This summer, we are kicking off our 2023 Play Date Tour in Philadelphia, with hosts Studio Ludo and Smith Memorial Playground.  The Philly Play Date will tackle topics that lay the foundation for the whole 2023 Play Date Tour.

Preserving & Promoting
the Right to PLAY
Friday, July 14 – Philadelphia, PA
Smith Memorial Playground

Topics include:

• Why Play – How Play Impacts Social, Emotional, Physical and Mental Health Throughout Life
• Who Gets to Play? How Race, Income and Class Impacts Access to Play and Quality of Play
• Places to Play – Exploring Spatial Justice, Urban Design and Access to Play Spaces
• Play as Solution – Examining Play as It Relates to Public Policy and Advocacy & Play as a Source for Community Health Solutions

Speaker details and Registration information is below.

Meet Our Philly Play Date Experts

(listed in alphabetical order):

Jen De Melo, Vice President, Organizational Innovation and Strategic Partnerships, Kaboom – Jen has committed her career to ensuring that every kid has equitable access to high-quality and safe play opportunities. In her current role, Jen works to provide responsive and innovative program solutions that meet the varying needs of kids and communities. Her expansive knowledge of play solutions and their benefits stems from leading hundreds of play infrastructure projects across North America, managing programs totaling over $20 million in grant dollars, and creating new cutting-edge programs.

Rebecca Fabiano, Founder and Executive Director, Fab Youth Philly (Philadelphia) – For nearly 25 years, Rebecca has worked in various capacities across nonprofit and youth-serving organizations, served on boards and helped to build solid youth programs that engage, encourage, and create spaces for positive development. As an executive leader, she has successfully raised funds and managed program budgets; hired and supervised staff; developed and sustained strong community partnerships and designed award-winning programming.​

Alex Gilliam, Co-Founder and Director of Design + Learning, Tiny WPA (Philadelphia) – Alex is the co-founder of Tiny WPA, whose mission is to build better designed spaces and stronger, healthier, and more equitable places in Philadelphia by supporting citizen-led design improvements throughout the city as well as creating significant opportunities for residents to learn, earn, and lead in the design and making of their communities.  Alex believes that great design, rich learning, citizen-driven innovation, play, and equity building are not mutually exclusive but deeply interconnected. He is redefining the way youth and adults participate as citizens and leaders in the design and building of their city and communities. He is widely recognized as an expert on participatory design, loose parts and adventure play, placemaking, design-oriented workforce development programs, and K-12 design education.

Deb Green, Executive Director, Parent Infant Center (Philadelphia) – Deb is a seasoned early childhood professional with over 40 years in the field. For the past 10 years, Deb has served as the Executive Director of the Parent Infant Center (PIC), a nonprofit, NAEYC accredited and Keystone STARS 4 childcare and school age program.  PIC serves 350 children in an urban neighborhood in West Philadelphia and has a focus on nature-based education.  Deb has held several leadership positions in early childhood programs and has taught courses in Early Childhood Education at Community College of Philadelphia.

Daniel Hatcher, Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships, Alliance for a Healthier Generation (Washington, DC) –During his time at Healthier Generation, Daniel has developed and led a national youth advisory board and helped create afterschool standards for healthy eating and physical activity. A nationally recognized workshop facilitator, he has spoken at education and youth development conferences in over 30 states and Canada. Previously, Daniel served as Director of Outreach at Youth Service America where he supported a youth advisory council and helped organize Global Youth Service Day.  In 2022, Daniel was certified in Mental Health First Aid and became a certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide.

Zero Jones, Director, Smith Urban Nature Preschool (Philadelphia) – Zero is incredibly excited to be the founding director of Smith Urban Nature (SUN) Preschool!  With a deep commitment to liberatory practices, Zero has been dreaming of starting a school since their own childhood. They’ve been playing musically and artistically with kids of all ages for over a decade. They also research, present, and consult on self-directed education, expressive arts, and place-based learning. Zero loves playing a variety of instruments, as well as embroidering, reading, and keeping pet slugs.

Danielle Marshall, CDP, ACC, Founder of Culture Principals (Baltimore) – Danielle is an inclusive leader focused on systemic change work that promotes equity and inclusion.  She founded Culture Principles in response to a persistent need to operationalize Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion metrics, centering REDI goals and creating accountability systems.  She co-created and co-facilitates “Reimagining Racial Equity,” a learning intensive for business leaders to learn how to infuse the work of racial equity into their organizations and lives.  Previously Danielle served as a non-profit leader in the play and youth development field for 20+ years. In fact, she is a past member (and forever advisor!) of the US Play Coalition Steering Committee.  During her playtime, you can find Danielle traveling, knitting sweaters, and kayaking in all 50 states.

