Mission
US-Squared exists to advance ethical, community-rooted research and practice that improves adolescent well-being, educational equity, and mental health outcomes—particularly for Black, LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, and system-impacted youth.
We focus on research-informed community work, participatory design, and real-world pilots that ensure innovation is grounded, accountable, and humane before it is scaled or commercialized.
Vision
We envision a future where youth-serving systems are designed with—not for—young people, and where research integrity, cultural responsiveness, and lived experience are treated as core infrastructure rather than afterthoughts.
US-Squared is the research and community foundation upon which future institutes and tools can be responsibly built.
What We Do (Current Scope)
US-Squared currently functions as a research + community R&D hub, not a full institute.
- Community-based research and design pilots
- Ethical data practices and youth-centered evaluation
- Program development and testing (pre-scale)
- Practitioner training, frameworks, and field learning
- Collaborative research with nonprofits, schools, and youth organizations
What this is not (yet):
- Not a full academic research institute
- Not a software company
- Not a large-scale service provider
Relationship to Measurement Ally
US-Squared handles R — Research, Reflection, and Responsibility. Validated insights, frameworks, and learnings may later inform software development, but US-Squared does not build or sell software.
Branding Notes
- Tone: Grounded, ethical, human-centered, academically serious
- Positioning: Research-to-practice, community-accountable, youth-informed
- Avoid: Tech hype, scale claims, product language
- Visual direction: Minimal, dark academic, text-forward, trust-building
Current Initiatives (High-Level)
- Community-based adolescent mental health research
- Youth-centered design pilots and evaluations
- Ethical AI/data practice exploration (research side only)
- Nonprofit and school-based collaboration support
Research → Development Boundary
US-Squared (USS²)
- Community-based research
- Ethical inquiry & evaluation
- Participatory design pilots
Validated insights (non-proprietary)
(when appropriate, with safeguards)
Measurement Ally
- Software design & engineering
- Applied systems & tooling
- Commercial deployment
Licensed, built, and maintained products
This flow represents a conceptual boundary, not a guarantee of transfer, development, or commercialization.