The Power of Play: Unlock Your Story & Purpose for What’s Next
Is a partial scholarship for you?
We believe in making personal growth and education accessible to everyone, which is why we offer partial scholarships on a needs-aware basis for many of our programs.
These scholarships support individuals facing financial challenges, including — but not limited to — members of underrepresented communities. If financial stress might prevent you from attending a workshop, we encourage you to apply.
Partial scholarships, provided through the Association for Growth and Education, are limited to 2–3 seats per workshop and reviewed in the order received. We recommend applying as soon as possible, as scholarship decisions are typically confirmed 90–120 days before the workshop date.
JD Schramm, Ed.D
Mentor & Educator | Author | Advocate
Kristine Michie, MSJ
The PlayFull Podcast Host | ImpactFull Consulting Firm Founder | Author
Play your way to your authentic story.
If your internal story about who you are no longer rings true, it’s time for an update. If your “why” is outdated but its replacement is elusive, it’s time to craft a new narrative.
And if you’ve tried before to reboot – with texts, tomes, and timetables – but have not tapped into the power of play, your efforts have likely fallen short.
Because, when your story goes stale, imagination, creativity, and enthusiasm go with it. And rather than being the result of a new narrative, joy, play, and love are the path to getting there.
Welcome to the power of play!
When you lead with play, your story shifts.
Imagine if your bio, your self-talk, and your purpose were fueled by nuance, surprise, and possibility, rather than fear.
Imagine viewing yourself through a kaleidoscope rather than a microscope.
New colors and angles come into view. Possibilities that were hidden start to emerge and you see new approaches that you couldn't spot before. The inner spark you feared was gone returns in a blaze – and what felt like futile grinding starts burning brightly again.
Play opens the door to a new way of seeing.
When you approach your stories playfully, you experience a powerful shift:
This is what becomes possible when you stop force breakthroughs and start playing your way toward them.
When story meets play, breakthroughs happen.
J.D. Schramm is a master communication coach who’s spent his career helping people share their stories with clarity and courage – from top universities and the TED stage to MEA’s own classrooms, and as author of Communicate with Mastery: Speak with Conviction and Write for Impact. While completing his memoir at MEA’s Baja campus, he saw that stuck narratives rarely move with more “how‑to.” They loosen when play makes it safe to experiment, speak, and listen in new ways.
Kristine Michie is a play strategist and advisor to mission‑driven leaders, founder of ImpactFull, Inc. and host of The PlayFull Podcast: Bringing Fun to the Serious Work of Changing the World. She’s interviewed more than 200 changemakers on how they use play to do hard work that never feels finished. Her research shows that play doesn’t just make the difficult bearable – it unlocks imagination, flexibility, and moral courage in the face of long‑haul challenges.
When you engage playfully with others and then return to hard problems, you become more flexible, more imaginative, and better able to see new options. Play and storytelling aren't about trivializing what matters – they're about giving your mind and body a different way to access insight, resilience, and moral imagination.
Three days that change how you see everything.
In an intimate small-group setting surrounded by luxury and a spectacular high desert setting, you’ll move between playful experiments, deep listening, and structured reflection so your purpose feels clearer and your story feels lighter – and more powerful – by the time you leave.
Learn your play personality type
Use Dr. Stuart Brown’s “play personality” model to see how you naturally access joy and innovation, and how the people around you may be wired differently. It’s a simple tool you can bring home to teams, boards, families, and communities.
Practice deep listening
Build the skill of inviting other people’s stories and really hearing them. Here, sharing means both speaking and listening – and that’s where surprising connections and new “third things” begin to appear.
Get into the science of why play works
Go beyond inspiration into research-backed insights on how play makes you more malleable, flexible, and imaginative when you return to hard, long-haul problems that may never feel “finished” (or even just another day at the office) so your work becomes more sustainable instead of more draining.
Create your Impact Origin Timeline
Map the people, moments, and experiences that shaped how you care and what you stand for now. Use this to author your unique origin story to reintroduce yourself in a way that feels truer and more grounded.
