Shelby Clark
Shelby is passionate about investigating how mission-based educational models can foster students' moral, intellectual, civic, and performance character strengths. As a principal investigator at Project Zero, she leads mixed-methods studies that examine the effects of character education on student outcomes and well-being.
PZ Work
At Project Zero, Shelby contributes to research on how young people develop character, purpose, and related competencies in their learning. Her work often bridges the fields of social-emotional learning, character, ethics, and education, with a focus on preparing students for meaningful work, engaged citizenship, and flourishing lives.
She is best known at PZ for work on The Good Project, which explores what it means to be a good worker, citizen, and person in today’s world. A central initiative in this work has been the Good Project Lesson Plans, a multi-year effort that designed, tested, and shared classroom-ready materials that help students reflect on ethics, excellence, and engagement.
Shelby also collaborates on studies of intellectual risk-taking in education and professional development for teachers.
- Explore Shelby's classroom resources at The Good Project Resource Center
- Get Shelby's academic work at shelbyclark.me or Google Scholar
Her newest publications include the second edition of Character Compass (Seider, Clark, & Soutter, Harvard Education Press) and a 2026 book on intellectual risk-taking with Madora Soutter.
Fun Facts
Outside of work, Shelby loves traveling with her family. Before becoming a researcher, she spent time as a school counselor in St. Paul, M.N.
Where to Find Shelby
Shelby is based in Massachusetts, where she teaches graduate courses on research methods and adolescent development.
Projects and Publications
Shelby's PZ Pick
Shelby recommends The Good Project Lesson Plans: "Explore ready-to-use classroom activities that help students reflect on ethics, excellence, and engagement—bringing big questions about good work and citizenship to life."