Jodi Bondi Norgaard
ENTREPRENEUR, SPEAKER & ACTIVIST

TOPICS
Jodi Bondi Norgaard is the Founder and CEO of Dream Big Toy Company and the creator of the award-winning Go! Go! Sports Girls line of dolls, books and an app for girls encouraging healthy and active play over fashion and body image. Jodi is an entrepreneur, publisher, advocate and a leader in the movement pushing media and retail to do a better job portraying girls beyond stereotypes. She is a founding member of The Brave Girl Alliance, a think tank of girl empowerment experts.
Jodi is a leader in the toy industry breaking gender stereotypes since 2009, when she launched the plush sports dolls built in specification to a real girl’s body. Her inspiration came in 2007 after shopping for a doll with her then 9-year-old daughter and finding a doll with belly baring clothing, high heels and make-up, named ‘Lovely Lola.’ Girls are strong, smart and adventurous and Jodi knows it’s important to emphasize what a girl’s body can do versus what her body looks like.
She has been featured on national media including The Today Show,Fox and Friends, Forbes, Upworthy, Parents, Advertising Age, Chicago Tribune, and often seen onThe Real Story with Gretchen Carlson. In 2016, Jodi was invited by The White House to participate in a conference on breaking down gender stereotypes in media and toys. She is recognized as a leader by policymakers bringing change to gender disparity in toys.
Jodi received her B.A. in psychology from Indiana University. She is an avid athlete and currently lives with her husband and three children in the Chicago area.
The Power of STEAM:
Bringing an Idea to Life
What does STEAM have to do with creating a business? Everything! Jodi encourages children to develop their talents, build their knowledge, and pursue their passions without limits. From rough draft to a finished product, Jodi speaks on the importance of science, technology, engineering, art and math and how they were instrumental in creating the Go! Go! Sports Girl dolls.
This topic allows kids to understand what STEAM can look like outside the classroom.
The Power of STEAM:
Bringing an Idea to Life
In this presentation Jodi empowers girls to realize their full potential. Research shows interests, ambitions, and skills can be shaped early
on by media and toys, influencing everything from subjects they choose to study to the careers they ultimately pursue. Jodi inspires girls to break free from stereotypes and embrace their unique strengths and assertiveness.
The Importance of Empowering Girls:
If You Can See It, You Can Be It
Hear Jodi’s entrepreneurial journey of challenging the status quo, achieving goals, and becoming a leader in breaking gender stereotypes. In this presentation, Jodi discusses how to market for
social good and the necessary combination of passion, determination, perseverance and grit needed to create change while running a successful business. Initially industry leaders dismissed her product because a sports doll was not mainstream. “Girls want fashion dolls,” she heard, over and over. Jodi was not convinced and knew mainstream ideas never create change. By 2015, she made significant strides and her product was launched in Walmart stores.
Beyond Mainstream:
Creating Change in a Mission-Driven Company
presentation details
All topics are age-appropriate discussions and encourage engagement.
Presentations are 45 minutes including Q&A
Presentations can be tailored to K-12, colleges, corporation, non-profits or to meet group needs based on audience objectives
Books and dolls are available for purchase
Daytime and evening presentations available
Go! Go! Sports Girl author, Kara Douglass Thom, is available for joint presentations
Contact Dream Big Toy Company for availability and fee structure
jnorgaard@dreambigtoycompany.com
877-351-1031
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“We've had the pleasure of having Jodi speak at our events on numerous occasions, including our WIT/Walmart meetings, and each time she delivers an engaging, powerful and fun presentation! She connects with our members on every level with her breadth of knowledge and engaging, inspirational message. She truly is an unstoppable force, and her insights are invaluable on everything from starting and growing your own business to women in the workforce to gender stereotypes in the toy industry. Every time Jodi presents, we walk away fired up and ready to dream big and go for it!”
Mary Kay Russell, Executive Director, Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment (WIT)
“We had the pleasure of having Jodi visit our school as part of our problem-based learning program to help children understand the design process from idea to product. She is an engaging presenter and did a wonderful job showing the children the different steps it took to create the Go! Go! Sports Girl dolls. She inspired the kids to Dream Big!”
Kayla Wheeler, District 41 Problem-Based Learning Coach


