Our History and Impact

In its first 20 years DEF has:  

• Demonstrated that Decision Skills can be taught and learned,
• Developed curriculum and materials to support teaching, and
• Worked with schools and other student-focused organizations to demonstrate effectiveness of decision education.

The Decision Education Foundation was founded in 2001 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission to empower youth with effective Decision Skills that enhance their prospects for better lives in today's challenging and uncertain world.

Our founders include professional educators, decision professionals, successful business leaders, and parents with a passion for educating youth. All have a belief in the power of an individual’s decisions to positively shape their own life and consequently improve the lives of other individuals and of society.

DEF develops high quality course materials and training workshops for educators and counselors on the importance and basics of quality decision making. Our success is achieved through enabling those working with youth to learn, deliver, and sustain decision-making curriculum, activities, and environments for youth in a variety of educational settings.

DEF has been successful in demonstrating that Decision Skills can be taught, that they can improve academic performance, and that they are associated with improving life outcomes through impacting Decision Competence, a measure correlated with improved well-being.

Our programs and curriculum in Decision Quality are based around a framework for decision making pioneered at Stanford University's Department of Engineering and the Strategic Decisions Group, an international management consultancy.

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Data gathered from teachers, administrators, counselors, students, and educators world wide proclaim DEF's positive impact.

​Comments from both educators andstudents provide anecdotal evidence about the value of learning decision skills.

​See a peer-reviewed, randomized study in the PLOS One Journal showing how Decision Skills improved academic scores when integrated into a U.S. History class.

We’re pleased to hear how our work is positively affecting young people now, and we know that the challenges ahead are urgent and important. We continue our efforts to reach greater numbers of educators and students, completing additional classroom-ready curriculum, and introducing more rigorous metrics for evaluating the results of our various programs.