Deborah L. Tolman, Founder
Deborah
L. Tolman is the founder and former director of the CRGS. She
received her Ed.D. in Human Development and Psychology at the
Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1992. Before relocating
to San Francisco, Deborah Tolman was a Senior Research Scientist
and Director of the Gender and Sexuality Project at the Center
for Research on Women at Wellesley College. Dr. Tolman is a developmental
psychologist whose research has focused on adolescent sexuality,
gender development, gender equity and research methods. Her research
has been funded by grants from the National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development, the Ford Foundation, and the Spencer
Foundation. Her book on adolescent girls’ sexuality, Dilemmas
of Desire: Teenage Girls Talk about Sexuality, published by Harvard
University Press in 2002, was awarded the 2003 Distinguished Book
Award from the Association for Women in Psychology. Dr. Tolman
is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and has
received wide recognition for her contributions to female adolescent
development. Her current research program includes longitudinal
studies of the role of sexual content on television and adolescent
sexuality and a development study of gender, relationships and
sexuality that focuses on how messages about masculinity and femininity
affect boys’ and girls’ abilities to pursue healthy
relationships. She is a frequent speaker at professional associations
and schools.