Former Major League Baseball star Omar Vizquel joined medical experts and parents to discuss free play and organized sports during the pandemic. Topics included ideas for less structured play at home, the importance of staying active, and how family routines are shifting during physical distancing.
SPEAKERS
JON SOLOMON
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
ASPEN INSTITUTE SPORTS & SOCIETY PROGRAM
@JonSolomonAspen
Jon is a journalist, storyteller and communicator whose work supports the Sports & Society Program’s mission to convene leaders, facilitate dialogue and inspire solutions that help sport serve the public interest. He oversees the program’s communications platforms, edits and writes reports, develops original content, and manages select projects within Project Play.
Prior to the Aspen Institute, Jon was an award-winning sports journalist covering college football and NCAA issues with 20 national honors in his career. In Jon’s spare time, he takes turns coaching soccer and baseball teams in Maryland for his two sons, Daniel and Josh, while his wife Mandy often serves as team mom. Josh says he likes his dad’s job at Aspen better than when he was a sportswriter because now “you’re helping kids.”
OMAR VIZQUEL
FORMER MLB ALL-STAR
MANAGER, TOROS DE TIJUANA
@omarvizquel13
Omar played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball. Known as one of the game’s most creative defensive players, Omar retired with 11 Gold Glove Awards (including nine straight from 1993-2001) and three All Star Game appearances. Omar’s .985 fielding percentage is the highest in baseball history by a shortstop. A native of Caracas, Omar is the all-time leader in hits among Venezuelan-born players. He is the current manager of the Venezuela national baseball team and the Toros de Tijuana in the Mexican Baseball League. He has two children, Nicolas and Caylee.
RUTH KATZ
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ASPEN INSTITUTE HEALTH, MEDICINE AND SOCIETY PROGRAM
Ruth Katz is a vice president of the Aspen Institute and executive director of its Health, Medicine and Society Program, which brings together groups of thought leaders, decision-makers, and the informed public to consider US health challenges and identify solutions. Previously, she was the Walter G. Ross Professor of Health Policy at George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, where she served as dean from 2003 to 2008. From 1997 to 2003, Katz was associate dean for administration at Yale University School of Medicine. She also served as chief public health counsel to the US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee on the Affordable Care Act.
DAVID ANDREATTA
EDITOR, ROCHESTER CITY NEWSPAPER
YOUTH SPORTS PARENT
@David_Andreatta
David Andreatta is the editor of CITY Newspaper, a free weekly newspaper serving Rochester, NY, and the Finger Lakes area. Prior to joining CITY in 2019, David spent 11 years at the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle as a reporter and columnist. David is also a youth hockey coach and youth sports dad to two sons.
