Mr. Griffin founded Play Rugby to bring the educational and developmental benefits of rugby to urban youth in the US. His leadership, passion and extensive rugby experience has enabled him to live Play Rugby's philosophy of 'developing youth through rugby'. Working with Play Rugby’s board of directors, coaching staff and dedicated volunteer base, he has established a winning team of outstanding professionals that aspire to place Play Rugby at the forefront of sports education throughout the US. read more»

Mr. Hamaoui joined Play Rugby’s board in April 2005. He is an internationally known expert and thought leader in the social enterprise field. His opinions and innovations have been sought after by leaders of multinational corporations, social ventures, foundations, government agencies, civil society organizations and international institutions. read more»

Katha Cato joined Play Rugby’s board in April 2005. She is currently Director of Henry Street Settlement's 21st Century Community Learning Centers program and has been with Henry Street for 15 years. During that time, Katha has helped the agency serve over 20,000 youth each year through Arts-in-Education and Youth Services programs that are rooted in a youth development model that empowers youth to be asset driven rather than deficit based. read more»

Jack Rosenbloom is an attorney in Jenkintown, PA. His practice concentrates on corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, taxation and non-profit companies. He also works with foreign entrepreneurs and emerging businesses throughout North America, Europe and Asia, assisting them with entry into the US market. read more»

Dr. William Russell (Bill) learned his rugby in both England and Scotland but has lived in the USA since 1985.  He played most of his club rugby for Old Blue in New York and has played for, and coached, the USA Rugby national 7s team.  He has experience as a research scientist at Columbia University in New York, a McKinsey consultant based out of Miami and London, and is now the C.O.O. of an educational nonprofit awarding scholarships and mentoring to deserving middle and high school children throughout the state of Florida.  He has a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia.

Eric Lane

Professor Lane is the Eric J. Schmertz Distinguished Professor of Public Law and Public Service at Hofstra University School of Law. He is the coauthor with Michael Oreskes, executive editor of the International Herald Tribune, of the Genius of America: How the Constitution Saved the Nation and Why It Can Again and two books with the Honorable Abner J. Mikva. The first, titled, The Legislative Process, is a law school text. He is also the author of a number of articles on governmental decision-making.

Presently, Professor Lane is the Senior Fellow at the Brennan Center of Justice and the NYU School of Law. Through last year he has served as a special counsel to the speaker of the New York City Council. Professor Lane has also recently served as a consultant for the Justice Project of the Center for Court Innovation. From July 1993 to February 1995 he served as counsel to the New York State Temporary Commission on Constitutional Revision.

Professor Lane served, in 1990, as chair of the New York City Task Force on Charter Implementation. From 1986 to 1989 he served as executive director/counsel to the New York City Charter Revision Commission. Professor Lane also spent six years (1981-1986) as chief counsel to the New York State Senate Minority.

He serves on the boards of the Vera Institute of Justice and The Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem. He is a member of the American Law Institute and the American Bar Foundation.

Jim Accurso started his rugby career with the University of San Diego and Huntington Beach Unicorns of the strong Southern California Rugby Union. He joined Old Blue Rugby Club in 1994 after relocating to New York City to work for investment firm Morgan Stanley. He served as club president during the 1997 and 1998 seasons when Old Blue played for the national championship and helped found the USA Rugby Super League. He is currently a member of the Old Blue Foundation where he is responsible for recruiting and new player development. Jim currently holds a senior position for Capital Management Corp., an institutional asset manager based in New York City.

Jim Foster

Jim retired from Medtronic, the world�s leading medical device and technology company in July, 2001. Over the course of his 30 year career there, he held progressive positions in sales, sales management, strategic planning, and general management. He spent nearly 17 years as an officer of the Company, in general management roles where he had full global P&L responsibility for various business units in the Cardiac Surgery, Neurological, and Interventional Cardiology areas. In leading those businesses, he was directly responsible for all activities within those businesses; including finance, administration, human resources, quality, research and development, manufacturing, clinical, and regulatory, marketing, strategy, and either directly, or on a shared basis, for all domestic and global sales. As General Manager, while receiving support from Medtronic�s corporate organization, he was also responsible for all legal, contractual, and M&A activity within the businesses.

He is a seasoned executive with broad experience and excellent skills in growing and leading organizations in the medical devices field. He has run global businesses with sales ranging from $5M to in excess of $100M, and has consistently delivered growth above plan in profit, revenue, and overall performance. He exhibits excellent character, and integrity, and an ability to work in a highly matrixed team environment, and across many boundaries and borders, both inside and outside of the organization.

He holds a BS in English from St. Joseph�s University in Philadelphia, (1968), and an MS in Management from the Sloan School at MIT (1990); and served 6 years as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, (1969-75).

He is currently serving on the Boards of Directors of LifeCell Corp.(NASDAQ), Branchburg, NJ; Arthrocare Corp. (NASDAQ), Austin, TX; and Life Coaches, a non-profit Christian mentoring program in Minneapolis, MN.

Jeff Joseph

Jeff grew up in Miami Beach, Florida. Graduated from Cornell University in 1963 and from the law school in 1966. He was a teaching fellow at Stanford Law School in 1967 and then started practicing law in New York City at Hughes, Hubbard Blair and Reed and then Shea and Gould. In 1972 he became general counsel to Presidential Realty Corporation, a public real estate company whose shares are listed on the American Stock Exchange. Jeff has been the President and CEO of Presidential since 1991.

Jeff started playing rugby at Cornell in 1959 and finally played his last game in 2000, at age 58. In between he played for Cornell University (1959 to 1966), San Francisco Rugby Club and Stanford University (1966 to 1967), New York Rugby Club (1968 to 1970) and Old Blue Rugby Club (1970 until retirement from first team rugby in 1980). He then played for various old boys teams including Old Blue, Les Vieux, NYAC and Gentlemen of New York. He captained Cornell for three years and Old Blue for two years and was President of the Metropolitan New York Rugby Union for two or three years. He also drafted the first ERU Disciplinary rules. He was on the Board of Directors of the United States Rugby Foundation for four years and was a founding member of the Old Blue Rugby Foundation. Jeff states that he is now reduced to playing tennis and golf.

John currently provides consulting services having retired after a career in education and philanthropy spanning over 40 years. Educated at Columbia College (B.A. 1957) and Columbia University Teachers College (M.A. 1967) John was subsequently been involved in various senior educational roles including Monclair Academy, Columbia University, Bucknell University, Fordham University and American College before acting as Vice President of Mountainside Hospital Foundation from 1991-99. John was a well renowned rugby player on the East coast and founder of Old Blue Rugby Football Club, Founder President of the Old Blue Rugby Football Foundation, signatory incorporator of the Eastern Rugby Union and subsequent Director of the ERU and Vice President of ERU Mid-Atlantic Region.