Where Faith Meets Innovation in Indoor Play
Our Vision
Leadership
Timeless
Values
Modern
Technology
Why We’re Different
Meet Our Team
Brad Allen
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Brad Allen is a results-driven business leader with 20+ years in branded consumer goods, food manufacturing, and packaging, specializing in procurement, strategic sourcing, supply chain, operations, and capital projects. He led capital equipment and sourcing programs at World Kitchen/Instant Brands—managing over $90M in capex including a $60M plant expansion—and managed a $750M external manufacturing portfolio at Kraft Foods. A West Point graduate (BS Management, 1985), Brad co-founder of Plae and is known for delivering cost savings, process redesigns, and strong cross-functional leadership.
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Dave Forman is an entrepreneur and inventor focused on building practical, human-centered technology and hardware solutions. He co-founded ForeverCar (a consumer vehicle-protection and subscription service), co-founded Brecourt Solutions (a public-safety company developing non-lethal autonomous threat-mitigation drone systems), and is the founder & inventor at Plae, (a futuristic playground that integrates new technologies with traditional play). He is also active in his church’s music ministry and enjoys making music across multiple instruments.
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Wayne Strasser (Ph.D., Virginia Tech) is a Professor at Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA), a Professional Engineer (P.E.), and co-founder of Plae. He brings 25 years of industry experience and six years in academia, has led hundreds of experimental–computational research projects, holds 39 patents, and is an ASME Fellow and registered P.E. in three states.
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Tera Keating is a mental-health clinician and Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor with broad residential and outpatient experience—V.A. vocational counseling, trauma-informed care, equine-assisted therapy, perinatal mental health, and crisis stabilization. Trained in EMDR and equine-assisted approaches, she brings clinical expertise to Plae to ensure child-focused safety, developmentally appropriate programming, and family-facing supports that help children (and their caregivers) play, learn, and feel secure.
Ethan Newkirk
Executive Vice-President
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Ethan Newkirk is a natural self-starter and builder of businesses, teams, and relationships. Over the past six years, he has led ventures with teams of up to 75 people, fostering strong organizational cultures. He holds a B.S. in Computational Science and Business Leadership and is pursuing an MBA, expected in May 2026. A Magna Cum Laude graduate, Ethan tackles complex challenges and enjoys adventure activities like mountain biking and skydiving. He also invests in community as a small-group leader at his church.
Chase Cartwright
Creative Wizard
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Chase Cartwright is a cybersecurity-focused student at Liberty University, recognized for strong technical problem-solving abilities, creative thinking, and a highly self-driven work ethic. Through personal and professional content creation, he has developed strong trend awareness, creative strategy, and digital communication skills, statistically outperforming over 99% of comparable accounts while amassing 20,000+ followers across platforms. He enjoys combining these two passions into high-level technical creativity. Chase also frequently serves overseas in Eleuthera, Bahamas, through Christian ministry and enjoys missionary work.
Evan Waltz
Creative Wizard
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Evan Waltz is an IT graduate with a strong foundation in game and simulation programming and a 4.0 GPA from South Piedmont Community College, where he graduated summa cum laude. He brings hands-on experience from both academic projects and real-world roles, including an Information Services internship and a leadership position in a high-volume service environment. Evan combines technical skills in Java, C#, and SQL with strong problem-solving, communication, and leadership abilities, and has designed multiple original tabletop and digital game projects that emphasize creativity, strategy, and systems thinking.
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