FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Harris
Senior Manager
The Aspen Institute
(202) 736-3848
jeff.harris@aspeninstitute.org
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to Keynote Summit on Increasing Access to Sports for All Children
Aspen Institute summit to address issues of health, inclusion, and competition in youth sports
What: The Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program is hosting its Project Play Summit to discuss how to give every child access to an early, positive experience in sports. The most promising opportunities were identified in our recently released report, Sport for All, Play for Life: A Playbook to Get Every Kid in the Game. The summit will help organizations explore and act on the report.
More information on the report, as well as an agenda and full speaker list for the summit can be found at: http://aspenprojectplay.org/events/2015-project-play-summit.
A live-stream of key sessions will be available at: http://as.pn/live
Who: Opening remarks delivered by Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy, US Surgeon General
Other speakers include:
- Katrina Adams, President, U.S. Tennis Association
- Gary Bettman, Commissioner, National Hockey League
- Robert Cantu, Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery, Boston University School of Medicine
- Jason Collins, former NBA player
- Mo’ne Davis, pitcher, 2014 Little League World Series
- Ginny Ehrlich, Director, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- Tom Farrey, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program
- Allyson Felix, Olympic champion sprinter
- Brian Hainline, Chief Medical Officer, NCAA
- Gary Hall Jr., 10-time Olympic medalist, swimming
- Darell Hammond, CEO and Founder, KaBOOM!
- Dean Hovey, CEO, Digifit and inventor of Apple mouse
- Nancy Hogshead-Makar, CEO, Champion Women
- Stephen Keener, President and CEO, Little League Baseball International
- Edwin Moses, Chair, Laureus World Sports Academy
- Shellie Pfohl, Executive Director, President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition
- Mary Wittenberg, CEO, New York Road Runners
When: February 25, 8:00am – 5:00pm ET
Where: The Knight Conference Center at the Newseum, Washington, DC
Editor’s Note: Limited press passes are available. Please contact Jeff Harris at jeff.harris@aspeninstitute.org if interested in attending.
Event sponsors include the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA and Whistle Sports. Project Play partners include the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Nike, Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, Clinton Foundation, University of Florida Sport Policy & Research Collaborative, and the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition. Additional thanks to ESPN, USA Bobsled & Skeleton, Wally Haas and William Mayer for their collaboration and support.
The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.
The mission of the Sports & Society Program is to convene leaders, facilitate dialogue and inspire solutions that help sports serve the public interest, with a focus on the development of healthy children and communities. The program provides a venue for thought leadership where knowledge can be deepened and breakthrough strategies explored on a range of issues. For more on the program’s Project Play initiative, visit www.ProjectPlay.us.
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