Contact: Douglas Farrar
Senior Manager
Aspen Institute
douglas.farrar@aspeninstitute.org | 202-736-3858
Aspen Institute summit to address issues of health, inclusion and competition in youth sports
Washington, DC, May 10, 2016 — The 2016 Project Play Summit is the nation’s premier gathering of thought leaders at the intersection of youth, sport, and health. The day-long event will take measure of the collective progress made in the past year in growing access to quality sport activity, offer learnings through session dialogues, and host the announcement of new initiatives. The Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program will also release exclusive data and insights on sport participation trends involving children through its forthcoming State of Play: 2016 report.
More information, including an agenda and speaker list, can be found at: http://aspenprojectplay.org/events/2016-project-play-summit. A live-stream of key sessions will be available at as.pn/live.
Press and cameras are welcome. Most sessions will include a Q&A. Join the conversation live via Twitter at @AspenInstSports and @AspenInstitute, and with #ProjectPlay.
WHO: Keynote conversation between First Lady Michelle Obama and brother Craig Robinson, ESPN college basketball analyst, on the importance of sports activity and the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative. The conversation will be moderated by Michael Wilbon, host of ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption.
Other speakers include:
Billie Jean King, tennis and civil rights pioneer
Dr. Bennet Omalu, Professor, University of California at Davis; portrayed by Will Smith in Concussion
Grant Hill, Seven-time NBA All-Star
Mary Davis, CEO, Special Olympics International
Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, President and CEO, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Alonzo Mourning, NBA Champion
Allyson Felix, Olympic champion sprinter
Tab Ramos, Youth Technical Director, US Soccer Federation
Jim Whitehead, CEO, American College of Sports Medicine
Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, CEO, Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA
Kevin Martinez, VP, Corporate Citizenship, ESPN
James Siegal, CEO, KaBOOM!
Kate Carr, President and CEO, Safe Kids Worldwide
Tom Farrey, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program
WHEN: Tuesday, May 17, 2016, 7:30 AM –5:30 PM EDT.
WHERE: Knight Conference Center at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001
EDITOR’S NOTE: Space is limited to members of the press who RSVP. To apply for a press pass, please email: douglas.farrar@aspeninst.org
Event sponsors include Nike, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA, Mount Sinai Health System, and the Harris Family Charitable Foundation. Additional support and collaboration is provided by ESPN, William E. Mayer, the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, USA Bobsled & Skeleton, the American Council on Exercise, the US Tennis Association, the American Heart Association, the LA84 Foundation, the American College of Sports Medicine, and the National Physical Activity Plan Alliance.
The mission of the Sports & Society Program is to convene leaders, facilitate dialogue and inspire solutions that help sports serve the public interest. Project Play is a multi-stage initiative to provide stakeholders with the insights and tools to build healthy communities, starting with access to quality sport for children. For more, visit www.ProjectPlay.us.
Let’s Move! combines comprehensive strategies with common sense to put children on the path to a healthy future during their earliest months and years; gives parents helpful information and fosters environments that support healthy choices; provides healthier foods in our schools; ensures that every family has access to healthy, affordable food; and helps children become more physically active. One of its initiatives, Let’s Move! Active Schools, equips schools with the resources and tools to increase physical education and physical activity opportunities for students, and to cultivate an Active School environment. For more information, visit: http://www.letsmove.gov/.
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