It takes a village to raise a child.
In order to have a real impact, it will take more than one person in the pursuit of reduced screen time and increased play time. I am fortunate to have some incredible mentors/advisors who will help make sure that I am being effective in my strategies & planning and partners who will help provide rewards and incentives for kids to Get Unplugg’d.
Founder
Rob “Frisbee Rob” McLeod is a motivational speaker and frisbee ambassador living in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He holds 6 Guinness World Records and has 12 World Championships in flying disc sports. Rob created a children’s book and self-published The Davy Rule in February 2016, which features the real-life dog Davy Whippet, Rob’s best friend and teammate (pictured above). Rob created the Get Unplugg’d challenge in February 2016 after trying to come up with a way get kids away from screens and back into play. Based on the TED Talk “The Demise of Guys” by Philip Zimbardo, it became clear that something needed to be done, which is how the idea was born.
Advisors
Philip Zimbardo is Professor Emeritus at Stanford University and a past president of the American Psychological Association. He was the leader of the notorious 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment – and an expert witness at Abu Ghraib. He is known for his groundbreaking TED Talk “The Demise of Guys” and his subsequent book “Man Interrupted” – the inspiration for Unplugg’d. He has also authored several other books including “The Lucifer Effect”, which explores the nature of evil; now, in his new work, he studies the nature of heroism in The Heroic Imagination Project.
Nikita Coulombe is a writer and artist. For several years she worked closely with social psychologist Philip Zimbardo; together they co-authored Man Interrupted, which discusses how virtual reality has become more rewarding than reality for many young men. She also assisted Warren Farrell with his upcoming book The Boy Crisis, and recently started working with filmmaker Cassie Jaye, promoting the documentary, The Red Pill, about boy’s and men’s issues. After seeing how lacking sex education resources are, she teamed up with therapist Keeley Rankin and created BetterSexEd to offer objective information and candid conversations about sex, relationships, dating, and related topics. One of her goals with BetterSexEd is to help each sex develop more empathy for the other sex, and help bring men and women on more balanced footing through improved communication and understanding. She is also passionate about painting and licenses her artwork.
Ambassadors
Jenn Carson, MSLIS, CYT, CCYT is the Director of the LP Fisher Public Library in Woodstock, NB and has been delivering movement-based programs in libraries and schools for eight years. She is the creator of www.yogainthelibrary.com, a popular resource for library staff and teachers interested in delivering yoga and mindfulness-based programs in their communities. She blogs about physical literacy for the American Library Association at www.programminglibrarian.org. Carson is also involved with a research project gathering data on physical literacy programs in libraries with Dr. Noah Lenstra (University of North Carolina at Greensboro) and is writing a book for ALA Editions on physical literacy which is being released in June 2018. Her team was recently given the New Brunswick Public Library Service Innovation Award for their physical literacy initiatives. She is a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, the Atlantic Provinces Library Association, and Beta Phi Mu: the International Honors Society for Library and Information Sciences.
Dan “Stork” Roddick is a long-time disc sport champion and organizer in both the U.S. and internationally. He has been inducted into all 4 of the Flying Disc Hall of Fames (Ultimate, Disc Golf, Freestyle, Frisbee). Stork was an early star of the game of Ultimate with college champion Rutgers University (with a record of 45-1), where he was Irv Kalb’s favorite scoring target, and he was a winner of national and world championships in individual events including disc golf, freestyle and accuracy. Stork was one of the driving forces behind promoting and supporting Ultimate and all other disc sports through his role as head of Wham-O’s sports marketing department from 1975-92, ensuring sufficient financial support for the UPA in its first decade of existence. Besides providing direction and support to TK (Tom Kennedy) and others for their efforts in the U.S., he also was instrumental in the international arena, serving as World Flying Disc Federation President from 1986-1992 and as secretary from 1998-2003. An Eagle Scout in his youth, Stork has written numerous articles and books on disc sports. He is credited with framing Ultimate’s defining “Spirit of the Game” philosophy which has guided play for the past 40 years of competition.
In 2010, following a 25-year mining career, Martin Parnell started his “Quests for Kids” initiative. Over the next five years he completed 10 “Quests”. These included running 250 marathons in one year, setting five Guinness World Records in endurance events and summiting Mount Kilimanjaro in 21 hours. At the end of 2014, he had raised over $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play and 27,000 children had been given the gift of hope. Martin’s first book “MARATHON QUEST” was published by Rocky Mountain Books and CBC Radio listed him as one of Alberta’s top five authors, for 2014. His second book, “RUNNING TO THE EDGE”, was released in November 2016. Through keynotes and workshops, Martin shares his message of having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Setting goals and overcoming obstacles to unlock your potential”. He is married to Sue, and has three children and three grandchildren.
Partners
Charlesglen Toyota has partnered up with Unplugg’d to help Frisbee Rob speak in schools, and give frisbees to any schools they sponsor to help the students Get Unplugg’d.
XDISC is the world’s most versatile flying disc. The patented aerodynamic design is super accurate and stable, making flying easy and fun for beginners. The inset, central pyramid not only improves flight, it also enhances everyone’s ability, no matter the skill level, to invent new awesome moves!
