Dr. Joe L. Frost, Ed.D, L.H.D., is one of America’s leading experts on play and playgrounds and has a global reputation as the contemporary father of play advocacy. He is the Parker Centennial Professor Emeritus at The University of Texas at Austin with a passion for children’s play and play spaces. Joe has been an influential member of the US Play Coalition’s steering committee since its humble beginnings. He has served as moderator at the 2009 Summit on the Value of Play and then as honorary conference chair for each successive play conference. Joe Frost has been an influencer for our organization’s work as well as for the world of play. Along with his wife Betty, Joe attends US Play Coalition events whenever he can!
At the 2017 Conference on the Value of Play: Where Design Meets Play, the US Play Coalition will present the inaugural Joe L. Frost Award for Distinguished Research. This is to be awarded annually in recognition of a body of exceptional research that has enhanced and expanded the study of play. It only makes sense that Joe will be the first recipient!
Each year the recipient of the Joe Frost Award will receive not only a physical award, but also conference fees paid, hotel 
accommodations and up to $500 in travel to attend the Play Conference. To all of Joe’s friends, family, colleagues, students and admirers, we hope you will consider supporting the new award with a tribute donation to the Joe L. Frost Award for Distinguished Research with a tax-deductible contribution today!