Stuart Brown is the founder of the National Institute for Play, where he speaks, consults, and educates organizations, corporations, universities, and public policymakers about the importance of play in our lives and the unexpected, serious consequences of neglecting play.
Stuart received his MD from Baylor College of Medicine. After graduating he was trained in internal medicine at Mayo Clinic,and later in psychiatry and clinical research at Baylor.
Stuart’s unusual journey to understand human and animal play began at Baylor when he was an assistant professor of psychiatry researching homicidal, violent, and antisocial behaviors. He found linkages between those behaviors and play deprivation in childhood that led him to research the possibility that free play could prevent antisocial behavior and help people develop healthy social-emotional skills. His work eventually led him to establish NIFP and publish Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul.
Brendan Boyle is a toy inventor, Adjunct Professor at Stanford University’s Design School (d.school), and founder of the IDEO Play Lab. He believes that play is the key to innovation and has spoken to creative leaders, entrepreneurs, and students about the importance of playful exploration and risk-taking.
Under his leadership the Play Lab has invented and licensed hundreds of toys and apps, including the best-selling Jumperoo and Elmo Calls.
Brendan also consults with companies about redesigning their organizational behavior to include space for play, he created and teaches the popular course “Design for Play” at d.school, and co-authored the award-winning encyclopedia of never-before-seen inventions — The Klutz Book of Inventions.
Brendan holds an MS from the Joint Program for Design at Stanford University and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University.
Tony has a deep, passionate belief that play is important in every stage of life. He has often been playful as he led teams in developing virtual communities, knowledge management and other online services for Fujitsu, Apple Computer, Cisco, NASA, the FAA and Stanford University. Early in the personal computer era, he was the founding product manager for AppleLink, Apple Computer’s visionary extranet service that connected its employees with its dealers and developers. He retired from salaried work to devote his time to the role of executive director of the National Institute for Play.
Tony has a BA from Columbia Univ. and MBA from Stanford Univ.
Jane Goodall is the world’s best-known woman scientist, has received many honors for her pioneering work in primatology, and was recently selected as humanitarian of the year by the United Nations. Her major interests in worldwide ecology, the education of children, and chimpanzee habitat preservation are implemented through the Jane Goodall Institute.
Goodall is an outspoken environmental advocate, a vegetarian who advocates for the environment and speaks on the effects of climate change on endangered species such as chimpanzees. One of the many things she has done with her foundation is collaborating with NASA to use satellite imagery from the Landsat series to remedy the effects of deforestation on chimpanzees and local communities in Western Africa by offering the villagers information on how to reduce activity and preserve their environment.
Tom Norquist is SVP Innovation & Business Development at PlayCore, having begun as Director of Sales & Marketing for GameTime in 1993. He is Professor of Practice at Auburn University’s School of Industrial and Graphic Design and has been recognized with multiple Distinguished Service Awards over his 20 years there. Tom has been deeply involved in the play industry for over 40 years. He is a founding board member and twice past president of the International Play Equipment Manufacturer’s Association (IPEMA); under his leadership IPEMA launched the Voice of Play which has delivered the message of the importance of play to millions. He has served on the Boards of Directors or Advisory Boards of: the National Institute for Play (NIFPlay), National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS), Recreation Access Advisory Committee, International Playground Contractor’s Association (NPCAI), and is a founding leader of the U.S. Play Coalition.
Tom holds a BS in Finance, Law and Marketing from Portland State University.
Lauren Sundstrom, Dr. Stuart Brown’s youngest daughter, is honored to support the National Institute for Play as a Board Member and Strategic Advisor. Lauren attended Colorado College and St. Peter’s College, Oxford University, then spent nearly a decade in Washington, D.C., as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, and as a lobbyist for Holland & Hart. Lauren later joined Western Land Group in Denver, where she became a partner specializing in real estate transactions involving government lands. Lauren has served as a Strategic Advisor to Rickaroons and a host of community and sports initiatives. She and her husband Steve raised two children, Mia and Leo, in Boulder where they attended a play-based preschool and a K-8 Charter based on self-directed, playful learning with very limited tests, grades, or homework. Lauren is a social kinesthete for whom play is a daily practice.
Bowen White combines the talents and expertise of a physician, consultant, speaker and author. He travels the world conducting seminars, consulting, and speaking to public and private organizations.
In 1983, Bowen founded the Department of Preventive and Stress Medicine for the Baptist Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri, and the Department of Wellness and Health Promotion before leaving to pursue a private practice and a career as a consultant and speaker.
He is the author of two books: Why Normal Isn’t Healthy, and A Clinician’s Guide to Spirituality with John MacDougal. In addition, he created two audio series: “The Cry of the Heart” and “Dr. White’s Complete Stress Management Kit.”
Peter is a research professor of psychology and neuroscience at Boston College. He has conducted and published research in behavioral biology, developmental psychology, anthropology, and education, much of which deals with the roles of play in human evolution and child development. His most well-known book is Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life He is also author of an internationally acclaimed introductory psychology textbook (Psychology, Worth Publishers, editions 1-6), which views all of psychology from an evolutionary perspective. For more, see his website at petergray.org/ .
In her role with NIFPlay, Mia empowers organizations and individuals to harness the power of play. As the granddaughter of NIFPlay founder Dr. Stuart Brown, she has experienced the transformational nature of play her whole life and is dedicated to helping others lead playful, fulfilled lives. In addition to delivering play-based keynotes and workshops across the globe, Mia also serves as the Character Dimension Project Manager at University of Denver (DU), where she has developed and delivered innovative character and play education programs. Previously Mia was a Division I gymnast, team captain, and then assistant coach at DU’s top-10 program while she earned a B.S. in Business Information & Analytics and a Master’s in Public Policy.
During his 40+ year career, Joe has worked as an executive and consultant for organizations that were involved with movements transforming the healthcare industry including Harvard Community Health, the Society of Hospital Medicine and Virta Health. He was also a partner in a technology market research firm acquired by Gartner, Inc..Throughout his career Joe has focused on strategic innovation, often involving the use of technology. He has experience in tracking and incorporating best business practices, program design and implementation, and organizational change management. Joe has a BS from Cornell University and a MS from MIT.
