Evan Ernst

Co-founder and executive director of Who We Play For in Tallahassee, Florida 

Evan knows what it means to lose a good friend to sudden cardiac arrest. That loss became the foundation of his life’s work—and the driving force behind one of the most influential preventive cardiovascular programs in the country. 

With Who We Play For (WWPF), launched in 2013, Ernst has transformed a grassroots nonprofit into a clinical authority and national legislative force. Under his leadership, WWPF has screened more than 300,000 student-athletes across 15 states. Along the way it has identified more than 300 asymptomatic individuals with life-threatening heart conditions. Each referral is backed by a network of leading children’s hospitals, ensuring every high-risk athlete receives expert follow-up care, regardless of financial wherewithal. 

In May 2025, Evan achieved a historic milestone when Florida enacted the Second Chance Act, becoming the first state in the nation to mandate ECG screening for student-athletes at risk of life-threatening heart disease. Evan was the law’s primary architect and advocate, navigating state government and building a clinical and legislative case that has since inspired similar legislation in Nevada, Massachusetts and New Jersey. 

Today Evan, 35, is addressing the shortage of pediatric cardiologists. By exploring AI-assisted ECG interpretation technologies, he is working to ensure that, as screening mandates expand, expert-level precision scales alongside.  

Evan Ernst is not just saving lives in our time. He is helping protect young athletes en masse for innumerable generations to come.