Nothing Heals Like Sport Speaker Series
The Nothing Heals Like Sport Speaker Series brings together experts from mental health, education, philanthropy, and sport to explore how intentional sport environments serve as a powerful pathway for youth mental health. Megan Bartlett, CHJS Founder, hosts each conversation — sitting down with researchers, clinicians, funders, and practitioners to talk honestly about what it takes to make sport work for young people.
Some conversations are in person. Others live on the CHJS YouTube channel. All of them are worth your time.
If you work in violence prevention, education, parenting, mental health, or philanthropy and you’re looking for evidence-based approaches to support young people’s well-being, these conversations are for you. Healing-centered sport belongs in your toolkit.
Past Events
MAY 2025: Sport and Mental Health Megan Bartlett and Bruce Perry, MD, PhD set the foundation for the series — exploring why sport, when designed with intention, is one of the most effective tools we have for supporting young people’s mental health, nervous system regulation, and resilience.
Watch the conversation on our YouTube channel.
JUNE 2025: Sport and Community — Chicago On June 16th, CHJS hosted an in-person event in Chicago with local experts to celebrate ten years of healing-centered sport in partnership with Nike and Chicago Parks District — ten years of training summer rec leaders to create healing-centered summers for thousands of young people across the city.
FEBRUARY 2026: Sport and Mental Health — NBA All-Star Weekend On the eve of the 2026 All-Star Weekend, CHJS hosted a special edition of the Speaker Series in Los Angeles in partnership with the Why Not? Foundation, Players Coalition, and Sport for Impact. Mental health experts, including Nina Westbrook, joined athletes, funders, and community practitioners for a candid conversation about sport as mental health infrastructure.
MARCH 2026: Balancing Performance and Mental Health — UCLA In partnership with the UCLA Prevention Center of Excellence, CHJS hosted a conversation with high school student athletes, coaches, educators, and clinicians about the real pressures young athletes face and what adults can do to help. The conversation was designed for LA County educators, coaches, healthcare workers, and social service providers working with high school athletes.
A recording of this conversation will be available soon.
APRIL 2026: Sport and Mental Health — New York City On April 29th, CHJS brought the Speaker Series to Civic Hall in Union Square in partnership with the Carmel Hill Fund and GameChanger. The evening marked the launch of a citywide coach training initiative in New York City — equipping coaches across the five boroughs with the tools to create healing-centered sport environments. Dena Simmons, Michael Grinnell, Rick Jordan, Alyson Neimann, Alize Garcia, and Hazel Guzman joined Megan for two conversations about what it takes to shift sport from harm to healing, and what it looks like when funders, practitioners, and leagues invest in that shift together. Watch the full recap.
Stay Connected
Join the CHJS communications list to receive updates on upcoming events — one to two emails a month, nothing more.
For questions or partnership inquiries regarding the NHLS Speaker Series, contact Claire Perry at cperry@chjs.org.
#nothinghealslikesport