Play is so vital to our health and well-being. Our childhood is filled with fond memories of play but at what point do we stop engaging in silly, youthful, playful experiences?

Incorporating play into our adult lives and work can be not only exciting or energizing but powerful. During this time of so much disruption, it is essential for leaders to have the opportunity to bring a sense of lightness and joy into their lives and into their convening. We see this as essential for developing resilience and creative response.

Please join us to have fun- laugh - release endorphins – be inspired and get to know others in more personal ways.

Two members of our Convening Community will share how they have brought play into their lives and how they have now joined forces to create be joined forces to create Play Dates in the Zoom Cocoon, a Pilot Program they will be co-convening on Sundays in July. Cost is $100 for all 4 sessions.

Professor Harry Waters, Jr. created the role of Belize in the first production of Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. He is most famous for his portrayal of Marvin Berry in the movie Back to the Future, which earned him a Gold Record for his rendition of “Earth Angel.” Television acting credits include Adventures in Wonderland, among other guest-starring roles. He worked as an actor on and off Broadway, and reputable theaters such as Mark Taper Forum, Arizona Theater Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Theatre Works, American Conservatory Theater (ACT), and the San Jose Repertory Theatre. In the Twin Cities, he has appeared at The Guthrie, Penumbra Theater Company, Mixed Blood, Ten Thousand Things Theater, Pangea World Theatre, Park Square, Pillsbury House and Theatre, and Dark & Stormy Theatre. Mr. Waters has directed numerous productions in the Twin Cities and nationally, among them Waiting for Giovanni at New Conservatory Theatre Company in San Francisco and Bulrusher at Sonoma State University. At Macalester College, Harry Waters, Jr. directed Runaways, Proof, Angels in America Part I: Millennium Approaches, The Colored Museum, Tartuffe, In the Blood, The Laramie Project, Cabaret, The Cradle Will Rock, and URINETOWN. Mr. Waters received his MFA in Directing from University of Wisconsin-Madison, and holds a Meisner Acting Technique Teaching Certification with Larry Silverberg.

Merging the art and science of the mind and the heart, Ayn developed Creativity Lab, her own business, to access the innovative spirit for individuals and teams, world- wide. Along with serving on the Senior Faculty of Herrmann International, where she contributed to the development of the application of Whole Brain Thinking to Creative Problem Solving, she developed several memorable programs such as: Take this Job and Love It, Inviting the Muse, Coloring Outside the Lines. She worked with a full range of organizations, ranging from Shell Oil to Starbucks to Binney and Smith (Crayola),to name a few. Inspired by her experience with the Art of Convening, Ayn created virtual and in-person Leadership Salons. Responding to the Pandemic, she initiated Virtual Peruvian Retreats and weekly Conversations for Reflection and Connection for the residents and business people in Lodo, the historic urban neighborhood in Denver where she lives. This continuing experience has resulted in the development of a deeply caring community among the regular participants. Ayn received a M.ED in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling from Boston University. Early in her career, she co-founded a Transitional Hospital at the Menninger Foundation in Kansas, and the Bucks County Guidance Center in Pennsylvania. In 1999, Ayn was certified as a Master Coach by the International Coach Federation. Her background has been enhanced by Leadership Training in Prejudice Reduction and Inclusion by the National Coalition Building Institute and participation in a Compassionate Listening Delegation to Israel/Palestine. She particularly enjoys opportunities to work with diverse groups of people in all dimensions: race, gender, age and thinking preferences.