Previous Speaking Engagements:
Churchill Elementary School, Glen Ellyn, IL
Hadley Junior High School, Glen Ellyn, IL –
Project Innovation
Powerful Outstanding Women, Glen Ellyn, IL
Women In Toys/Walmart Meeting, NY, NY
Women In Toys Empowerment Day, Dallas, TX
Chicago Toy & Game Women In Toys Breakfast, Chicago, IL
Webinar: Ready, Set, Launch.
Strategies for Start-Ups
Roosevelt Middle School, River Forest, IL
Book Signings:
Anderson’s Bookshop, Naperville, IL
The Bookstore, Glen Ellyn, IL
Diverse Marketing Event, Dallas, TX
Diverse Marketing Event, Atlanta, GA
Walmart Event, Chicago, IL
KARA DOUGLASS THOM
A U T H O R , S P E A K E R , & A C T I V E L I V I N G A D V O C A T E

Kara Douglass Thom is an author, speaker and expert on fitting fitness into life. She has combined her passion for writing, active living and healthy family values into her books and is the proud author of the Go! Go! Sports Girls children’s book series. She is the author of another children’s book, See Mom Run, and two books for adults, Becoming an Ironman: First Encounters with the Ultimate Endurance Event and Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom. She has written extensively about health and fitness as a freelance journalist for magazines and newspapers.
Kara is an advocate for children’s and family fitness, and works with various organizations that help empower girls through sports. In 2016, she was recognized for writing stories about girls in sports and was invited by the White House to attend a conference on breaking down gender stereotypes in media and toys.
She is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She is an avid athlete and former group-fitness instructor living in the Minneapolis area with her husband and four children.
topics
testimonials
Let's Write!
Let's Move!
Fitness for
Body & Brain
Class &
Media Center
Readings
Fitness as a
Family Value
Mentoring
Movement
As a children’s book author, Kara combines her passion for writing with her enthusiasm for fitness. In this active presentation she explains how fitness can boost creativity (with examples from first draft to published book). Kara will ask her audience to brainstorm with her on future book ideas—before and after a movement session. Children will leave with a better understanding of the role active living plays in improving not only health, but also learning.
(K-12/45 Min.)
What do you do when your brain gets stuck? Move! Physical activity for kids can improve focus and concentration, even test scores and grades. Kara shares sneaky ways to fit fitness into a busy day (in teacher-approved ways) so kids have more capacity to flex their brainpower. Children will leave with a better understanding of the importance of active living for body and mind, and three exercises (we will try them!) to practice for the rest of their lives.
(K-12/45 Min.)
Before reading one of her books to the class, Kara will introduce the benefits of active living and how they help her as a writer. This brief but engaging story time will touch on the important connection between our physical body and our brain, and how this connection applies to problem solving for the main character. Children will leave with a Go! Go! Sports Girl coloring page.
(K-3/25 Min.)
Kids who have active parents are more likely to grow into active adults. But where does fitness fit in between work and family obligations? In this presentation, Kara explains how to manage and stay on top of your health and the health of your family. She shares insight into making and keeping fitness a priority and the importance of role modeling healthy and active living for a fit family.
(Corporate, Associations, Parent Programs, Non-Profits/45 Min.)
Exercise is a great way to attain fitness, but it’s not the only way. How you move throughout the day matters too, and most people don’t take advantage of sneaky and simple ways to move to improve their health. In this presentation Kara provides steps on how to make active living second nature and influence typically sedentary work, living and learning environments.
(Corporate, Associations, Parent Programs, Non-Profits/45 Min.)
"Kara Thom encourages everyone to get active and promotes a healthy lifestyle by sharing from her personal experiences. The story of how she developed books to go along with the Go! Go! Sports Girl dolls is inspirational and creates a new, healthier model for children to emulate."
Lois Lewis
2016 Program VP
Minnesota Association for Family and
Consumer Sciences
"Kara Thom painted a picture through storytelling that exemplified her excitement and passion for fitness brought to life through her Go! Go! Sports Girl book series. She connected with each and every student."
Gwen Valiant
Media Specialist
Jonathan Elementary School, Chaska, Minnesota

presentation details
All topics are age-appropriate discussions that encourage engagement
and, of course, movement
Presentations can be tailored to meet needs
based on audience objectives
Books and dolls are
available for purchase
Book signings are available
at end of presentations
Daytime and evening availability,
as well as Skype sessions
Go! Go! Sports Girl founder and CEO, Jodi Norgaard,
is available for joint presentations


The Power of STEAM:
Bringing an Idea to Life
For more information on
presentations, topics or
to schedule Kara for your next event, please contact:
kara@karathom.com
(952) 261-5415
www.lifeasafitmom.com