About Youthought
At Youthought, we’re reimagining emotional wellness through creativity, connection, and joyful discovery.
What if the path to more balance and wellness was easier and more playful than you thought?
That's the belief behindYouthought.
The name was inspired by a simple conviction: all youth ought to have opportunities to develop emotional awareness, resilience, and meaningful connection through experiences that are as joyful and accessible as any other part of their day. We believed children deserved wellness tools that felt less like another lesson—and more like play.
But along the way, something unexpected happened.
As we began sharing these experiences with families, educators, and communities, we discovered that the very same challenges affecting children—distraction, hurry, disconnection, and the constant demands of modern life—were affecting the adults who care for them, too. We realized we don't outgrow our need for playful moments, mindful pauses, or meaningful connection.
Today, Youthought creates experiences for people of all ages.
By blending joyful recreation with mindful reflection, discovering balance becomes engaging, approachable, and grounded in everyday life. Whether through our school-based Thoughtful Theater classes or customized PlayGround Experiences, our signature Play & Pause approach helps participants better understand how their minds work—cultivating greater balance, resilience, presence, and authentic connection.
We believe wellness doesn't require choosing between play and pause, creativity and reflection, or movement and mindfulness. Lasting well-being grows when we learn to move naturally between them.
Because whether we're six or sixty, we all deserve opportunities to slow down, reconnect, and remember what has been within us all along.
Meet The Creator of Youthought, Jen!
After earning her B.A. in Performing Arts from CSUF, Jen acquired both her music credential and master’s degree in education. During her early teaching years, she helped pioneer the Elementary Vocal Program for OUSD, where she inspired hundreds of students through a curriculum that blended creativity, confidence, and connection.
A move to private education aligned with her personal study of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness, and in 2021, Jen completed her mindfulness certification in Awareness Training through the Greater Good Science Center. These paths naturally converged, inspiring the creation of Youthought’s signature Play & Pause approach.
Over the past twelve years, that original idea has continued to evolve into something far greater than Jen ever imagined. What began as a way to bring playful, preventative wellness to youth has grown into an approach that now serves youth and adults alike—through theater, workshops, professional development, and community experiences. Today, Jen continues to develop and share the program with the same belief that first inspired it: that meaningful growth can happen in the most unexpected ways.
Youthought Ambassadors:
Do a Little Good
Coordinated service projects for students who have completed a Youthought class or workshop—bringing mindfulness into the world through thoughtful action and purposeful service.
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