Steve Gross

Steve Gross is a clinical social worker, social entrepreneur, and the Founder and Chief Playmaker of the Life is Good Playmaker Project, a nonprofit organization whose programs impact the lives of over one million children annually. He speaks on the power of optimism, resilience, and creating cultures where people thrive, drawing from more than 30 years of pioneering play-based trauma interventions for communities around the world. Steve’s work was featured in the number one New York Times bestseller The Body Keeps the Score as an example of how play can be used in healing.

Career & Impact
Steve began his career running playgroups for homeless children in Greater Boston in the late 1980s. His innovative approach caught the attention of leading trauma experts, and he was soon called upon to lead healing efforts for communities impacted by war, natural disasters, gun violence, and poverty across the globe, including Ukraine and Haiti. His Playmaker program now serves more than 16,000 teachers and early childhood educators worldwide.

Speaker & Thought Leader
Steve’s dynamic, down-to-earth presentations use research, humor, and personal stories to show how optimistic leaders bring out the best in people and organizations, especially during challenging times. His keynotes deliver evidence-based strategies for building resilient cultures, harnessing the power of optimism, and creating environments where people perform at their best.

Superpowers for Success in Business & Life

When people think about superpowers, they usually think about the ones that they read about in comic books. Superhuman strength, X-ray vision, and the ability to fly, are just a few examples of what we usually think about when we hear the word ‘superpower.’ Sadly, superhuman strength and x-ray vision have proven to be of little help in combating many of the 21st century challenges that affect every organization. The good news is that that we are all able to tap into superpowers such as: gratitude, optimism, creativity, authenticity, and courage. Superman can’t teach you to fly, but during Steve’s high energy presentations he teaches you how to use the superpowers we already have inside each of us.

Lead with Optimism (and the Results Will Follow)

Steve Gross explores how everyone can bring out the best in their team and organization by leading with optimism, creativity, and love (you read that right, love).  In this inspiring, moving and entertaining presentation, Steve shares research and first-hand lessons that demonstrate how optimistic leaders inspire and energize everyone around them  – especially in challenging, change-filled times.  He will introduce the concept that “play” is not something you do, but rather a spirit you bring to everything you do, and he will provide practical advice for accessing and cultivating that playful, optimistic spirit.

How Joy and Optimism Ignite the Best in All of Us

Steve Gross is serious about play – and its tremendous benefits for all people and the organizations where they work. The Life is good Kids Foundation is a non-profit organization that for twenty years has used play to help children overcome life threatening challenges such as violence, illness and severe poverty. A recognized expert and pioneer in utilizing exuberant, joyful play to promote resiliency in children, he has extended those insights to adults, reconnecting them to the passionate, joyful and playful selves that enable them to be their best in and out of the workplace.

Through fascinating research, first-hand lessons learned in his crisis response efforts following 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti earthquake and turmoil in the Middle East, and his uniquely humorous and participatory engagement with audiences, Steve demonstrates how to use playfulness to energize individuals, teams and organizations – especially in challenging, change-filled times – allowing them to reach their full potential.

The Power of Optimism

Optimism is powerful. When human beings grow their capacity to see and focus on the goodness in themselves, others, and the world, their social, emotional, and cognitive superpowers emerge.

Optimism, however, can be fragile. Chronic stress, fear, and overwhelming adversity can weaken and destroy our capacity for optimism. Over time, a lack of optimism can lead to strained relationships, poor health outcomes, lost productivity, and shorter, less fulfilling lives.

Steve’s inspiring presentation helps individuals discover the power of optimism to create environments that enable optimism to take root and flourish. Using research, humor, and personal stories from his 25+ years as a clinical social worker, Steve shares how optimistic leaders bring out the best in people and organizations- especially in challenging, change-filled times.