OUR HISTORY
1996
The Body Positive is Born!
- The Body Positive gained nonprofit status through a fiscal sponsor and conducted its first fundraiser in San Francisco
1998
First Teen Peer Leadership Training
- Recieved a grant from The California Wellness foundation to launch The Body Positive’s teen peer leadership program that continues today
2000
Produced First BodyTalk Video
- Produced BodyTalk: Teens Talk About Their Bodies, Eating Disorders, and Activism. This video included only the voices and stories of teens, and won a gold medal in the 1999 Questar Excellence in Videos competition
2000
Developed Training and Curriculum for Community Organizers
- Received a $376,000 grant from the California Endowment to work with professionals and develop new Body Positive educational curriculum
2002
Published BodyAloud!
- BodyAloud! Helping Children and Teens Find Their Own Solutions to Eating and Body Image Problems was the first publication of The Body Positive’s curriculum for schools and youth organizations
2002
Produced Second BodyTalk Video
- BodyTalk 2: It’s a New Language, was created for pre-teen audiences in the voices of their peers, and was distributed to elementary and middle schools worldwide
2004
Produced Third BodyTalk Video
- BodyTalk 3: My Special Body, was developed for children ages 5-9 to round out The Body Positive’s video series for grades K-12
2005
Interview with Peabody award-winning Channel One News Program
- Channel One News filmed The Body Positive’s youth leaders for a segment on teens and body image that was viewed by more than one million students
2005
Alternations Art Exhibit
- The Body Positive commissioned artist Birgit Gehrt to create “Alterations,” an art installation that explored the relationship between clothing, fashion, and body image issues, asking the viewer to “alter” their perspective
2006
Established the Be Body Positive Model
- After 10 years of participatory action research, the Be Body Positive Model was complete with its 5 Core Competencies
2009
Be Body Positive College Program Launched
- A pilot training of The Body Positive’s college program was created and conducted with a group of student leaders
2006
Discover Your Healthy Weight Video Wins Gold Award
- The Discover Your Healthy Weight video, created for adult audiences to expand their views about weight and health wins gold award in education category at Berkeley Video & Film Festival
2010
First Wide-Scale Public Leadership Training
- First public training for educators, students, and professionals was conducted at Saint Mary’s College
2012
The Body Positive Becomes its Own 501(c)(3)
- The Body Positive left its fiscal sponsor and started its own nonprofit organization
2013
Launched This Is Beauty Project
- Through videos, photographs, poems, and stories, This Is Beauty invites people to participate in the radical re-imagining of what beauty is
2014
Stanford University Research Study
- Stanford University research indicated that the Be Body Positive Model significantly reduced shape/weight control beliefs, body surveillance, and internalization of the thin ideal, while also significantly increasing body satisfaction. All changes were sustained by participants at 8 months post-intervention
2014
Connie’s book Embody Published by Gürze Books
- Embody: Learning to Love Your Unique Body (and quiet that critical voice!) was released to the public with a party at Stanford University
2015
Founders Connie and Elizabeth Named Badass Women of 2015
- La Republica Magazine of Italy includes Connie Sobczak and Elizabeth Scott on their Top 25 list of Badass Women of 2015 for their role in contributing to The Body Positive Movement worldwide
2016
First Public Training for Treatment Professionals
- The Body Positive created a training to teach treatment providers how to use the Be Body Positive Model in clinical settings. Professionals came from across the U.S. and Canada for the first training in San Francisco
2017
The Be Body Positive Leadership Summit
- This 3-day Leadership Summit included a day of community participation with leaders like Sonya Renee Taylor, author of Your Body is Not an Apology
2018
Be Body Positive Institute Launched Online
- Created The Body Positive Institute online and shared the Be Body Positive Fundamentals as the first course to help people embody The 5 Competencies
2018
Cornell University Research Study
- Cornell University conducted a Pre-post Intervention Study of their Be Body Positive Facilitator Program with undergraduate college students
2019
Launched Be Body Positive Facilitator Online Training
- This new online facilitator training helped to expand The Body Positive’s reach in more countries around the world
2019
Created Certified Be Body Positive Schools Program
- In addition to having unlimited access to training and resources, Be Body Positive Certified Schools receive tailored, ongoing support from The Body Positive to ensure the success and sustainability of their programs.
2019
Created Be Body Positive Certification Program for Treatment Centers
- This certification program trains staff to implement a comprehensive Be Body Positive program in their facility, equipping them with powerful resources to support their clients’ positive embodiment and relapse prevention
2019
Celebrating 25 Years of Life-Transforming Work Worldwide!
- Since 1996, The Body Positive has trained more than 4,000 Be Body Positive Leaders (educators, students, and treatment professionals) who have reached more than 1.1 million people in 26 countries and 45 states in the U.S. Millions more have been reached through educational videos and media engagements. And we’re not done yet