Jennifer Salerno, DNP, CPNP, FAANP is a nurse practitioner, author, speaker, and founder of Possibilities for Change ([...]). She has practiced for over 20 years as a nurse practitioner working with diverse adolescent populations and has served as a board member and adviser in many state and national organizations and initiatives to improve adolescent health. This work opened her eyes to the prevention effort needed to reduce serious injury and premature death rates in teens.
In keeping with her favorite quote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, "Be the change you wish to see in the world," Jennifer founded Possibilities for Change and set out to develop user friendly tools and trainings for health-care professionals to use to quickly identify risky teen behaviors and provide effective counseling to reduce those risks. She received the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine Hilary E.C. Millar Award for Innovative Approaches to Adolescent Health Care for her work in developing the nation's leading adolescent risk screening system: the Rapid Assessment for Adolescent Preventive Services (RAAPS).
Dr. Salerno understands that health professionals aren't the only ones concerned about helping adolescents navigate the teen years - parents have the biggest influence. Further fueled by a passion to also help parents connect with their teens on important risks like substance use, sex, and mental health-related issues, she authored this book to help ensure that parents have the support and resources they need to handle the challenges of raising a teen.
When not working to improve adolescent health, Jennifer loves family time exploring the country biking, hiking, and skiing with her husband, daughter and son.