Christopher Nowinski (@ChrisNowinski1) is the co-founder and executive director of the Concussion Legacy Foundation (formerly Sports Legacy Institute), a non-profit organization dedicated to solving the sports concussion crisis, and a co-founder and investigator and the Boston University CTE Center, where he is also a PhD candidate in Behavioral Neuroscience.

Nowinski also serves on the NFL Players Association Mackey-White TBI Research Committee, the Ivy League Concussion Committee, and as a consultant to Major League Lacrosse. A former Harvard football player and WWE professional wrestler, Nowinski was forced to retire from a series of concussions in 2003. His challenging recovery from post-concussion syndrome led him to write the critically-acclaimed book Head Games in an effort to educate parents, coaches, and children about this previously hidden public health issue. The book later inspired an award-winning documentary of the same name in 2012.

Here, Chris recalls his decision to attend Harvard at the urging of his high school football coach, who, Chris notes with a smile, "probably could tell I was never going to play in the pro's." But seriously, Chris is grateful for his coach helping him take a long-term view. As Chris says very bluntly here, "You're not going pro. And if you are going pro, they'll find you. But you're stuck with that education for the rest of your life, so get the best one you possibly can and you'll be best off."