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Since its founding in 2007, the Concussion Legacy Foundation has dedicated itself to making sports safer for youth through education, advocacy, and research. Today, they celebrate their 12th annual gala, marking a dozen years of service to the athletic community.

The Concussion Legacy Foundation was founded by former WWE wrestler and TeachAids advisor Chris Nowinski. During his pro wrestling career, Nowinski sustained a serious concussion and developed post-concussion syndrome. Having personally experienced the misinformation and lack of awareness surrounding concussions within the sports world, Nowinski partnered with neurosurgeon Dr. Robert Cantu to research and educate about concussions and brain trauma. Notably, the Concussion Legacy Foundation has partnered with Boston University School of Medicine to form the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, which researches the long-term consequences of repetitive brain trauma. They’ve also spearheaded a number of educational and advocacy initiatives to develop a safer environment for youth to play sports, including the Team Up Speak Up project founded by TeachAids advisor Dan Daneshvar and the CLF Media Project.

This year, the Concussion Legacy Gala keynote speaker will be Jason Redman, a retired US Navy Seal who pledged to donate his brain to CLF’s Project Enlist in an effort to curb veteran suicide. In addition to raising awareness about concussions within the sports world, Project Enlist aims to improve understanding surrounding military brain trauma exposure by analyzing the brains of veteran donors.

We’re proud of our advisor, Chris Nowinski, and the incredible work that his foundation has pursued to improve the safety of the military community and of youth athletes nationwide.