Helping Elementary Educators Learn, Teach and Deliver Social Emotional Learning in the Classroom

What We Do

Our mission: Advance SEL globally. Empower educators to learn, teach, and deliver research-based SEL, fostering students' emotional intelligence. We achieve this through:

Pioneering Research: We collaborate with leading institutions to advance the field of social-emotional learning (SEL) and develop innovative methodologies for EQ development.

Empowering Educators: We equip educators with research-backed programs and resources to integrate EQ seamlessly into their curriculum, fostering a positive learning environment.

Transformative Programs: We create engaging and effective EQ programs for students, designed by our team of experts and grounded in scientific research.

How We Work

Empowering Educators:

Professional Development: We offer educators comprehensive training and resources to confidently integrate EQ into their classrooms. This empowers them to create a supportive and engaging learning environment for all students.

Emotional Science Research:

Research-Driven Programs: Our EQ programs are built on the foundation of our ongoing research with leading institutions. This ensures educators have access to the latest and most effective methods for fostering emotional intelligence in their students.

Transformative Learning Programs:

Interactive Learning: Emoti Labs ignites EQ in elementary classrooms! We craft engaging programs using behavioral psychology, fostering curiosity and positive learning environments. Data personalizes the experience, empowering each student's EQ journey through continuous improvement.

About the Founder

James Catoe is a Social Emotional Learning Specialist and entrepreneur.

Beyond pioneering the Green Skills Curriculum for the White House, James' background spans diverse fields, including designing over 200 research-driven workforce programs for Fortune 500 companies and teaching courses in human cognition, developmental psychology, and business psychology.

Prior to founding Emoti Labs, James led a startup using consumer psychology, behavioral economics, and UX design to boost small business growth.

In 2020, James founded Emoti Labs (originally Catoe Learning) and led research, product, and business initiatives, including creating the signature student EQ program, Lurnsters.

Our Story

After more than a decade of foundational research and design, Emoti Labs™ stands as the premier behavioral systems R&D studio engineering the future of childhood emotional intelligence. By scaling our proprietary frameworks through powerful enterprise partnerships with Communities In Schools and McDonald’s, we are actively replacing outdated educational models with high-impact, real-world behavioral solutions.

From driving student resilience across vital school networks to launching EmotiPlace™—our signature interactive lobby pilot designed for national retail scale—Emoti Labs™ is deploying immersive, tech-forward media environments that empower children to master their internal biology exactly where real life happens.

Phase 1: The Foundation (2008-2014)

My journey began with a deep, independent study into developmental psychology, driven by a passion for understanding the "why" behind human behavior. This passion quickly formalized as I began contributing to research initiatives exploring the mechanics of emotional development in children.

Phase 2: Architecting the Method (2015-2017)

This is where theory became practice. I began designing and implementing high-impact programs, including:

Pioneering a groundbreaking "Green Skills Curriculum" focused on holistic well-being, which was introduced at the White House.
Architecting dozens of training programs for behavior modification and emotional regulation.
Developing interactive programs that fostered entrepreneurial thinking in children, bridging the gap between education and real-world application.

Phase 3: The Culmination (2024-2026)

After more than a decade of research and design, Emoti Labs was founded as the R&D Studio to scale this behavioral expertise.

2026 marked the year of exponential market validation. We cemented a powerful partnership with Communities In Schools, delivering our live immersive shows and digital programming directly into school networks and headlining their largest regional events.

Simultaneously, our immersive "Lurnsters Experience" division partnered with McDonald's to debut EmotiPlace™, launching an exclusive pilot in North Carolina designed to scale our proprietary behavioral framework into a premier national destination for family dining.