Summary
Jeff Goldenson is a mission-driven director with nine years of experience designing youth-centered programs that link teens to community leaders, libraries, colleges, and local government to improve mental health and civic agency. He leads SHADE’s teen-led placemaking initiative for mental health and climate resilience and runs buildingways, a creative studio focused on youth empowerment, blending strategy, design, and community organizing. His background bridging academic innovation (MIT Media Lab) and hands-on library and instructional leadership (Harvard Library Innovation Lab, Olin College) informs a pragmatic, prototype-driven approach to systems change. Jeff excels at turning ephemeral youth energy into sustained partnerships and tangible projects—events, spaces, and curricula—that shift institutional behavior. Based in Cambridge, he combines design thinking, place-based intervention, and grassroots coalition-building to make urban spaces more inclusive for teens. An often-overlooked strength is his ability to translate academic research into accessible, youth-led public programs that scale locally.
9 years of coding experience
5 years of employment as a software developer
Masters, MIT Media Lab, Masters, MIT Media Lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Bachelor of Architecture - BArch, Architecture, Bachelor of Architecture - BArch, Architecture at Princeton University