#HuddLUp

OUR VISION

We see a future where every school prioritizes mental wellness.

A future where teachers and caregivers receive the support they are asking for, and communities thrive.

Most importantly, we see a future where no child feels invisible.

You can make a difference today.

Meet the Team

  • Jerry Sparby

    Jerry Sparby

    FOUNDER

  • Jim Meyer

    Jim Meyer

    PROGRAM FACILITATOR

  • Brian Athmann

    Brian Athmann

    PROGRAM FACILITATOR

  • Dr. Greenblatt

    Dr. James Greenlatt

    Psychiatrist

  • Dr. Jorge Moreno

    Dr. Jorge Moreno

    Professor of Medicine at Yale School of Medicine

  • Dr. Bobby Nourani

    Clinician, Educator, Researcher

  • Dr. Mauro Zappaterra

    Expert in Reiki, Energy, and Healing Arts

  • Henry Schneider

    Henry Schneider

    CREATIVE DIRECTOR

  • Lindy Sparby

    Lindy Sparby

    DESIGN & MARKETING

OUR ADVISORY BOARD

  • Dr Jorge Lewis Moreno has over 20 years experience in integrative medicine. Over the years he has practiced a diverse range of therapies. He currently serves as Chief Medical Officer at Center for Wellness. Outside of work, Moreno volunteers at the Monty Roberts Horse Sense for Healing, local schools, and serves on boards of several nonprofits.

  • Mitch Wimmer retired after-forty one years as a financial advisor at Northwestern Mutual. He was part owner of Crossroads Realty and taught math for four years in Proctor, MN. He and his wife are very active in the Detroit Lakes community, serving on the public utility board for 9 years. Wimmer has helped fundraise for local hospitals, pavilion renovation, and most recently for the Detroit Lakes Area Yes Network.

  • Dr. Bobby Nourani is a published author and invited international lecturer. His past positions include- Medical Director of Inpatient Integrative Health at UCI and Osteopathic Program Director of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of WI Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. Nourani received specialized training with the top osteopathic and musculoskeletal and regenerative physicians.

  • James M. Greenblatt M.D serves as Chief Medical Officers, VP of Medical Services at Walden Behavioral Care and Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine and Dartmouth College Geisel School of Medicine. He has authored 7 books and is the founder of Psychiatry Redefined, an educational platform dedicated to the transformation of psychiatry.

  • Tracy Knutson is a pediatric physical therapist for Minneapolis Public Schools. She is a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Pediatric Physical Therapy. Dr. Knutson is a member of the Physical Therapy Community of Practice of the Metropolitan Educational Cooperative Service Unit, an educational nonprofit cooperative serving the Twin Cities Metro.

  • Greg Roth is the President and Cheif operating officer at Wells. His leadership and tenacity creates a well-established work environment. Roth has a proven track record improving operations, increasing revenue, and decreasing cost and burden structures while creating a success driven atmosphere.

  • David Vaughn serves as the trustee of the IIene Beal Charitable Foundation and consults a number of private foundations. Previously, Vaughn worked with the education and sectors. He founded the Trenton School and Social Innovation Forum. In addition, he ran a Statewide campaign called GREY2K, directed the first statewide afterschool initiative, and Co-Founded Impact Vote- a non-profit committee focused on young voter turnout.

  • Dr. Ric Dressen is a professor at Concordia University and former superintendent of Edina Public Schools. Prior to this position, Dressen served as the superintendent for the Alexandria and Waconia public schools. He chaired the Minnesota and Education Finance Reform Task Force, and was president of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators. Currently, Dressen participates on education and citywide boards in the twin-cities metro.

  • Steve Abraham is a licensed real estate broker in CA. He has twenty nine years of experience in real estate- taking transactions from start to finish and maximizing return on investment. Abraham’s expertise includes acquisition and disposition, lease negations, asset management, property entitlement, and the approval process.

  • Dr. Jay Austin is Chief Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Chief at the Division of Burn Surgery, and Interim Chief of the Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery. Austin oversaw new clinical programs designed to treat patients with migraines. In addition, he has published extensive articles on the field of plastic surgery which lead to numerous patens and prototypes associated with anti-aging, rejuvenation, and scar therapy.

  • Barbara McCombs is a Senior Research Specialist at the University of Denver’s Applied research and technology institute. McCombs is the Director of the Human Motivation learning and developmental center where technology is the primary tool for empowering youth. Her book- Learner-Centered Psychological Principles are used in numerous national and international schools and colleges.

  • Peter Vaughn is the Founder and Managing Director of the Vaughn Advisory Group LLC. Vaughn previously held a number of roles stateside and internationally including several senior marketing roles within American Express and European Head of Revolving Credit. Currently, he does consulting on global marketing, brand strategy, business strategy, organizational effectiveness, and executive coaching.

  • Dr. Kathryn Johnson is the Director of Partnerships and Policy at St. Cloud State University’s “Center for International Disability Advocacy and Diplomacy.” Dr. Johnson works in international development for advancing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Sustainable Development Goals. Her current research project focuses on advancing Chinese sign Language Interpreter Education, certification and curriculum in China. She is also focusing on creating digital badges and certificates on accessibility and inclusion in the hospitality industry.

  • Bob Kenny is a Founding partner of the North Bridge Advisory Board. He has thirty years of practical and research experience in developmental, counseling, and educational psychology. He has served as associate director at the Boston College on Wealth and Philanthropy, and executive director of More than Money. His work focuses primarily on how value-based decision -making changes over one’s developmental lifespan.

