Sarah Anne Stoddard

Dr. Stoddard's research aims to improve our understanding of youth development within adverse contexts, particularly the interaction of individual and environmental influences (e.g., school, neighborhood) on youth outcomes including substance use and violence and aggression, and to guide school and community prevention efforts focused on youth and families. Dr. Stoddard is recognized nationally for her leadership in adolescent health and her interdisciplinary research to prevent substance use and violence among vulnerable populations of youth. Through research, leadership in community-based partnerships, and linkages with schools, she has advanced the frontier of substance use prevention through interventions that enhance future expectations and school connectedness among vulnerable youth. Her research publications have significantly broadened the knowledge base and importance of future expectations as a key internal asset for the preventing substance use and violence.

Dr. Stoddard’s career has focused on promoting the health and well-being of youth living in communities characterized by substantial health and social disparities, and includes professional experience as a local public health nurse focused on maternal-child health, a nurse practitioner in community- and school-based clinics, and the State Adolescent Health Coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Health.