Our Mission
Our mission is to change how trauma and executive functioning are researched, understood, and supported in everyday life. We do this through the creation of public health education and training, community-based programs, and innovative tech tools. Everything we do is grounded in restoring the consent, dignity, and justice that everyone needs to heal and thrive.
Our values
Consent
Nothing about people without people. Always fully informed and revocable.
Dignity
Everything TEFI does is to preserve autonomy, choice, and humanity.
Justice
We work to restore what systems and trauma have taken from people.
Who we serve
We believe that setting a high standard of care for the people facing the greatest barriers improves care for everyone. Anyone can be affected by trauma and struggle with executive functioning. But the effects of trauma can be compounded by disadvantage. That's why our community-based programs are designed for youth and adults who are any combination of BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, justice-involved, low-income, neurodivergent, and unhoused.
We're committed to ethical development and transparency
TEFI is committed to ethical, consent-based research and development at every stage of our work. We believe data should never be extracted, exploited, or used in ways that harm the very people it represents.
As our research grows, we will prioritize:
- Informed consent and participant autonomy
- Strong data privacy and security protections
- Transparent research partnerships and IRB oversight
- Development practices that resist surveillance and exploitation
Our goal is to build tools, research, and systems that people can trust because they were built with care from the start.
Interested in joining our board?
We’d love to connect with people who are thoughtful, grounded, and interested in contributing their skills to a mission-centered, research-driven nonprofit.
If you’d like to learn more about board service with TEFI, reach out to hello@tefinstitute.org with a brief introduction.