TOM FARREY
Executive Director
Tom founded and leads the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program, the mission of which is to convene leaders, facilitate dialogue, and inspire solutions that can help sports serve the public interest. Since 2011, the program has provided thought leadership on topics including the future of college sports, athlete advocacy, the legacy of Title IX, and the role of sports in addressing climate change.
The program’s signature initiative is Project Play, which develops, applies and shares knowledge to build healthy children and communities through sports. Since 2013, strategies advanced through Project Play have inspired hundreds of organizations to take mutually reinforcing actions, governments from the federal to county levels to introduce new policies, and foundations to unlock shape more than $60 million in grants for grassroots programs. The initiative’s #DontRETIREKid media campaign in 2020 won 37 international awards including Clios, Cannes Lions and a Halo Award. Inspired by Project Play, Aspen Institute affiliates in other countries including Mexico and Romania have launched related initiatives.
The New York Times describes Tom as a leader dedicated to improving the world through sports. Over four decades, working with trailblazing organizations in media and sports, he has been a builder – of breakthrough frameworks, ideas, tools and stories. He has been a keynote speaker and moderator at many major conferences, including, in 2022, the first White House Conference on Health, Hunger and Nutrition in 50 years, the Aspen Ideas Festival, the World Summit on Ethics & Leadership in Sports in India, and the TAFISA World Congress in Slovenia.
Tom came to Aspen from ESPN where his work as a journalist was recognized for its innovation and excellence. In 1996, he joined the internet startup Starwave as deputy editor, helping develop the website that later became ESPN.com. He then became the first reporter to produce cross-platform enterprise reports. His investigations over two decades helped grow the reputation of the television show Outside the Lines and won many national honors including two Sports Journalism Emmys, an Edward R. Murrow Award, and a 2014 Alfred I. duPont/Columbia University Award — ESPN’s first. His reports also appeared on E:60, ABC’s World News Tonight, and Good Morning America. Since leaving ESPN in 2017, he has written for the Times and other outlets.
As a convener and storyteller, the guiding principles of his work have been truth (best as we can discern) and progress (best as we can deliver). His reporting on football safety, the torture of Iraqi athletes, and the ethics of drug testing have won top awards from the Black Journalists Association, Asian American Journalists Association, and the Women’s Sports Foundation. He is best known for his insights on the base of our sport ecosystem, with The Nation writing that Tom “has done more than any reporter in the country to educate all of us about the professionalization of youth sports.”
Game On: The All-American Race to Make Champions of Our Children, a 2008 book by Tom, continues to be used as a text on university campuses. Then-columnist Robert Lipsyte called Game On the “Silent Spring of sports: the book that launches a movement to protect a natural resource. In this case, our children.” That movement became Project Play, now a network of more than 20,000 organizations that touch the lives of children.
A graduate of the University of Florida, Tom lives in San Clemente, Calif., where he can be found enjoying several sports, reminding himself what it was like to be a kid.
Phone: 860-798-0752
Email: tom.farrey@aspeninstitute.org
Twitter: @TomFarrey
Website: tomfarrey.me
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JENNIFER BROWN LERNER
Deputy Director
Jennifer has spent her career working to ensure all young people have the opportunity to thrive. As the Deputy Director for the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program, she has a range of responsibilities for strategy, management, and community work. Previously, she was the Assistant Director for Policy and Partnership for the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development, where she managed the policy subcommittee and Partners Collaborative.
Before joining the Aspen Institute, Jennifer served as the Deputy Director of the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF), where she oversaw the organization’s work on education, workforce and youth policy to ensure all students graduate ready to succeed in college and careers. Prior to moving to Washington, D.C., Jennifer also worked as a classroom teacher, coach and communications officer.
Jennifer’s career began supporting the creation of a Summerbridge (now Breakthrough Collaborative) site in Atlanta, Georgia, an innovative model that provides summer and school-year programming to students from under-resourced communities through a teaching residency for college undergraduates under the guidance of professional teachers. Jennifer received her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and her MA from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Jennifer and her husband live in Washington, D.C. with their two active boys who have embraced sports sampling and thus she has fully embraced her role as chauffeur and cheerleader.
Phone: 202-736-2918
Email: jennifer.lerner@aspeninstitute.org
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JON SOLOMON
COMMUNITY IMPACT Director
Jon has spent his career trying to pursue the truth in sports, while exploring how our tremendously entertaining, passionate and flawed games can play a role in creating a more equitable society. We’re not there yet. He’s still trying.
As Community Impact Director of the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program, he leads Project Play’s community work portfolio, national and local youth sports research, and media relations. Jon has authored more than 20 youth sports reports, including the annual National State of Play, local State of Play reports in communities around the U.S., and Reimagining School Sports reports.
