About Activity Works
Origins of the Company
North Shore LIJ began development of the Activity Works concept in early 2007 under the direction of June Keenan, the Company's CEO, who at the time was North Shore LIJ's Senior Vice President responsible for Community Health and Public Policy. Ms. Keenan had been tasked with seeking ways to advance North Shore LIJ's mission of health and wellness to the children of Long Island, New York. These children were experiencing increasing rates of obesity with a prognosis for life threatening health issues, including Type 2 Diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. To assist in this project, Ms. Keenan engaged Princeton Partners, a marketing consultancy specializing in education and health issues. Princeton Partners' CEO at the time was Tom Sullivan, who now is the Company's COO.
After extensive research, the team determined there was no existing commercially available, school-based solution that satisfactorily addressed one of the root causes of obesity: inadequate physical activity. Their research concluded that the field of kinetic learning was the most promising approach because it integrated physical and aerobic exercise into the classroom, thereby addressing the universal problem of insufficient physical activity for school children. With the help of classroom and physical education teachers, doctors, nutritionists, exercise physiologists and school principals, the team, headed by Ms. Keenan and Mr. Sullivan, developed the concept for Activity Works. They created the initial products in early 2008.
Activity Works Team Bios
June Keenan, MPH, MSW, Chairman and CEO, Founder.
June started Activity Works after serving as Senior Vice President of Community Health and Public Policy for North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System,
where she led the development of Activity Works. June has built a career as an innovator in health-management and administration, founding several successful firms,
including Keenan and Co., Advica Health Management, HealthScope United and HealthScope Management Services Corporation. Previously, June served as a Managing Director
of American Express Tax and Business Services.
Tom Sullivan, Chief Operating Officer, Co-Founder
Tom has spent more than 25 years in strategic brand marketing, during which time he introduced new products and led highly successful campaigns for many companies,
including AT&T, DuPont, Sherwin Williams, Kumon Math and Reading Centers, McGraw-Hill, The College Board and Educational Testing Service. He won national recognition for
Take Care New York, a wellness and disease prevention campaign. As Chairman of the Board of Special Olympics New Jersey, Tom raised the first $1 million for the Special Olympics
Sportsplex. Tom has been CEO of Princeton Partners, an award-winning marketing agency since 2001. He joined Princeton Partners in 1989, grew the agency fivefold over 10 years and
bought the firm in 2001. He is the co-developer of Activity Works.
Ted Tolles, Vice President of Sales and Development
Ted has more than 25 years experience in sales of innovative curriculum solutions to K-12 schools and brings to the Company his extensive industry contacts throughout the
United States. He has been recognized as Top Salesperson for three separate early-stage companies that commercialized ed-tech products with brain-based benefits: Optical Data Corporation,
Scientific Learning and Achieve3000. In each case, he was also involved in raising capital and investor exit transactions, which resulted in the sale to McGraw-Hill, IPO and two rounds of venture capital.
Jim Reddy, Director of Product Development
Jim has been a part of the Activity Works team since the company's inception and serves as the head writer and developer for all of the company's audio and video content. He is responsible
for curricula research, field research, and all aspects of product development including managing the clinical, educational experts and the creative production specialists who produce each episode.
Jim has more than 13 years of marketing experience and has worked on accounts for several large companies including Health and Hospitals Corporation (Take Care New York campaign) AOL, Scholastic, Westchester Medical Center, North Shore LIJ and BMG Columbia House.
Coltrane Stansbury, Project Manager- Gateway to a Healthy Community™ Initiative
Coltrane manages all community outreach, school engagement, and program development in the "gateway" communities nation-wide. He has more than 15 years of community development, policy management, and strategic planning experience.
Coltrane served Newark Mayor Cory Booker during his first term in various policy management roles throughout city government. Before coming to Newark, Coltrane was a Presidential Management Fellow in Washington, where he conducted policy analysis
for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the U.S. Department of Labor. Prior to his work in Washington, Mr. Stansbury managed an extensive portfolio of community economic development work for the Princeton-based urban issues consulting firm of Management Interventions, Inc.
Eyesha Marable, Implementation Manager, Newark
For the past two decades, Eyesha K. Marable has worked in the non-profit sector serving youth and health organizations. Twelve of those years, she was a youth market manager, implementing the American Heart Association's Jump Rope and Hoops for Heart programs in schools throughout New York and New Jersey. Simultaneously, she has served as ordained clergy, volunteering for and consulting with churches around the world to train Christians who dance to embody their faith, stay fit and raise health awareness. Activity Works enables Eyesha to practice what she preaches, inspiring hundreds of children to move more throughout their day.
Lea E. Brooks, Implementation Manager, Atlanta
Lea's primary responsibilities include working closely with local school personnel to ensure the successful implementation of Activity Works, which includes training teachers, serving as ongoing support and building community relationships to ensure the overall health of each classroom. Lea was previously the Assistant Director of the MBRS RISE Program and Peer Led Team Learning (PLTL) Coordinator at Morehouse College. As the Assistant Director, Lea was responsible for executing a variety of programmatic activities designed to increase the number of minority students seeking PhD's (in STEM Sciences).
Jasmine Trier, Implementation Manager, Houston
In this role, Jasmine coordinates all school-based programming for Activity Works. Jasmine's family is from Houston and she has dedicated her career to sharing her enthusiasm for health, fitness, and education with the youth of her community. Jasmine has coordinated Childhood Obesity camps through the Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. Through Houston Marathon Kids, Jasmine has assisted in leading and promoting Children's running & walking program events held at the University of Houston.
Lori Bloch, Implementation Manager, Philadelphia
Lori has been a teacher and coach in the areas of Health and Physical Education for over 30 years. Most of her career has been spent working for Philadelphia Public Schools, where she wrote some of the current curriculum and frameworks for health and physical education. She has partnered with such organizations as Health Partners of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Health Promotion Council and Merck & Co. to address children's health and wellness issues throughout the city. During her time working in Philadelphia, Lori has served as executive board secretary of the Philadelphia Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.