Tia Mathisen, Executive Director, Playworks Pennsylvania and co-founder of the Philly Children’s Movement (Philadelphia) – Tia is the new Executive Director of Playworks Pennsylvania and the co-founder of the Philly Children’s Movement. As a social-justice facilitator she is committed to educating families and youth on how to create a more just world for black and brown people.  A native of Birmingham, Alabama, and mom to three, Tia has lived in Philly for well over a decade and has planted intentional roots to call this city home. Tia was the executive director of the Mt. Airy Business Improvement District, the managing director for the Philadelphia Citizen and most recently the executive operations manager for B Lab Global. As a co-founder of the Philly’s Children’s Movement, she is a social justice advocate, and facilitator. She is an advocate of civic engagement as a vehicle to expand minds and improve society, and an optimistic believer in the common good. Her favorite childhood game was Duck, Duck Goose!

Patrick Morgan, First Deputy Commissioner, Strategy & Engagement, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation – In his current role, Patrick provides leadership for Business Development, Special Events, Leadership Development & Training, Performance Management and more. He initiated the creation of a citywide civic engagement strategy working with partners and community groups across public spaces. As part of this work, Patrick helped lead a partnership with the William Penn Foundation to pilot a new national initiative in Philadelphia – Reimagining the Civic Commons – which has now been replicated in Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, and Akron.

Michael Nutter, Former Mayor of Philadelphia – After serving almost 15 years in the Philadelphia City Council, Michael became the 98th Mayor of Philadelphia in 2008. He pledged to lower crime, improve educational attainment rates, and make Philadelphia the greenest city in America. Since leaving public service in 2016, he has remained active in public policy, government, and civic life. In affiliation with the National League of Cities, Mayor Nutter and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu launched Cities United, an initiative aimed at creating partnerships between cities, non-profits, and other stakeholders to combat violence and crime among African-American men and boys. He has also served on President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Advisory Council.  Mayor Nutter has been a political commentator for CNN and PBS Newshour and is a Senior Fellow and national spokesperson for the What Works Cities program through Bloomberg Philanthropies. 

Ivy Olesh, Vice President, Field Operations, Playworks (Philadelphia) – Ivy is passionate about public education and supporting school aged children through play.  She is an experienced nonprofit executive  with professional experience ranging from work with organizations in psychology and social science, to economic development, to health and wellness and her passion is helping organizations and projects scale through efficiency, good strategic planning and strong team culture.  Ivy is a proud parent and a civic leader, volunteering and serving on boards that focus on recreation, public space and play, public education and public art. She also served on the Board of Directors for Smith Memorial Playground and Playhouse.

Peg Oliveira, PhD, Director, Gesell Program in Early Childhood, Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University – Peg is an advocate for fair pay for early childhood educators, childcare assistance for working parents, and equitable access to high quality education for all children. Prior to her work with Gesell, Peg was a Senior Policy Fellow with CT Voices for Children as well as a consultant to the Office of Early Childhood and other child advocacy organizations. Peg is a member the Board of Directors of the Becket Chimney Corners YMCA, and was the founding director of 108 Monkeys, a nonprofit yoga service organization.

Harrison Pinckney, PhD, Assistant Professor, Penn State University – Harrison is an educator who is committed to the protection of souls of Black youth. He works with communities to understand how the racial identities of Black youth are shaped and seeks to understand how recreation can be leveraged to positively impact this process. A member of the steering committee, Harrison is a very active contributor to the Play Coalition, serving on our Play Research Team to provide expertise as needed and headlining our Play Conference and other partner events, most notably the groundbreaking 2018 keynote on the implications of race on play for youth of color.

Suzanne Flannery Quinn, PhD, Manager, KOMPAN Play Institute, Americas – At KOMPAN, Suzanne conducts research on active outdoor play on playgrounds.  She was formerly a Senior Lecturer and Programme convener of the MA Early Childhood Studies at the University of Roehampton, London, Froebel College, where she was a research member of the Early Childhood Research Centre. Suzanne is involved in international research on a range of issues related to young children, their families, and pedagogues who work with children and families, with particular focus on active outdoor play on playgrounds. Suzanne has expertise in Froebelian pedagogic principles, particularly those related to play, materials, activities, and environments. 

