On November 12, 2025, The Opportunity Center hosted its November Board Meeting & Community Conversation at Bader Philanthropies, bringing together community leaders, partners, and advocates to explore how play inequities impact communities across Milwaukee.
The conversation was led by Jon Solomon of Project Play, an initiative of the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program. Project Play is a national movement focused on building healthy communities through sport by connecting youth and school sports systems, identifying access gaps, and mobilizing organizations to take action.
Jon shared insights from Project Play’s latest national research, including findings that youth with disabilities need sports more but participate less. His remarks challenged attendees to rethink how communities design inclusive, accessible opportunities for all kids to play.
Here is the recording of Jon’s comments.
Following the keynote, a panel of local community leaders explored Milwaukee-specific gaps and opportunities related to youth play, access, and equity. Panelists discussed current challenges, promising practices, and opportunities for collaboration to serve young people across the city better.
Here is a link to the panel’s recording.
The event concluded with an update from Damian Buchman, Executive Director of The Opportunity Center, who shared highlights of current initiatives and upcoming priorities as TOC continues its work to strengthen opportunity pathways for Milwaukee youth.
Link to the recording of Damian’s comments.
The Opportunity Center’s Board will host a similar Community Conversation in March/April timeline to continue to share insights into the project and ask community questions.