Tom Farrey
Executive Director, Sports & Society Program at The Aspen Institute
The Power of Sport to save democracy
Tom founded and leads the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program, the mission of which is convene leaders, facilitate dialogue, and inspire solutions that can help sports serve the public interest. The program’s signature initiative is Project Play, which leverages the power of play to build healthy children and communities through sports.
Since 2013, Project Play has shaped the global conversation about youth sports, identifying gaps in access and quality through research and dialogue. Strategic frameworks for action have helped mobilize many organizations across sectors, and its Children’s Bill of Rights in Sports has been endorsed by more than 300 cities and entities, including the Adidas Foundation. Foundations, corporations, and governments have distributed more than $150 million in related grants, and Project Play was cited by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services in the development of the National Youth Sports Strategy. A 2019 media campaign, #DontRETIREKid, won 37 international awards.
Tom came to Aspen from ESPN where his investigative reporting over two decades won many awards including Emmys and a 2014 Alfred I. duPont/Columbia University Award — ESPN’s first. Tom’s 2008 book, Game On: The All-American Race to Make Champions of Our Children, has been used by many universities. Then-New York Times columnist Robert Lipsyte called it 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 community of more than 20,000 leaders. He has shared his learnings in many venues, including a 2026 TED Talk that explains how stakeholders can collaborate to build youth-centered sport ecosystems.
