Join us for an evening with co-authors, Dr. William Stixrud and Ned Johnson, of The Self-Driven Child and What Do You Say?, as they share key insights from their groundbreaking work on motivation, resilience, and mental health in young people. Highlighting the growing prevalence of stress-related challenges and unhealthy patterns of motivation, they will offer hopeful, practical advice grounded in the belief that when young people develop a stronger sense of autonomy and control, they become better equipped to thrive as students and people.
Dr. William Stixrud
Dr. William (Bill) Stixrud has been administering neuropsychological evaluations to children, teens, and young adults for nearly 40 years—and his passion for the work has never waned. He is deeply committed to helping young people understand themselves more fully and to guiding parents, educators, and mental health professionals in supporting the children and adolescents in their care.
Early in his career as both a neuropsychologist and a parent, Dr. Stixrud recognized a fundamental truth: we cannot make another person do something against their will. This realization shaped his approach to parenting and professional practice alike, inspiring him to take on the role of consultant to his own children, helping them discover who they wanted to become and what kind of lives they wanted to build. Around the same time, he developed a strong interest in research on the effects of stress on the developing brain, leading him to explore the crucial role that a sense of control plays in healthy brain and body functioning.
When Dr. Stixrud began collaborating with Ned Johnson, this shared understanding became the foundation for their work together and their bestselling books, which emphasize the importance of helping young people cultivate a strong sense of control over their own lives.
Dr. Stixrud serves on the faculty at Children’s National Medical Center and as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine. His work has been featured in NPR, CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Times of London, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, Time Magazine, Scientific American, Business Week, Barron’s, New York Magazine, and Vogue.
He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with his wife of 46 years, Starr, who served as Executive Director of The Stixrud Group for three decades and remains an essential partner in both his professional and personal life. They have two adult children—an economist and a psychologist—and five grandchildren. A longtime practitioner of Transcendental Meditation, Dr. Stixrud also enjoys playing and singing in his rock-and-roll band, Close Enough.
Ned Johnson
Ned Johnson has spent his career exploring what drives young people—what motivates them, what worries them, and what truly matters to them. As the President and Founder of PrepMatters, an educational company dedicated to helping students succeed in high school and beyond, he has spent more than 50,000 hours working one-on-one with students since 1993. Known affectionately as a “tutor-geek,” he helps students master an alphabet of standardized tests while also discovering how they learn best, manage stress, and stay motivated.
Mr. Johnson’s most rewarding work lies in helping students better understand themselves and find balance between what life demands and what they genuinely want for their futures. Through his long-standing collaboration with Dr. William Stixrud, he continues to explore how to help young people perform at their best—academically, emotionally, and personally.
He serves on the boards of CollegeTracks, which supports first-generation and under-resourced students in achieving success in higher education and career pathways, and the Safe Community Coalition, which promotes stress reduction, mental wellness, and healthy decision-making among youth.
He has written for The New York Times, The Telegraph, U.S. News & World Report, and The Washington Post, and he has co-authored three books, including two with Dr. Stixrud. He also hosts The Self-Driven Child Podcast, where he interviews parenting and education experts. His colleagues have recently encouraged him to expand his presence on TikTok and Twitter —projects he admits are still works in progress.
Mr. Johnson lives in Washington, DC, and spends weekends hiking and gardening in rural New York with his wife, Vanessa, a Latin teacher, and his college sweetheart. Their two college-aged children study in Vermont and occasionally return home—mostly for the pizza at 2 Amys.