skills and opportunities to live healthy and meaningful lives. The HYD*PRC is also dedicated to learning and implementing ways to  reduce health disparities that exist among Minnesota's young people.