Explore your play history
Remember how you played as a kid, what delighted you, and how those early patterns still shape you today. Expect shared memories, laughter, and “I’d forgotten all about that” moments with people who get the phase of life you’re in.
Work with a physical playbook you’ll take home
Use playful prompts, simple exercises, and reflection pages in a tangible playbook, not a laptop. Leave with practices and tools you can return to whenever you feel stuck.
Experience real breakthroughs
Step away from nose-to-the-grindstone effort, engage in play, and then come back to your story with fresh eyes. Those “How did I not see this before?” moments become lived experiences you can carry into your work, relationships, and leadership.
This Workshop
Is For You If…
Meet Your Faculty
Imagination is essential. If you’re going to keep working on problems that barely move, you need a playful spirit to stay resilient and access better ideas.”
~ Kristine Michie ~
Kristine Michie
Host, The PlayFull Podcast | Founder of ImpactFull Consulting | Author
As founder of ImpactFull and host of The PlayFull Podcast, Kristine has interviewed more than 200 changemakers to explore one core question: how do you stay imaginative and resilient while working on problems that may never fully resolve? She has analyzed those conversations for patterns in how play unlocks fresh thinking and moral imagination when traditional effort hits a wall.
Building on a lifetime of activism, journalism, philanthropy and leadership coaching, Kristine uses joy and play to activate leaders, build community, and amplify the voices of others. Her work supports social impact leaders, nonprofit CEOs, board members, and creatives who feel stuck, worn out, or trapped in patterns that have stopped working, helping them find sustainable ways to keep going.
Sharing isn’t about taking the stage. It’s speaking and listening. In that exchange, new possibilities show up.
~ J.D. Schramm~
J.D. Schramm, Ed.D
Author | Communication Expert | Educator
J.D. is a sought-after keynote speaker, trainer, and communication coach who has spent his career helping others communicate with greater power, from the classrooms of Stanford, Columbia, NYU, and USC to the TED stage. His 2011 TED Talk on breaking the silence for suicide attempt survivors has been viewed by millions, and his book Communicate with Mastery was published by Wiley in 2020.
After completing MEA’s transitions course and finishing his memoir at the Baja campus, J.D. launched a private practice focused on guiding leaders, founders, and mission-driven professionals through the vulnerable work of telling their stories with honesty and clarity. He understands that people often stall not because they lack skill, but because they’re in transition – shifting from who they’ve been known as into who they’re becoming. He brings structure, warmth, and deep respect to that process.
Supported By the MEA Team
Lee Johnson
MEA’s Head of Land, Livestock, and Mindfulness in Santa Fe
Lee likes to say that he’s as ordinary as dirt but as complex as soil. A former Course Director for the Colorado Outward Bound School and Certified Holistic Management Teacher, he has managed ranches in Nebraska and Tennessee as well as several ranches here in New Mexico. As ...
View BioOur Agenda at a Glance
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
4:00 PM: Arrival / Check-In
5:30 PM: Welcome Reception & Dinner
7:00 PM: Orientation Session
9:00 PM: Free Time
Friday:
7:30 AM: Mind + Body
8:30 AM: Breakfast
10:00 AM: Classroom Time
1:15 PM: Lunch
2:00 PM: Free Time
3:00 PM: Classroom Time
6:30 PM: Dinner
Saturday:
7:30 AM: Mind + Body
8:30 AM: Breakfast
10:00 AM: Classroom Time
1:15 PM: Lunch
2:00 PM: Free Time
3:00 PM: Classroom Time
6:30 PM: Dinner, Dessert & Graduation
8:00 PM: Evening Gathering
Sunday:
7:00 AM: Breakfast
10:00 AM: Checkout / Departure
*Please note all times are estimates. This agenda is meant to give you an idea of the general flow of activities.
Step into transformation in the high desert
Rising Circle Ranch | Santa Fe, USA.
Our spectacular Santa Fe campus is located on an upscale regenerative ranch featuring traditional Pueblo architecture and nearly 2,600 acres of wildlife, hiking trails in the arroyo, and awe-inspiring beauty. Close to historic Santa Fe, an artisan’s mecca.
