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<p>Hi everyone!<br />
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I'm the Programs Director at the Tony Hawk Foundation, out of San Diego, California, USA.&nbsp;I don't remember ever not being a skateboarder and I love how it has introduced me to so many new experiences and opportunities. I am grateful to skateboarding for a host of essential reasons.</p>

<p>I'm also grateful to all of you here now, and those who will be joining us. It's profoundly encouraging to see so many passionate, thoughtful people dedicated to advancing this great cause... it's a good push, for sure.</p>

<p>I absolutely love skateboarding — as a design object, a toy, a vehicle, a tool, an identity, a subculture, a gathering point, a differentiator — and it is often the lens I rely on while pursuing my other passions; illustration, design, art, and architecture. (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/peterwhitley/">https://www.instagram.com/peterwhitley/</a>)</p>

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