About

Two pediatricians. 11+ years. One mission.

Turning Teen exists to fill the gap between a 15-minute pediatric visit and a lifetime of questions - with honest, medically accurate education that meets teens and families where they are.

Dr. Carrie Leff and Dr. Lisa Klein are pediatricians, moms, and co-authors of Celebrate Your Body 2. They started Turning Teen more than a decade ago because the conversations tweens and teens needed weren't happening, not in schools, not at the doctor's office, and often not at home.

Since then, Turning Teen has taught puberty and sexual health education to thousands of families, schools, and community groups across the country, in living rooms, classrooms, birthday parties, and on Zoom.

Meet the founders

The doctors in the room

Portrait of Dr. Lisa Klein, MD

Co-founder · Pediatrician

Dr. Lisa Klein, MD

  • Board-certified pediatrician (18+ years)
  • Co-author, Celebrate Your Body 2
  • School health curriculum consultant

Lisa spent a decade watching families struggle with the same handful of puberty conversations. She built the Turning Teen curriculum from the questions kids actually ask, not the ones adults think they'll ask. Mom of three, wildly opinionated about hydration.

Once turned an assembly for 400 fifth-graders into a standing ovation about deodorant.

Portrait of Dr. Carrie Leff, MD

Co-founder · Pediatrician

Dr. Carrie Leff, MD

  • Board-certified pediatrician (15+ years)
  • Co-author, Celebrate Your Body 2
  • Guest expert: Today Show, Parents, Motherly

Carrie grew up hearing every version of 'I wish someone had told me' from her patients' parents. She started Turning Teen so families never had to say it again. She lives in LA with her husband, two kids, and a dog who refuses to learn her name.

Would like the record to show she has answered the question "is this normal?" more than 40,000 times.

Meet the team

Doctors, nurses, and educators around the country

Turning Teen educators are medical and mental health professionals who lead workshops in their local communities. Every one of them is a parent, a clinician, or both.

Portrait of Dr. Sonia Shukla-Ahluwalia

Dr. Sonia Shukla-Ahluwalia

Dallas / Fort Worth

Portrait of Dr. Mona Bagrodia

Dr. Mona Bagrodia

San Diego

Portrait of Leslie Randolph

Leslie Randolph

Chicago

Portrait of Dr. Jessica Reggi

Dr. Jessica Reggi

Chicago

Portrait of Dr. Meghna Shukla

Dr. Meghna Shukla

Detroit

Portrait of Dr. Emily Casterline

Dr. Emily Casterline

Detroit

Portrait of Michael Mooney, DNP

Michael Mooney, DNP

Detroit

Portrait of Joel Greco, CPNP

Joel Greco, CPNP

Detroit

Portrait of Emily Hall, CPNP

Emily Hall, CPNP

Detroit

Portrait of Dr. Jaime Candelori

Dr. Jaime Candelori

Central Florida

Portrait of Dr. Tosha Vann

Dr. Tosha Vann

Kansas City, Kansas

Meet the interns

From the first classes to the team

Hailey and Eden are not teens anymore, but they both took some of the Turning Teen workshops when the program was just starting out. Now they help behind the scenes with social media, content, and keeping the conversation sounding like real teens.

Hailey Serlin

Hailey Serlin

Social Media & Communications Intern

Marketing & International Business student at Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Took one of the first Turning Teen classes back when it all started, and now helps make the brand feel fun and relatable online.

Eden Smith

Eden Smith

Health and Education Intern

Social Work major at The Ohio State University, minoring in Human Development and Family Science. A Turning Teen program alum from the early days, now helping the next generation of teens feel less alone in puberty.

Interested in joining the team?

You could be the next face here.

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Become a Turning Teen educator

Are you a doctor, nurse, therapist, or educator who loves helping tweens and teens feel less weird about puberty? We train people around the country to lead workshops in their own communities.

Learn about our certification program and trusted product partnerships on the Turning Teen Certified page.

Our mission

A map for the awkward, exciting middle.

We understand the physiological side of puberty. As parents, we worry about the emotional side. Getting kids to understand their changing bodies and minds can feel like a confusing journey, and everyone needs a map. Talking about puberty is hard for most adults. Fear, embarrassment, or shame can make amazing moms, dads, and trusted adults retreat and say nothing at all. We can help you navigate this exciting (and awkward) transition.

Developed by medical and mental health professionals, Turning Teen makes it easier to talk about bodies, puberty, and sex. We help trusted adults start conversations with their kids, whether at home, in school, or in other safe community settings. Direct, comprehensive, honest information about puberty, sexuality, social pressures, and mental health empowers tweens to become more self-assured teens.

Our approach

Doctors in the room. Real language. No shame.

Medically accurate

Every workshop is written and delivered by licensed pediatricians, not general presenters.

Judgment-free

Anonymous questions, real answers. Nothing said in the room leaves the room.

Actually fun

Puberty doesn't have to be a lecture. Our rooms are the opposite of an awkward assembly.