Danielle Scott, Founding Executive Director, Pincus Family Foundation (Philadelphia) – Danielle is passionate and devoted to the Pincus Family Foundation’s mission of serving children and addressing their challenges in Philadelphia and abroad. She is also a longtime supporter of Smith Memorial Playground and Playhouse.  Danielle has a career spanning over 35 years supporting employers in politics, real estate, corporate and business law, event planning, fundraising, and art. The past 25 years have been spent with the Pincus Family Foundation, 12 of those as the founding ED.

Kira Strong, Executive Director, City of Philadelphia’s Rebuilding Community Infrastructure Initiative (Rebuild) – Rebuild is an over $500 million historic investment in improving parks, recreation centers and libraries across the City. The program focuses on physical improvements, promoting economic inclusion by ensuring diverse businesses have access to work on Rebuild sites, and engaging residents and stakeholders to help determine the future of their facilities.  Before leading the program, she served as Rebuild’s Deputy Director of Design and Construction.  Kira previously served as the Vice President of Community and Economic Development for the People’s Emergency Center, a non-profit community development corporation in Philadelphia.

Meghan Talarowski, PLA, ASLA, CPSI, Founder and Executive Director of Studio Ludo (Philadelphia) – Meghan believes that play environments in the United States can, and should, be better. She is a landscape architect and certified playground safety inspector with over 20 years in the design field. Her research is on the impact of design on play behavior and physical activity and has been presented at conferences worldwide. Her work has been featured by The New York Times, Popular Science, The Atlantic, NPR, Curbed, Landscape Architecture Magazine, and World Landscape Architecture Magazine.

Deb Valentine, PhD, Life Coach/Consultant, Thriving 4 Equity (Baltimore) – Deb Shine Valentine is an expert on the history of play and play spaces in Philadelphia. Her research explores how race, class and gender shaped the play and place spaces that were created in the late 19th and early 20th centuries at the beginning of the Play and Recreation Movement. A former early childhood teacher and administrator, now a life and leadership coach and author, Deb integrates play, movement, and critical inquiry into her work with individuals and organizations in service of the vision of a world in which work and play are integrated in all aspects of human life opening new creative possibilities for all individuals and communities to experience joy and delight in being alive, while doing their big work in the world.

Reilly Bergin Wilson, Co-Founder and Board Vice Chair, play:groundNYC (Philadelphia) – Reilly is a co-founder and the current Board Vice Chair of play:groundNYC, a non-profit organization dedicated to transforming the city through play. play:groundNYC’s playworkers’ run an adventure playground, The Yard on Governor’s Island, as well as repurposed-material play programming in schools and public spaces throughout New York City.  Reilly’s research on playgrounds and children’s mobilities has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the US-UK Fulbright Foundation, and the American Councils. Her research and play advocacy have been featured in national and local press, including The New York Times, The Atlantic, CBS News, Truthout, USA Today, and DISEGNO.

Register NOW for the 2023 Philly Play Date, Friday, July 14.

Registration is $75/Person.

A special group discount rate $15 off per person is available to nonprofits, educational organizations and government agencies who bring at least 5 employees from their organization to a single Play Date ($15 off per person). Please email usplaycoalition@clemson.edu for further details.

NOTE!  You can register for as many 2023 Play Date Tour Stops as you want to attend (Philly, Louisville, Fort Worth and Virtual) – they are all unique!  There is a $25 discount for someone registering for all four Play Dates ($240/person).

Sponsorship opportunities are available. Please email usplaycoalition@clemson.edu for information.

The 2023 Play Date Tour

This summer the US Play Coalition is kicking off a series of day-long “mini conferences” across the country with content that draws inspiration from the location and the play experts and practitioners in that area. Each “Play Date” is unique, and participants are welcome to register for one or all of them!

Our 2023 Play Date Tour will bring PLAY to new places and provide opportunities to engage with the broader play community, connect play advocates, educate our national and global community and truly fulfill our mission to promote the VALUE of play throughout life.

The U.S. Play Coalition and the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at Clemson University are thrilled to announce a new home for the U.S. Play Coalition at the Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands at Indiana University.

Founded in 2009 at Clemson University, the U.S. Play Coalition has grown into an international network of individuals and organizations, promoting the value of play throughout life.  The Coalition hosts conferences and educational trainings, encourages and conducts research and provides avenues of communication about the value of play worldwide.

On the heels of the incredible 2022 Conference on the Value of Play, the first in-person annual conference since 2019, Coalition leadership determined that it was the perfect time to make a bold move to facilitate the continued growth and reach of the U.S. Play Coalition. After an extensive search process, Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands at Indiana University was identified as the ideal place to launch the next great chapter of the U.S. Play Coalition – to carry forth its legacy and advance its initiatives that have served as a springboard for the modern play movement.

