As CEO of the Urban Assembly, a nonprofit organization that oversees a network of 23 student-centered schools in New York City, David Adams knows what it takes for students to succeed not only in school but in the real world. Before serving as CEO at the Urban Assembly, Adams was the organization's director of social-emotional learning and created the Resilient Scholars Program, an approach to integrating social and emotional learning into curriculum and classroom practices that serves not only the Urban Assembly network but also schools across the United States. Adams sits on the board of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning and has authored books and articles on the topic for educators. In 2021, Adams received the Champion of Equity Award from the American Consortium for Equity in Education. Adams recently shared with "The Learning Professional" his insights on how social and emotional learning (SEL) is important for academic development, how the pandemic has heightened the urgency of attending to students' holistic needs, and how professional learning can build educators' capacity to integrate social, emotional, and academic skills.