Jutta Dotterweich
Jutta Dotterweich, the director of training and technical assistance for ACT for Youth, will retire this month after working at the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research for 22 years.
In her current role, Dotterweich coordinates a team of trainers that provide technical assistance and instruction to organizations funded by the New York State Department of Health. These organizations provide in-school programming focused on preventing adolescent pregnancy, sexually-transmitted disease and HIV.
From its beginnings, Dotterweich worked with ACT for Youth, which was founded in 2000 to promote positive youth outcomes and reduce risky behavior through positive youth development.
“Jutta has been an integral part of ACT for Youth since the beginning of the initiative: enormously productive and deeply knowledgeable,” ACT for Youth Director Jane Powers said. “She has been an extraordinary force and visionary, leading our training and efforts. And she has touched our lives and impacted our work in New York State and beyond. It is hard to imagine ACT for Youth without her.”
Dotterweich’s role requires her to stay up-to-date on the latest evidence related to youth development and adolescent sexual health. She also works as a community builder, connecting agencies with each other and informing them about the latest evidence.
“I greatly enjoy learning about new research and thinking about ways to make this knowledge available to practitioners via trainings or web resources,” she said. “It has been challenging at times, but also very satisfying to create engaging material and resources.”
Dotterweich has been a member of the New York State Youth Development Team, a coalition of state departments and large non-profit agencies, and she has worked closely with the New York State Office of Mental Health. For many years, she has been a co-chair of the Program Work Team: Risk and Thriving in Adolescence, a part of New York State 4-H that develops tools and resources for Cornell Cooperative Extension educators.
In 2015, she helped to organize the 5th Annual Youth Development Research Update, a conference that brought together 50 practitioners from Cornell Cooperative Extension and youth service organizations.
Dotterweich holds a master’s degree in psychology from the University in Muenster in Germany.
In retirement, Dotterweich says she plans to take a break from Zoom meetings, read books, travel abroad to visit family and friends and explore activities that keep mind and body nimble.
