Jim Ansaldo: Playful Solutions

Helping educators integrate the arts throughout the curriculum? Yes, please!

We're excited to announce two new members of the Joy2Learn team!

Carolin M. Newland, CFA, is a Director and Portfolio Manager at Silvercrest Asset Management Group, where she advises individuals, families, and foundations on investment management, multigenerational wealth and estate planning, and philanthropic strategy. Carolin was drawn to Joy2Learn’s mission of integrating the arts into education through both her personal and professional experiences. Growing up in Sweden, where the arts are deeply embedded in education and culture, she developed an early appreciation for the role creativity plays in childhood development and lifelong learning. As the mother of two young children, including one entering kindergarten, she believes strongly in the importance of ensuring children have access to creative and enriching educational experiences from an early age.

Jim Ansaldo, PhD, is a speaker, trainer, and coach with decades of experience in curriculum design, project management, and professional learning facilitation. Jim’s areas of expertise include applied improvisation, coaching and consultation, culturally sustaining pedagogies, online learning, and Universal Design for Learning. Jim is excited to bring his passion and skill to the role of General Manager at Joy2Learn.

The Yes And Project has been created to keep Camp Yes And going and develop exciting new programming. Support our work by donating and/or sharing the fundraiser!

https://givebutter.com/support-camp-yes-and-tgsmez

Support Camp Yes And Help us to transform schooling for neurodivergent youth!

Help us to keep Camp Yes And going in summer 2026 and beyond!

Support Camp Yes And Help us to transform schooling for neurodivergent youth!

Wednesday in Bloomington! Join me and a gaggle of smartypantses for an evening celebrating comedy and scholarship!

Camp Yes And needs some professional advice around non-profit formation, as well as a space to host camp in summer 2026!

Camp Yes And | Jim Ansaldo: Playful Solutions — Jim Ansaldo: Playful Solutions -- Speaking, Training, and Coaching Camp Yes And’s mission is to transform teaching and learning by using play to create optimal learning environments for all students. This intensive workshop provides professional learning for educators and other helping professionals in combination with an improv theater summer camp for neurodiver...

We're excited to continue Camp Yes And in a way that includes the voices our student, family, and professional alumni. Join us this Sunday!

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Camp Yes And Town Hall. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting. We're bringing together parents, youth alumni, and professionals who care about Camp Yes And to discuss its future and chart a path forward. As you may have seen in other camp communications, Jim's department and position were eliminated in recent federal disability-related funding cuts. While the u...

Camp alumni, we want your input on the future of Camp Yes And!

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Camp Yes And Town Hall. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting. We're bringing together parents, youth alumni, and professionals who care about Camp Yes And to discuss its future and chart a path forward. As you may have seen in other camp communications, Jim's department and position were eliminated in recent federal disability-related funding cuts. While the u...

You don’t need another training—you need renewal.

🌱🎭 For Helping Professionals: You Give So Much—This Is for You 🎭🌱

This time of year can feel heavy. Burnout is real, energy is low, and the work doesn’t slow down. Many helping professionals are craving space to breathe, reconnect with themselves, and remember the joy that brought them to this work in the first place.

Improv offers exactly that. Through play, laughter, and presence, improv helps you release stress, rebuild emotional resilience, and strengthen skills you already use every day—active listening, adaptability, empathy, and clear communication. No performing. No pressure. Just a supportive space to show up as a human.

✨ Reset your nervous system

😂 Laugh without an agenda

🤝 Reconnect with others who “get it”

🌱 Refill your cup before burnout takes more

Improv can be the reset you need.

Camp Yes And will live on in some form. Subscribe to my newsletter to stay informed!

Contact | Jim Ansaldo: Playful Solutions -- Speaking, Training, and Coaching — Jim Ansaldo: Playful Solutions -- Speaking, Training, and Coaching Send Dr. Jim your questions, comments, or suggestions about creating playful solutions to challenging problems. Subscribe to Dr. Jim's newsletter to keep up on his speaking, training, and coaching adventures!

To solve complex problems, it's critical to provide a safe space for those who constructively disagree. Join me on December 13 and explore ways that playful leaders create a climate of safety!

Event Registration: Playful Leadership Workshop with Dr. Jim Ansaldo! Leaders often struggle to support stakeholders as they address adaptive challenges: problems that usually come with competing definitions and varying perspectives on solutions. Play-based facilitation methods create the safety and transparency necessary to address these complex challenges. Join Dr.....