About Us
The “Ripple Effect” – creating change from the inside out
How change happens:
A Ripple Effect
A ripple effect happens when one event has a gradually spreading influence on others. Ripple Effects was founded on the belief that empowering young people with social and emotional competencies within the particular contexts of their particular lives, could have a positive influence on the rest of their lives, and their lives in turn could positively influence their families, peers, schools, neighborhoods and the world.
Ripple Effects gives kids what they need to succeed in school today: an equity lens for developing social skills 
Hattie Tate,
OUSD Juvenile Justice Liaison Director, Oakland Unified School District
Our story
Ripple Effects, a woman-owned, social-enterprise, was founded in 1996 by child advocate and Emmy award winning media producer, Alice Ray and technologist Sarah Berg. Prior to founding Ripple Effects, Ray, who now serves as Board Chair, was the Executive Director of Committee for Children, where she originated the Second Step curriculum. She and Berg co-founded Ripple Effects as a “Third Step” of prevention, one that leverages technology to address the implementation fidelity, cultural adaptation, and learning differentiation issues that had arisen with other in-person programs.
Our Mission – Putting Students First
We are committed to promoting personal and social integrity for youth and adults through our commitment to excellence, educational equity, efficacy through engagement, and by conducting ourselves in an ethical manner.
Excellence
Quality in both our products and services is a priority.
Efficacy
Our products are tested in real-world settings and vetted in scientific studies.
Equity
We believe that gaining true equity for the disenfranchised is integral to reducing social injury.
Engagement
Users engage with our programs using a personalized process to solve the social-emotional mysteries of their lives.
Ethics
A commitment to honesty, integrity and the empowerment of others drives our business decisions.