Tom Farrey

Tom Farrey founded and leads the Aspen Institute's Sports & Society Program and its signature initiative, Project Play. Since 2013, Project Play has shaped the national conversation on youth and school sports, convening thousands of leaders across sectors to develop the insights, ideas and opportunities to get and keep children playing. Those efforts have unlocked more than $100 million in public and private investment for grassroots organizations, influenced public policy, and helped lift the U.S. youth sport participation rate from 49% after COVID to 58% today.

Before joining Aspen, Tom was an ESPN investigative journalist for two decades where he pioneered the cross-platform project and helped build what became ESPN.com. His work over the years has won top national and international awards in seven realms – television, magazines, radio, documentary and online journalism, as well as advertising and social impact – including Emmys and a Murrow, Clio, Cannes Lion and Dupont (ESPN’s first).

Tom's 2008 book, Game On: The All-American Race to Make Champions of Our Children, became a seminal journalistic text examining the base of our sports ecosystem, and his 2026 TED Talk offered a path forward on how to build healthier communities through sports. A global thought leader and graduate of the University of Florida, Tom has testified before Congress on sports policy reform and given or moderated featured talks on an array of topics at many premier conferences.