Dr. Stuart Brown is trained in general and internal medicine, psychiatry, and clinical research, with extensive clinical experience. He first recognized the importance of play by discovering its absence in the life stories of murders and felony drunken drivers. His years of clinical practice have affirmed the importance and need for healthy play throughout the human life cycle, with the recognition that play is a universal lifetime public health necessity. He says that “Our species is built for play, and built by play.” His independent scholarship and exploration of the evolution and neuroscience of human and animal play led to the establishment of the National Institute for Play. Dr. Brown’s scientific and popular writings and numerous productions have identified him as the foremost “practical champion of the knowledge of play.” His book “Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul” has been translated into twelve languages.