Helping people uncover their super powers.
Throughout my career I've witnessed the transformative nature of making a difference and the power of play in bringing out the best in people. This moment in American history demands that both of these forces for good be brought to bear in helping us co-create systems that are just, equitable and joyful. Through writing, teaching and advising, I'm excited to help make this happen.
I founded my first nonprofit when I was 23 and have been building successful organizations ever since. Through my work with the Museum of Children’s Art, Playworks and Substantial Classrooms, I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of leading innovative organizations and to learn from co-workers, partners, and the people – both adults and children - that these organizations were designed to serve. Being a part of these organizations has also opened up extraordinary personal leadership opportunities for me including being named an Ashoka Fellow, an Aspen Pahara Fellow, and more recently spending time at Stanford's d.school.
This past Fall I got to try my hand at teaching – at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business leading a class on Social Entrepreneurship for undergraduates and at the Stanford d.school co-teaching a class on Design for Play. (Headline: it’s a lot of work, super rewarding, and Higher Ed is kind of nuts). My new book Why Play Works: Big Changes Start Small was released by Wiley in September, 2021, and I continued working with a few different organizations – nonprofits, school districts, and corporations – to support their work through advising that incorporates play, design and storytelling.
In the Spring, 2022 I have shifted my role at Haas to focus on the intersection of social entrepreneurship and democracy. How might we reimagine the journey of an engaged citizen? What is the role of business in supporting and normalizing participation in our civic institutions? And how might we make democracy a little more like the NBA – where a person can be a rabid Golden State Warriors fan but still have respect for LeBron James as a massively talented player? Through a fellowship bringing together grad students from Haas and Goldman (coached by veterans of scaling social innovations), we will be working with some extraordinary democracy innovation organizations on an experiment to determine if there is value in cross-sector collaboration supporting these organizations on their path to scale.
One of the biggest lessons of my career has been that success never happens alone – that all great opportunities show up in the form of other humans and that great ideas stay ideas until you can get other people to join you in helping make them real. The other lesson that I have learned over and over again is that we all have super powers, and that it is only through working with others, suspending our disbelief that great change is possible, and dogged, persistent hard work that these super powers are revealed. I am convinced that this moment is going to require all of our super powers - and that it demands we come together to do the seemingly impossible if we are going to ensure that our children - and their children, and their children's children - have a chance at realizing what has always been the promise of America.
Thanks for checking out my website and if any of the projects or ideas that I have highlighted are of interest, please be in touch!
I founded my first nonprofit when I was 23 and have been building successful organizations ever since. Through my work with the Museum of Children’s Art, Playworks and Substantial Classrooms, I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of leading innovative organizations and to learn from co-workers, partners, and the people – both adults and children - that these organizations were designed to serve. Being a part of these organizations has also opened up extraordinary personal leadership opportunities for me including being named an Ashoka Fellow, an Aspen Pahara Fellow, and more recently spending time at Stanford's d.school.
This past Fall I got to try my hand at teaching – at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business leading a class on Social Entrepreneurship for undergraduates and at the Stanford d.school co-teaching a class on Design for Play. (Headline: it’s a lot of work, super rewarding, and Higher Ed is kind of nuts). My new book Why Play Works: Big Changes Start Small was released by Wiley in September, 2021, and I continued working with a few different organizations – nonprofits, school districts, and corporations – to support their work through advising that incorporates play, design and storytelling.
In the Spring, 2022 I have shifted my role at Haas to focus on the intersection of social entrepreneurship and democracy. How might we reimagine the journey of an engaged citizen? What is the role of business in supporting and normalizing participation in our civic institutions? And how might we make democracy a little more like the NBA – where a person can be a rabid Golden State Warriors fan but still have respect for LeBron James as a massively talented player? Through a fellowship bringing together grad students from Haas and Goldman (coached by veterans of scaling social innovations), we will be working with some extraordinary democracy innovation organizations on an experiment to determine if there is value in cross-sector collaboration supporting these organizations on their path to scale.
One of the biggest lessons of my career has been that success never happens alone – that all great opportunities show up in the form of other humans and that great ideas stay ideas until you can get other people to join you in helping make them real. The other lesson that I have learned over and over again is that we all have super powers, and that it is only through working with others, suspending our disbelief that great change is possible, and dogged, persistent hard work that these super powers are revealed. I am convinced that this moment is going to require all of our super powers - and that it demands we come together to do the seemingly impossible if we are going to ensure that our children - and their children, and their children's children - have a chance at realizing what has always been the promise of America.
Thanks for checking out my website and if any of the projects or ideas that I have highlighted are of interest, please be in touch!
Now available:
Why Play Works: Big Changes Start Small
On Amazon and Bookshop.org!
