NATIONAL NON-PROFIT KaBOOM!ADDS FOUR NEW MEMBERS TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS
WASHINGTON DC – September 24, 2010 – In a continuing effort to realize its vision of a great place to play within walking distance of every child, national non-profit KaBOOM!, today announced that it recently added four new members to its board of directors. On September 20, 2010, Chairman of the Board Rick Kelson announced that the board of directors elected the following individuals:
- Michael Deich – Director of Policy and Government Affairs at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation;
- Timothy M. Fesenmyer – Counsel at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP;
- Bill Novelli – Distinguished Professor of the Practice at Georgetown University McDonough School of Business; and
- Andy Stefanovich – Chief Curator and Provocateur at Prophet.
“With these new board members, KaBOOM! will gain fresh insight and a wealth of experience to help the organization continue to grow and evolve. And while the board does a serious job, board members also bring a passion and energy to their work that only comes with a playful spirit,” said Kelson, a private equity investor and advisor to middle-market companies. Kelson is the Chairman and CEO of ServCo, LLC, a strategic sourcing and supply chain management company, and is also the former Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Alcoa.
KaBOOM! is best known for its all-volunteer, done-in-a-day playground builds in low-income communities. However, in order to address the national play deficit, the organization also has implemented a scaling strategy designed to empower community members and policymakers to take action for the importance of unstructured play. By using the internet to disseminate its model, KaBOOM! empowers local communities to build and improve their own playgrounds using free resources and guidelines on its website: www.kaboom.org. As a result of these online efforts, today, local communities build ten KaBOOM!-influenced playgrounds for each KaBOOM!-led playground build.
In an effort to continue this exponential growth in organizational impact, the KaBOOM! board of directors elected new members with expertise in governmental policy, innovation and strategic partnerships.
In addition to his work at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Michael Deich also has served as the Associate Director for General Government and Finance within the Office of Management and Budget, as Special Assistant to the President for economic policy, and as Senior Director of the National Economic Council. KaBOOM! believes Deich's expertise in both governmental policy and foundation matters will be beneficial as the organization seeks to further its mission. Deich says he is looking forward to using his skills to help KaBOOM! continue to successfully navigate this time of broad economic challenges, and joined the board both because he finds the mission compelling and really enjoys working with the KaBOOM! staff.
Timothy M. Fesenmyer is a corporate attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, who, together with several of his colleagues, has been providing pro bono legal services to KaBOOM! since January 2008. KaBOOM! believes his insight and dedication to the organization have been invaluable in improving internal efficiencies and allowing the organization to form effective national partnerships. Fesenmyer says, “I believe in the mission of KaBOOM!. As a father of two frequent playground visitors, I truly appreciate the value of play. In a world where it seems that all kids are growing up too fast, I understand the importance of letting kids just be kids in a place that is safe and allows exercise of both body and mind. I am fortunate that my children have a wealth of places to play, but, through KaBOOM!, I am all too aware that many children are not as fortunate as mine. I look forward to further contributing to the mission in this new capacity.”
Long before he became a professor at the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, Bill Novelli co-founded and was the President of Porter Novelli, now one of the world's largest public relations agencies. Porter Novelli has been a long-standing force for social change, balancing its work with the for-profit and non-profit worlds by managing programs in cancer control, diet and nutrition, cardiovascular health, reproductive health, infant survival, pay increases for educators, charitable giving and other programs in the U.S. and the developing world. Novelli also served as CEO of AARP, a membership organization known for its ability to mobilize its 40 million members. With this powerhouse in public relations and social change on board, KaBOOM! hopes to be able to communicate the importance of unstructured play to a broader audience.
In 1990, Andy Stefanovich co-founded a creativity and innovation consulting group called “Play”, which helped leading companies conceive and implement innovative ideas. Several years ago, Play joined forces with Prophet, a strategic brand and marketing consultancy that helps its clients win through inspired and actionable ideas. Stefanovich says his true passion lies in guiding clients through the powerful evolution from inspiration to creativity to innovation. KaBOOM! believes Stefanovich is a perfect fit for the board as the organization continues its evolution from a non-profit that primarily executes individual playground builds into one that also fosters a national movement for the cause of play.
In addition to these four new members, the KaBOOM! board includes:
Ms. Michele Atkins
Interim President and CEO
Heritage Community Initiatives
Mr. Tony Bucci
Chairman and CEO
MARC
Mr. Robert DeMartini
Chief Executive Officer
New Balance Athletic Shoes
Mr. Richard Devaney
Chief Investment Officer
Crossbeam Capital
Mr. Jonathan Greenblatt
Member, Faculty
UCLA Anderson School of Management
Mr. Darell Hammond
CEO & Co-Founder
KaBOOM!
Mr. Andrew Harrs
Regional Industry Leader
Technology Media & Telecommunications
Deloitte & Touche
Mr. Richard Kelson
Chairman of the KaBOOM! Board of Directors and
Chairman and CEO of ServCo, LLC
Dr. Wendy Masi
Former Dean
Mailman Segal Institute
Ms. Kimberley Rudd
Franchisee
Curves International Inc.
Mr. George Sherman
Senior Vice President,
Services Capabilities
Best Buy
Mr. Julius Walls, Jr.
Chief of Staff
Greater Centennial AME Zion Church
About KaBOOM!
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! is a national non-profit organization dedicated to saving play. Through community building, the organization is focused on giving every child a great place to play within walking distance. Since 1995, KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together business and community interests to construct more than 1,800 new playgrounds, skate parks, sports fields and ice rinks across North America. KaBOOM! also leads the “Save Play” campaign at saveplay.org, which funds a variety of resources, including an online community, free online trainings, grants, publications and the KaBOOM! National Campaign for Play, which includes Playful City USA and Playmakers – a national network of individual advocates for play. KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago and San Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.
Alison Risso
202.464.6186
arisso@kaboom.org