Speakers
2025 Breath of Fresh Air Speaker Line-Up
Keynote: Stuart Brown
Dr. Stuart Brown trained in general and internal medicine, psychiatry and clinical research. He 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.
AOP10 Launch: Mark Tremblay
Dr. Tremblay is a Senior Scientist with the Healthy Active Living and Obesity (HALO) Research Group at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute and Professor of Pediatrics in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, President of the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance, Founder of the Sedentary Behaviour Research Network, President of Outdoor Play Canada, and Adjunct/Visiting/Honorary Professor at six other universities on four continents. Dr. Tremblay has published >600 scientific papers and book chapters in the areas of childhood obesity, physical activity measurement, exercise physiology, sedentary physiology, outdoor play and health surveillance. According to Scopus, his h-index is 111 and his published research has been cited >54,000 times, consistently placing him on the Clarivate list of highly cited researchers (top 1% in the world). Dr. Tremblay received an honorary doctorate from Nipissing University, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the King Charles III Coronation Medal, the Lawson Foundation 60th Anniversary Award, the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology Honour Award and John Sutton Memorial Lecturer Award, the Victor Marchessault Advocacy Award from the Canadian Pediatric Society, the Vic Neufeld Mentorship Award in Global Health Research from the Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research, the International Network of Time-Use Epidemiologists Laureate Award, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Senior Researcher Trailblazer Award in Population and Public Health Research, and the Obesity Canada Distinguished Lecturer Award for his leadership contributions to healthy active living in Canada and around the world. Dr. Tremblay’s most productive work has resulted from his 36-year marriage to his wife Helen, yielding four wonderful children.
AOP10 Launch: Louise de Lannoy
Dr. Louise de Lannoy completed her PhD at Queen’s University in clinical exercise physiology. Her interests in population health and knowledge translation led her to join the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Team at the CHEO Research Institute where she became involved in and helped grow Outdoor Play Canada into the not-for-profit organization it is today. Louise is passionate about environmental stewardship, finding daily joy and wonder outdoors, and thinking creatively and collaboratively about whole-of-community challenges. She routinely delivers outdoor play and learning presentations at local, regional, national and international conferences and events, including local outdoor early childhood education professional development days, the national Outdoor Learning Conference (Canada), and the International Play Association Conference (Glasgow). Outside of OPC, Louise enjoys exploring Ottawa by running, cycling and skiing through it and winding down at the end of the day on the couch with a glass of wine, her partner Jeff, and their geriatric puppy.
AOP10 Launch: Eun-Young Lee
Dr. Eun-Young Lee is an Associate Professor at Queen’s University with appointments in Kinesiology & Health and Gender Studies, and an Affiliated Investigator at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute. They are a population health researcher whose work lies at the intersection of climate change, movement behaviours—including outdoor play—and social and health equity. Dr. Lee holds a PhD in Health Psychology and Behavioural Medicine, with postdoctoral training in Epidemiology and Population Health. Their scholarly contributions include over 100 peer-reviewed publications and notable service roles such as Senior Associate Editor for the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, Research Advisory Member of ParticipACTION, and Board Member for Outdoor Play Canada and the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute. In recognition of their leadership and impact, Dr. Lee was recently awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal. They recently completed a Global Visiting Fellowship at Seoul National University (South Korea) and will complete a Visiting Fellowship at the Columbia Climate School’s Center for Sustainable Urban Development (USA) in 2026. Dr. Lee has delivered keynote presentations on outdoor play at major international conferences and institutions within the past year, including the North American Society for Pediatric Exercise Medicine (USA), University of Santa Catarina (Brazil), Yonsei University (South Korea), and National Taiwan University of Sport (Taiwan). Looking ahead, their work will focus on developing global youth climate leadership through outdoor play. Their most humbling and persistent challenge has been to convince their naturally sedentary dachshund to embrace the great outdoors alongside them.