  • Dr. William Lee Cowden serves as Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board- A certified cardiologist, clinical nutritionist, and internist. Cowden has over twenty years experience treating chronic illness such as cancer and Lyme Disease using alternative medicine. He was awarded the ACIM Humanitarian award for his service and aid to people in times of need.

  • Frankie Perez LMFT is a Marriage and Family Therapist who blends psycho-spiritual, cognitive, EMDR, EFT, and Emotionally focused approaches to his practice. Perez is the founder of Mind Gym LLC- a psycho-educational service offering counseling and coaching services. In addition, he is a staff therapist at momentous institute- a training facility for postgraduate physiotherapy students.

  • Sargent L. Goodchild Jr. is the founder and executive director of Active Healing LLC. The goal of this program is to have children- especially those who are developmentally challenged, reach their full intellectual potential. As a child, Sargent was diagnosed with a seizure disorder doctors projected would be debilitating. He instead focused his efforts on helping others and sharing the importance of creating neurological integrity during critical milestones which are often overlooked in traditional interventions.

  • Dr. Bush is a triple board-certified physician specializing in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolism, and Hospice/Palliative care. His groundbreaking research has unveiled valuable insights into human health and longevity. In 2012, he made a significant discovery of carbon-based redox molecules produced by bacteria, which act as an antidote to various toxins that disrupt our body's natural defense systems, including glyphosate. This breakthrough has led to the development of RESTORE, a revolutionary dietary supplement. Dr. Bush's dedication to change is fueled by his children's future, inspiring his educational initiatives that lay the groundwork for transforming legislative decisions and shifting consumer behavior within the agricultural, pharmaceutical, and Western Medicine industries.

  • Mauro Zappaterra, MD, PhD, is a board-certified physician in physical medicine and rehabilitation, specializing in optimizing human performance and reducing suffering. He obtained his medical and doctoral degrees from Harvard Medical School. Since 1998, he has practiced mindfulness and has been teaching it to patients with chronic pain since 2018 in his role as Director of Multidisciplinary Care at Synovation Medical Group. Dr. Zappaterra has actively contributed to the field through his publications on topics such as cerebrospinal fluid, disability, and pain management, including scientific papers and medical book chapters. He has also authored several books, including "I Am," "All One," and "All Love," which explore awareness primarily for children but are relevant for all ages. In collaboration with his son, he published "Close Your Eyes, What Do You See?" - a story centered around imagination and intention. Dr. Zappaterra is dedicated to creating programs for patients with chronic pain and advancing his research on the cerebrospinal fluid, continuously integrating new findings to evolve his hypothesis on the subject and its connection to "I Am."

FAQs

  • We are currently in 90 classrooms, and soon will be in more than 100 classrooms. If you’d like to be added to our waitlist, please submit the form on our Programs page.

    Don’t want to wait? No problem! Start integrating our model into your classroom now by using our mobile games app and subscribing to our YouTube channel.

  • Jerry Sparby has dedicated his life to improving community well being. This mission has lead him to focus his attention on youth because he wants to create sustained change for future generations. Jerry has run numerous organizations and spent countless hours with kids in classrooms across the country and has sought to understand what is causing more and more youth to suffer from poor mental wellness. After decades of this work, he has narrowed it down to a core problem: not enough physical interaction between young people, poor breathing, and a lack of support resources (attributed in part to the stigma that surrounds conversations on mental health). Up to this point, the little amount of focus there has been on these conversations is around the symptoms versus the cause. We want to stop this crisis by addressing the root causes.

  • There’s plenty of research to back it up, but our founder, Jerry Sparby, has witnessed first hand the power of play. Most importantly, group play.

    It’s tragic how little time today’s youth spend physically engaged in activities together. Digital interaction is taking over and it has significantly impacted the mental health of our children.

    Breath, touch, and face to face interaction are foundational to mental wellness. Play is a tool for social emotional learning that elicits these traits and builds on other life skills.

  • First, we have to be ok with talking about our mental wellbeing. Just as physical ailments cause us pain, mental health concerns can cause great pain as well. These pains are often easier to hide, and can often be ignored or missed. When this happens, it only makes the issue worse. Professional services, like counseling, are often required to help when an issue becomes too extreme to treat alone. However, there is often a lot that can be done before needing to find professional help. The HuddLUp Classroom program, HuddLUp Games App, and HuddLUp community are all great places to start if you are looking for ways to engage in a conversation around mental wellbeing.

TIMELINE

  • We received an outpour of requests to bring our programs to schools in central Minnesota. We quickly trained our first two staff members and entered into our first set of schools. Our capacity was met almost immediately, and we recognized that we were going to need many more resources to meet the demand.

  • After over a year in development, the HuddLUp games app was launched on the Apple App Store. This brought the power of play to anyone with an iPhone.

  • Our team has been in constant conversation with educators, leaders, and government officials to identify where to find the funds needed to expand our programming. The interest and the demand is there, but to get the state funding needed, we have been told that there needs to be widespread interest from the public. Therefore, we recognized that we could not wait to jump into our awareness campaign. We leaned on our resources and are beginning the development of a campaign to bring awareness to our mission of ending the mental health crisis.

  • We’re getting noticed! Fox News and other media outlets across the country have been sharing our story. It’s rewarding and meaningful to see our message reaching people all over, but we are still in need of funding to keep our programs alive and bring this transformative work to more students. Please donate today to make a signficant impact on the mental wellbeing of our youth.

Part of the Yes Network, which is building networks for social impact.