Prior to joining the Aspen Institute in 2017, Jon was an award-winning sports reporter covering college football, NCAA issues and investigative stories. He worked at CBSSports.com, The Birmingham News, The State, The Anderson Independent-Mail and The Washington Post.
Jon previously served as a youth soccer and basketball coach. His claim to fame was going winless in his final soccer season yet drawing a hug from the surliest kid whose leadership improved throughout the year. Jon lives in Urbana, Maryland, with his wife Mandy and sons Daniel and Josh.
Phone: 205-572-2907
Email: jon.solomon@aspeninstitute.org
Twitter: @JonSolomonAspen
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KATHERINE QUINN
PROJECT PLAY SUMMIT Director
For nearly 30 years Katherine has pursued her passion for fitness, health, and athletics. As Director of the Project Play Summit, she coordinates all aspects of the Sports & Society program’s signature annual event where national and international leaders gather to measure progress, share learnings, and discover new opportunities to build healthy communities through sport.
In addition to her 25+ years as a certified personal trainer, Katherine has extensive experience in the health, fitness, and sports industries, having held positions in sales, gym management, and as co-owner of a Gold’s Gym franchise. Prior to joining the Aspen Institute, she was Vice President of Customer Success for a digital marketing agency advising fitness industry clients on sales, marketing, and advertising.
Katherine has spent countless volunteer hours coaching and advocating for increased accessibility to youth sports. She previously served as the Director of McLean Youth Track and Field, on the board of directors of McLean Youth Athletics, and has been a proud member of the Fairfax County Athletic Council since 2016. She currently represents the Athletic Council on the Child Witness of Domestic Violence Task Force with the Fairfax County Department of Domestic and Sexual Violence Services (DSVS).
Outside of work, she enjoys walking in the woods, trying out new recipes, live music, a good book, and traveling with her husband and two daughters. Katherine lives in Northern Virginia and indulges her love of sports by cheering on the GMU Patriots and her favorite DC teams.
Phone: 571-488-7282
Email: katherine.quinn@aspeninstitute.org
LinkedIn: linked.com/in/katherinequinn
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MARTY FOX
Project Manager
Marty is a Project Manager of the Sports & Society Program and manages the program’s Project Play 2024 initiative of leading organizations working collectively to increase youth sports participation. Marty managed the 2019 and 2020 Project Play Summits, the nation’s premier gathering of leaders at the intersection of youth, sports and health, and supports Project Play’s work in Southeast Michigan, Western New York, and Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes, in partnership with the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and regional community foundations. His work builds off the 2017 State of Play reports in those regions, the program’s groundbreaking first studies of how a discrete region serves its kids through sport, on which he served as a researcher and contributor. Marty also serves on the program’s communications team as web and newsletter publisher.
Marty holds a B.A. in comparative cultures & politics and international relations from Michigan State University’s James Madison College, as well as a master’s degree in Sports Management from the George Washington University. He joined The Aspen Institute full-time in March 2018 as program assistant. He has also served as a project assistant to the International Olympic Committee at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, event manager of the Sports Industry Networking and Career Conference, and research assistant at the American Association of Geographers. He is passionate about the power of sports as a unifying force for good.
Outside of work, Marty supports free play by hiking and urban exploring.
Phone: 202-464-4304
Email: martin.fox@aspeninstitute.org
Twitter: @MartyFox_
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VINCENT MINJARES, Ph.d
PROJECT MANAGER
Vincent is a Project Manager of the Sports & Society Program with responsibility for driving Project Play's school sports and coaching portfolios. Informed by a blend of academic expertise and international experience, Vincent maintains a faithful commitment to healthy, inclusive and empowering learning environments in sport. Inspired by experiences as a player, coach and coach developer himself, Vincent has cultivated a career intent on helping people, programs and institutions deliver on the promise of sport for education and human development. Importantly, Vincent believes strongly in the power of the coach, including the critical role they play in satisfying young people's basic needs for safety, connection, autonomy and growth.
Vincent holds a Ph.D in Coaching & Pedagogy from AUT University (Auckland, NZ), where he received a Vice Chancellor Doctoral Fellowship. Vincent also holds an M.A. in Education from U.C. Berkeley, within the Cultural Studies of Sport and Education (CSSE) program, and a B.A. in Economics from Claremont McKenna College. Vincent's research interests focus on the application of theories of learning and human development to key issues in sport, education and society. Vincent's doctoral work investigated the complexity of teaching and learning in a high school boys' basketball team while his master's work explored how team sport coaches can leverage sport learning to cultivate academic competence in students. Through an academic-industry collaboration in New Zealand, Vincent was appointed the Lead Trainer for Good Sports, a national train-the-trainer program driving adult behavior change in youth and junior sports.
