Steve Gross, Founder & Chief Playmaker

Steve Gross, founder and chief playmaker

Steve Gross, MSW, is a clinical social worker and pioneer in the field of using playful engagement and relationships to overcome the devastating impacts of early childhood trauma. 

Steve founded Project Joy, a nonprofit organization that used the power of joyful play to heal and strengthen homeless and impoverished children throughout Greater Boston, in 1989. In 2011, Life is Good invited Project Joy, now The Playmaker Project, to be the sole social mission of the brand.

Through an outpouring of love, optimism, experience, and expertise, Steve and a trusted team of researchers and colleagues, have spent 30+ years developing the Life is Good Playmaker Project program.