The youth leadership program known as Rhode Island Teen Institute (TI) was founded in 1989 by Sandra Puerini Del Sesto and Gail Mastropietro of Initiatives for Human Development, a statewide prevention program, with the goal of TI being to assist youth in discovering their own abilities to become positive leaders in their communities. The content of the program earned its membership in the National Association of Teen Institutes, where TI got its name. High School and Middle School overnight programs operated mainly at the University of Rhode Island’s W. Alton Jones Campus in West Greenwich, RI.

Through the years, teens and staff diverse in race, gender, culture, socio-economic status, sexual identity, and geography attended for what many TI graduates describe as a transformative experience.

TI used an innovative “positive youth development” approach to promote and enhance leadership skills and prevention among peer leaders. Action Plans to improve community health and reduce substance misuse and other problems were implemented throughout the state, until funding was lost in 2010. In 2023, the RI Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals resumed funding of the high school program, which will soon be highlighted in the Journal of Youth Development for its impact not only on the youth participants but also on the community at large.

After a thirteen year hiatus, former TI staffers Jen "Skippy" Stevens and Teri Gregg recreated the program while working for RI Student Assistance Services, with the help of many dedicated former staff members and the TI co-founders. To update the program to accommodate today's youth, special consideration was given to technology use, gender identity, parent communications, risk behaviors, and COVID precautions. Otherwise, TI staff believed the pillars of the TI philosophy and program would stand the test of time, and set out to recreate the TI magic.

TI took place at Camp JORI in August of 2023, and a new generation of TI graduates went back to their communities with enhanced skills and renewed inspiration. They succeeded in completing many Action Plans to improve their communities, including: a multilingual teen mental health awareness campaign, a "Tobacco Search & Rescue" to remove littered tobacco products from Roger Williams Park,  a freshman mentoring program, a dinner where teens discussed risk behaviors, and a recreation area clean-up.

In August of 2024, TI moved to Camp Canonicus in Exeter in hopes of finding a permanent home that could accommodate multiple TIs per year. (Canonicus has since closed.) The August 2024 TI got off to an excellent start, with a stellar team of youth staff who had graduated from TI in 2023. Unfortunately, TI ended a day early due to a COVID outbreak among attendees. Thankfully, everyone from staff, parents, and youth worked together to make the best of the situation. Attendees reconnected over Zoom to enact Action Plans. A TI 2024 reunion was held in February 2025 at Camp Aldersgate with excellent turnout, and participants received the TI graduation experience.

Skippy is back planning for upcoming TIs with another former TI graduate, Wole Akinbi, under the leadership of half full, LLC and Tides Family Services, with funding from the RI Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals. The next TI will be back at the wonderful Camp JORI in April of 2026 (applications available here), with at least two more TIs to follow in August 2026 and summer 2027.