Professionally, Vincent has held diverse learning and development roles in sport across the United States and New Zealand. Vincent began as a basketball skills trainer in Southern California. Following graduate study in Berkeley, Vincent served the Athletic Study Centre (ASC) as Director of Academic Development, a role responsible for the design and delivery of academic support services for student-athletes in an NCAA Division I sport setting. In addition, Vincent served as a member of the Chancellor's task force on Academics and Athletics as well as a Special Advisor to Intercollegiate Athletics . In New Zealand, Vincent served as the Development Officer for North Harbour Basketball Association, a regional sport organization and the country's largest basketball club. In this role, Vincent also served Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ) as a Regional Coach Developer, Special Advisor (Wellbeing and Transition) and member of the Coach Leadership Group.
Vincent brings extensive experience as a coach and player. Vincent played NCAA Div. III basketball for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Claremont, CA) and attended Damien High School (La Verne, CA) where he became a three-year varsity letterman. Vincent first coached high school and junior college basketball in Southern California before returning to coaching in New Zealand at the club, high school, national representative and international representative levels. Vincent also directly managed many player development and pathways programs that have included workshop facilitation and mentoring for junior club, representative, national team and semi-professional players.
In his personal time, Vincent remains active as a mentor for coaches and emerging athletes. He also enjoys red wine, cafe hopping and exploring new cities. Vincent currently lives in Los Angeles, CA and hails originally from Diamond Bar, CA.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vminjares
Email: vincent.minjares@aspeninstitute.org
Twitter: @PlayerLearning
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Sabrina McDonnell
Program Associate
Sabrina is a Sports and Society Program Associate and manages and supports several projects including the State of Play youth survey, State of Play community reports, Project Play Summit, and Project Play Champions program. She also assists with communications and general operations.
Sabrina graduated from Boston University with a degree in Economics. She brings experience in economic and market analysis, communications, and coaching. She has been a field hockey coach and kids’ ski instructor over the years. As a former youth athlete and sport sampler, Sabrina has used the skills she learned in her everyday life and enjoys the diverse range of Sports and Society’s work.
Outside of Aspen, Sabrina loves playing tennis (pickle ball, too), following Formula 1, and experimenting in the kitchen with friends.
Email: sabrina.mcdonnell@aspeninstitute.org
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RUBY AVILA
Program ASSOCIATE
Ruby is a Sports and Society Program Associate and supports Project Play’s work with communities through State of Play reports and technical assistance.
Ruby recently graduated from American University with a degree in Political Science and History. She has experience working with nonprofit organizations that focus on positive youth development in underserved areas. As a former camp counselor and sports mentor, her passion lies in supporting the growth of healthy and strong communities by centering youth voices.
Outside of work, Ruby is a soccer fanatic; she enjoys playing in her free time and following the Premier League
Email: ruby.avila@aspeninstitute.org
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Lilah Drafts-johnson
project play intern
Lilah Drafts-Johnson is a Sports and Society Program intern assisting with the 2024 Project Play Summit. She earned her undergraduate degree in Latin American Studies and Politics at Oberlin College, where she competed as a track and field athlete and won a Division III NCAA title in the 400m hurdles. After graduating, Lilah completed a Level 1 coaching certificate from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association while coaching sprinter-hurdlers at Amherst College.
Prior to arriving at the Aspen Institute, Lilah fused her passion for sport and social change through her role in the Player Programs department at the league office of Major League Baseball, where she co-managed the bilingual education and prevention components of the league-wide domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy. Today, Lilah continues to develop and facilitate workshops on sensitive topics like healthy relationships, consent, and mental health for diverse populations throughout the sports industry.
Lilah recently completed her M.A. in Physical Cultural Studies and Kinesiology at the University of Maryland, College Park, where her master’s thesis research examined the formulation and efficacy of domestic and sexual violence policies in professional sports. She has presented her research at several national conferences, including those hosted by the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport, the Social Justice through Sport and Exercise Psychology Symposium, and the University of Delaware’s Center for the Study and Prevention of Gender-Based Violence. She received a certificate in trauma support from Trauma Institute International in 2019 and participated in the Army of Survivor’s pilot program for Compassionate Coach, a trauma-informed coaching course, in 2024.
Lilah sees sport as a contested site that must be intentionally shaped to create spaces that promote liberation and community for participants. She is excited to be a part of this work alongside the Aspen Sport and Society team. Outside of work, Lilah enjoys creative writing, weightlifting, and cycling.
Email: lilah.drafts-johnson@aspeninstitute.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ldraftsjohnson