The Experience
2024 program
Following a successful pilot launch in 2023, our first tween and teen cohorts (small groups) kicked off in January 2024.
The program runs January through June with two hours of programming offered each month. Each participant receives individualized support on their self-esteem journey as well as group education and activities facilitated by a mix of youth development professionals and industry experts.
Participants will co-create a self-care pledge with a trusted adult in their life. The pledge will serve as a commitment to practice self-love, body positivity, and apply media literacy skills when consuming digital content.
The six-month program culminates with a complimentary luxury portrait session in a professional photography studio.
Josh Beaton is a Chicago-based award-winning luxury portrait photographer. His work, including a portrait of his first tween client, Emy, has repeatedly been featured in the highly-discerning Photo Vogue Italia. As a dad to two teenagers, Josh has lived experience raising confident kids through the most challenging phases of development. He co-founded The Tween Esteem Project with his wife, Danielle, after realizing the life-changing impact the portrait experience has on young people’s self-perception.