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FRSpeakers
2025 Breath of Fresh Air Speaker Line-Up
Keynote: Stuart Brown
Trained in general and internal medicine, psychiatry and clinical research, Dr. Stuart Brown first recognized the importance of play by discovering its absence in the life stories of murders and felony drunken drivers. His years of clinical practice and review of over 6000 personal play histories affirmed the importance and need for healthy play throughout the human life cycle. His independent scholarship and exploration of the evolution and neuroscience of human and animal play have led to the establishment of the National Institute for Play. The Mission of the National Institute for Play (NIFP) is to bring the unrealized knowledge, practices and benefits of play into public life. Dr. Brown was the instigator and Executive Producer of the three-part PBS series, “The Promise of Play,” and coproduced the BBC-PBS series “Soul of the Universe.” His experience as a medical administrator, producer, and scientific consultant or creator to numerous other productions on Joseph Campbell, Cosmology, Animal Play, and Stress, plus his scientific and popular writings have identified him as the foremost “practical champion of the knowledge of play.” Dr. Brown’s book: Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul has been translated into twelve languages. He has co-teached From Play to Innovation at the Hasso Plattner School of Design at Stanford University, and has been the “Key Strategist” for the Nevada Medical Center’s Global Play Science Institute. In 2020 he was awarded the Joe L. Frost award for distinguished research by the USA Play Coalition, and in 2024 received the USA International Play Association Doctor of Play Award for lifelong research advocacy and promotion of the child’s right to play.
In addition to regular creative scholarly contributions for the PlayCore company, he enjoys other international corporate and academic consulting on play and its many contributions through their engagement with it, as it enhances overall human well-being. As the information base about play grows, it is evident that play is a public health necessity.
Our species, he says, “is built for play, and built by play.”
Keynote: Lauren Sundstrom
Lauren Sundstrom is proud to serve as a Board Member and Strategic Advisor for the National Institute for Play, continuing the legacy of her father, Dr. Stuart Brown, a pioneer in the science of play. A graduate of Colorado College also attending St. Peter’s College, Oxford University, Lauren began her career in Washington, D.C., where she served as a legislative aide to Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska and later worked as a lobbyist for Holland & Hart. She went on to become a partner at Western Land Group in Denver, specializing in public-private collaborations.
Lauren and her husband, Steve, raised their two children, Mia and Leo, in Boulder, Colorado, where she was actively involved in community and sports initiatives. Both children attended a renowned play-based preschool and later a K-8 charter school that embraced self-directed, playful learning, fostering creativity and curiosity through limited tests, grades, and homework. A self-described “social kinesthete,” Lauren is passionate about integrating play into daily life and championing its transformative power for individuals and communities.
Keynote: Mia Sundstrom
Mia Sundstrom is an assistant coach for the University of Denver D1 top-10 gymnastics team and the part-time character dimension project manager in the Office of the Chancellor. She has led character workshops and delivered keynotes for students, boards, and faculty and staff, and developed a play and character integration plan for the University of Denver.
Mia earned her Masters in Public Policy in ’23 and her Bachelors in Business Information and Analytics in ’21, both from the University of Denver. During her time as a student, Mia competed for the D1 gymnastics team for five years, serving as team captain for two years and president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee for one year.
Mia is granddaughter to Stuart Brown and daughter to Lauren Sundstrom. Under their guidance, she has followed her kinesthetic play personality and passion for play throughout her athletic and professional career.