Stephen will travel to Greenwich, CT on January 28th to speak to parents at Convent of the Sacred Heart School.  His remarks will focus on the challenges, choices, and opportunities young people will be navigating in the new year.  He will also share some anecdotes from his new book, Reality Gap, copies of which will be available for purchase and signing after the event.  Earlier in the day, Stephen will be addressing the school’s student body and conducting a workshop for faculty and staff.  For more information about the evening event, click here.

On Tuesday, December 9th, Stephen joined radio show hosts Ken Sharp and Heidi Foglesong on KLAA am 830 in Los Angeles to discuss his new book, Reality Gap, and current issues for teens, such as underage drinking, impaired driving, cyberbullying, and sexual behavior. 

On Wednesday, December 10th, Stephen spoke to parents and siged copies of his new book, Reality Gap, at the Cherry Hill East High School auditorium from 7-9:00 pm .  The event, hosted Cherry Hill Township, featured information about youth alcohol and drug use, impaired driving, sex, depression, and suicide, highlighting the important role that parent-child communication plays in fostering healthy decision-making.  Stephen also discussed SADD’s original Teens Today research debunking the commonly held belief that adolescence is inextricably linked to conflict, moodiness, and acting out.  To inquire about hosting Stephen in your community, please visit the web page for the SADD Speaker Series.

ParentingTeensOnline.com has posted an article excerpting Stephen’s new book, Reality Gap.  The excerpt, “Conspiracy of Silence,” is from what ParentingTeensOnline.com calls Wallace’s “critical common-sense guide for parents to help them bridge the gulf in understanding between themselves and their adolescent children.”  
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Missouri’s Adult/Youth Alliance (MYAA), a statewide coalition that assists local community efforts in addressing underage drinking, has featured Stephen’s new book, Reality Gap, on its Blog.  MYAA remains single-minded in its pursuit of reducing access to the nation’s number one drug used by children and youth. 

On Thursday evening, November 6th, Stephen spoke at the fall meeting of the Independent School Nurses Group at the Fenn School, in Concord, Massachusetts.  His remarks focused on his new book, Reality Gap, as well as the SADD Speaker Series through which he makes presentations to student, parent, student-parent, and faculty audiences. 

On Wednesday, October 29th, Stephen spoke to parents at the Doane Stuart School in Albany, NY and signed copies of his new book, Reality Gap.   His remarks focused on seven years of original Teens Today research from SADD, including data that suggests that parents can play a powerful role in influencing the choices their children make regarding such issues as underage drinking, other drug use, sexual behavior, bullying, and violence. 

We often think sleep issues are the purview of newborns.  In truth, they represent a problem for many teens, whose late nights and early mornings leave them fatigued and sometimes in danger.  For example, new driving research from SADD and Liberty Mutual Insurance reveals that teens report getting an average of only 7.2 hours of sleep on school nights — far less than the 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep recommended for them by the National Sleep Foundation.
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Stephen was one of a group of professionals across the country to be selected for participation in a George Mason University research project called, “Understanding Teen Drinking Cultures in America.”  Participants were chosen based on their expertise with with teen drinking issues and insight about youth culture.
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Stephen recently spoke with the Boston Globe about the message sent to teens by passage of Proposition 2 in Massachusetts. The measure decriminilizes possession of an ounce of less of marijuana.  The article begins by asking, “If society says smoking marijuana is OK - or at least not the crime it used to be - how do parents, school health counselors, and police officers get youths to keep saying no?”  To read more, click here.

Despite opposition from political leaders, district attorneys, school officials, and various influential organizations, 65 percent of Massachusetts voters recently approved a ballot initiative to decriminalize possession of an ounce or less of marijuana.  Many believe that this initiative, and others like it across the country, will turn back the tide on recent reductions in youth drug use and place teens at risk.
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In a November 10th press release from SADD and Liberty Mutual Insurance, Stephen comments on new research from both organizations highlighting the dangers of drowsy driving by teens. According to the survey, teens who get less than eight hours of sleep per night on average are twice as likely to say they have fallen asleep at the wheel (20 percent) than are teens who report getting an average of eight or more hours of sleep per night (ten percent). 
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The November/December edition of Camping Magazine features Stephen’s new article, “The Art of Camp - How Arts Programs Fuel Self-Expression and Youth Development.”   The article explores the role of the arts in promoting growth, referencing the research of professors Ellen Winner and Lois Hetland documenting a series of “studio habits of mind” - including persistence, observing, envisioning, innovating through exploration, and reflective self-evaluation - and linking them to the creation of personal and societal change.  The article also talks about the blurring of gender boundaries that often results from participation in the arts.
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On Thursday, October 30th, Stephen addressed students at the Doane Stuart School in Albany, NY.  In his remarks, Stephen talked about how young people can build a legacy of caring and commitment to community by making safe, healthy choices in their own lives while also reaching out through service learning programs to play a positive role in the lives of others.  Some students and faculty from the Brown School were also in attendance.  To inquire about hosting Stephen at your school, please visit the web page for the SADD Speaker Series.
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