At YCEI, Brackett has long argued that emotional skills are learnable, and that teaching them systematically changes the trajectory of classrooms, families, and communities. The Bukhman investment arrives at what he calls “a pivotal moment.”
Brackett met Daria through his work with the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales, where he serves as an advisor and co-creator of the Shaping Us framework for early childhood education. “From our very first conversation, it was clear that we share the same passion for a world where all children and adults learn and apply the skills of emotional intelligence to live happier, healthier, and more productive lives,” Brackett says.
“To learn that Daria and Dmitri chose to invest so significantly in YCEI’s work filled me with deep gratitude, tremendous hope, and profound determination.” He shares that this is the largest gift to support YCEI since its founding in 2013. “It will fund the next phase of YCEI’s mission to support children and adults in cultivating emotion skills so that they can thrive in school, work, and life.”
The world that young people inhabit today, Brackett emphasizes, is not emotionally neutral. “Youth anxiety and depression are at historic highs, and educator stress and burnout are driving teachers out of the profession,” he says. “At the same time, funding for evidence-based approaches to cultivating social and emotional skills is being scaled back significantly.”
A major focus is scaling RULER (Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing, and Regulating), YCEI’s approach to teaching emotional intelligence. “As the world continues to change at an unprecedented pace, YCEI is committed to strategic, sustainable implementation of RULER—our approach to teaching emotional intelligence—that has already been adopted by 5,000 schools worldwide,” Brackett says. He adds that RULER has already reached over 200,000 educators and five million students across more than 30 countries.
Brackett says that the Bukhman gift supports the next stage of scaling with “high rigor and fidelity,” including core infrastructure. “A significant portion will help create the digital platforms and tech-enabled products necessary to bring RULER to more schools across the globe, creating the next generation of emotionally intelligent leaders, educators, and students. This gift will also strengthen YCEI’s ability to maintain a rigorous research agenda on the science and practice of emotional intelligence, and translate our findings into practical, evidence-based resources that transform individuals, school climate, and entire communities.”