PLUS: Gourmet from-scratch meals, snacks, and drinks featuring locally sourced ingredients, made by our in-house chefs
Explore the ranch
on horseback
Our Rising Circle Ranch spans 2,600 acres of New Mexico high desert, offering guided horseback riding for all experience levels through diverse terrains under the vast Southwest sky
You’ll experience highlights like:
Horseback riding is an optional add-on activity you can book once you arrive on the ranch. Whether you’re seasoned or brand new to horseback adventures, this guided experience lets you discover the ranch’s natural wonders alongside our gentle horses.
Your workshop includes:
Ready to do something different – and see what opens up?
Over three days with J.D. and Kristine in an intimate group at our high desert ranch, you’ll experience what happens when you stop pushing with effort alone and start working with your story playfully and in community.
You’ll experiment, reflect, and practice together so the shifts you experience don’t just feel inspiring in the moment – they become usable practices you carry into your work, relationships, and leadership.
You’ll leave with:
You’ve been craving a breath of fresh air in how you work with your story and your impact. This is it.
Book your spot today
The Power of Play: Unlock Your Story & Purpose for What’s Next
Is a partial scholarship for you?
We believe in making personal growth and education accessible to everyone, which is why we offer partial scholarships on a needs-aware basis for many of our programs.
These scholarships support individuals facing financial challenges, including — but not limited to — members of underrepresented communities. If financial stress might prevent you from attending a workshop, we encourage you to apply.
Partial scholarships, provided through the Association for Growth and Education, are limited to 2–3 seats per workshop and reviewed in the order received. We recommend applying as soon as possible, as scholarship decisions are typically confirmed 90–120 days before the workshop date.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be “good at” play or storytelling to do this workshop?
Not at all. If you’ve ever thought, “I’m not creative” or “I’m not a natural storyteller,” you’re exactly who this is for. This workshop uses play to dissolve the walls that make storytelling feel hard, awkward, or performative. You don’t need special skills – you just need to be willing to experiment.
What’s different about this workshop from other story or identity offerings?
Most storytelling work gives you more frameworks and formulas. Here, play is the mechanism that unlocks what effort alone can’t reach. You’ll work with your story and the stories you tell yourself about everything, but you’ll also learn story listening, not just telling, so sharing becomes a two-way practice. That’s where real connection and those surprising “third things” you have in common with others start to emerge.
What exactly is the “playbook” and how does it work?
The playbook is a physical workbook you’ll use throughout the weekend – no laptops required. Inside, you’ll find Mad Libs-style prompts, your Impact Origin Timeline, play personality tools, and space to capture your “How did I not see this before?” moments. It’s designed so you can pick it up weeks, months, or years from now and remember not just what you learned, but what you experienced.
I’m skeptical that “play” can help with serious challenges. Is this too lighthearted?
This work is grounded in serious research and decades of experience with people doing high-stakes, long-haul work. When you engage playfully with others and then return to hard problems, you become more flexible, more imaginative, and better able to see new options. Play isn’t about trivializing what matters – it’s about giving your mind and body a different way to access insight, resilience, and moral imagination.
What’s included in the tuition?
Tuition includes all workshop programming, three nights of accommodations, chef-prepared meals, snacks, and beverages, plus access to MEA’s inspiring, world-class retreat environment. The only additional costs are your travel to and from the venue and any personal incidentals.
How do I know if I qualify for financial aid?
Financial assistance is available on a needs-aware basis. If cost would be a genuine barrier to your participation, you’re encouraged to apply. The goal is to make MEA accessible to people who are ready for this kind of work but might need support to attend.
What if I’m not sure this workshop is right for me?
If you’re on the fence, let’s talk it through. You can book a free call with an MEA advisor, who will help you explore whether this workshop fits your current season of life, goals, and timing – no pressure, just a real conversation about what you need now.
Still deciding or have questions?
Connect with our helpful team of Advisors
Our Advisors are all MEA alumni who can offer genuine insights into our programs. They’re passionate about helping you finding the right fit to make your next chapter the best one.
Daniel Booz
Lucas Erie
Leslie Bartlett