Florida

National Director, PlaySmart Academy
Dave hails from Orchard Lake, Michigan, where he played football, ice hockey and rowed for Orchard Lake Saint Mary’s Preparatory. Dave attended Princeton, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and a minor in Politics. At Princeton, Dave played linebacker for the Tiger football squad for four years, and was a member of the 1989 Ivy League Championship team. Following Princeton, Dave accepted a position with Accenture’s Miami office, where he developed business systems for Fortune 500 companies. In 1996, he attended Harvard Business School where he earned his MBA degree and also served as Captain of the Men’s Rowing team. Following Harvard, Dave worked for Parthenon Group, a Boston-based strategy consulting and principal investment firm, where he invested in and advised high-growth companies.

Clients while at Parthenon included American Express, eBay, McGraw-Hill and Ocean Spray, among others. Dave departed Parthenon in 2001 to pursue an entrepreneurial path and, since that time, has developed a successful business career investing in and operating several businesses, including serving as President & CEO of Indian Motorcycle Company (now owned by Polaris Industries, NYSE: PII), in addition to several other growth-oriented, consumer-based companies. Dave and his wife and their four children reside in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Dave is a Co-Founder and serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of PlaySmart, Inc. Dave can be reached at dave@playsmart.org.

Regional Director, PlaySmart Academy
Nick is a true Floridian, born and raised in St. Petersburg, never owning a coat and enjoying winter at the beach. He has thrived on athletic competition his entire life, racing sailboats and playing soccer, basketball and football while attending Shorecrest, St. Raphael’s Catholic School and St. Petersburg High School. A proud Gator, he graduated from the University of Florida with a BS in Accounting, then earned an MBA from Stetson University and a JD from Stetson College of Law. During his college years, Nick continued competing in several sports and began coaching flag football and volunteering with disadvantaged children in athletic programs. After college Nick worked in the insurance industry and was the CFO for United Insurance (NASDAQ: UIHC) where he served for over 10 years and then as CFO for ARX Holding Corp., the parent of several large multi-state insurance companies. Since 2010 Nick has served as a Managing Director of Directed Capital, a private equity firm, and is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor.

In addition to his efforts on behalf of PlaySmart Inc., Nick is a youth tackle football coach in several leagues including Pop Warner, Florida Spring Youth Football League and Suncoast Youth Football Conference and has also coached flag football for many years. He is committed to helping children through various non-profit organizations including being an active Guardian ad Litem for the Sixth Judicial Circuit, a volunteer for Lawyers for Literacy and the Catholic Office of Prison Ministries (Juvenile Detention Center) and a prior volunteer for Richard Sanders EH School and the Sanderlin Center. Within the community, Nick is a board member of Catholic Charities for the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Community Law Program, and St. Paul’s Catholic Dad’s Club. He has also has served as a board member for the Florida Resurrection House and Finance Chairman for St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Nick and his wife, Michelle, live in St. Petersburg, Florida, and have two of their own little athletes, Will and Jack. Nick can be reached at nick.griffin@directedcapital.com.

Office Manager,  PlaySmart Headqtrs
Darlene coordinates PlaySmart’s office functions, accounting, marketing and acts as a liaison for the regional directors for management support. As a Tampa native, she has been active in many community organizations and volunteers at other non-profits. She is passionate about working with PlaySmart and the good it does for at-risk kids. She attended the University of Tampa, majoring in International Business Marketing. She loves to travel and speaks several different languages. Darlene can be reached at Darlene@playsmart.org.