Steve Wolter, executive director of the Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands, agrees.  “Eppley is perfectly placed to partner with the U.S. Play Coalition because we recognize the importance of play and play spaces, understand the roles of accessibility and equity in play, have significant workshop and conference organizing experience and are an organization that values and utilizes research and analysis.  We also have a portfolio of program units and services that complement the work of the U.S. Play Coalition.”

Stephanie Garst, executive director of the U.S. Play Coalition, expresses gratitude towards Clemson University, which has been their home for over 13 years. Garst acknowledges the university’s dedication to transforming and enhancing lives by providing access to advanced research, exceptional facilities, and natural resources. She credits the university’s support for helping the U.S. Play Coalition carry out their mission to promote the importance of play in everyone’s lives. Garst extends a special thank you to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management for their contributions to their success.

What’s Next??!

The U.S. Play Coalition’s transition team has been working tirelessly since January to chart the course for the future. In place of The Play Conference this year, they have devised an exciting professional development plan for 2023. Beginning July 14th, the 2023 Play Date Tour kicks off, featuring day-long “mini conferences” with content that draws inspiration from the location and the play experts in that area. Each “Play Date” is unique, and participants are welcome to register for one or all of them!

Here is our 2023 Play Date Tour schedule:

• July 14 – Philadelphia, PA (hosted by Studio Ludo & Smith Playground)
• August 11 – Louisville, KY (hosted by Bernheim Arboretum & Research Forest)
• October 9 – Ft Worth, TX (hosted by LiiNK Center for Healthy Play & Ft Worth Botanical Gardens)
• November 9* – Virtual Play Date (hosted online)
  *virtual play date subject to change

Our 2023 Play Date Tour will bring PLAY to new places and provide an opportunity for the Eppley team to meet, connect and engage with the broader play community.  Sponsorship, lineup and registration details will be available soon.

Stephanie Garst continues to provide leadership as executive director of the Coalition through this transition, and the Eppley Institute is committed to the continuation, further stewardship, and advancement of all the initiatives of the U.S. Play Coalition – including the return of the annual Conference on the Value of Play in 2024.

The future of the U.S. Play Coalition is bright!

The Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Land
The Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands works within the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community (IIDC).  Founded in 1993 at Indiana University, the Eppley Institute’s goals echo this founding principal of its namesake, Garret Eppley, a pioneer in park and recreation education.  We advance knowledge by seeking emergent trends and concepts for understanding and application, and we share this with allied professions in partnerships that in turn advance experiences of people of all abilities.

Eppley provides services through a variety of platforms including the Great Lakes Training Institute, World Parks Academy, National Center on Accessibility, Playground Maintenance Technician Training, our e-learning site ProValens Learning, and now as the home of the U.S. Play Coalition.

The U.S. Play Coalition
Founded in 2009, the US Play Coalition is a partnership that promotes the value of play throughout life. We are an international network of individuals and organizations that recognize play as a valuable and necessary part of a healthy and productive life.

The coalition hosts conferences and educational trainings, encourages and conducts research and provides avenues of communication about the value of play worldwide.

Our membership comes from a cross-section of industries and professions – play researchers, educators, park and recreation professionals, health scientists, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians, parents and more.  Learn more at usplaycoalition.org

UPDATE March 3, 2023
POSTPONED TO 2024 PLAY CONFERENCE

The US Play Coalition is partnering with Let’s Move in Libraries to create “Libraries, Learning & PLAY,” one of our Play Forums for the 2024 Conference on the Value of Play.

“Play is a vital part of lifelong learning, and public libraries are community-based lifelong learning institutions,” says Noah Lenstra, PhD, Director of Let’s Move in Libraries.

“Libraries, Learning & PLAY” will feature exemplars, case studies, best practices, lessons learned and big ideas.  Learn how play is supported in public libraries and consider how to most effectively collaborate with librarians at local, state, and national levels to advance play goals.  Sessions will include topics such as:

• Museums and Libraries: Closing the Gap!
• The PlayBrary!
• Nature Smart Libraries, Outdoor Play, and Learning
• “Checking out” Play
• …and more!

Details to come, so stay tuned!

The Conference on the VALUE of Play
The Play Conference, as it is commonly known, is an annual educational conference presented by the US Play Coalition. The latest research and practices in the field of play are presented at the conference, which brings together play researchers, educators, health scientists, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, park and recreation professionals, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians and parents from across the U.S. and beyond.

For our landscape architect friends, we are excited to announce the REBOOT of our Online LACES Play Series!  Earn up to 9 LACES credits online and ON DEMAND through August 10, 2022.

Thank you to our partner – the South Carolina Chapter American Society of Landscape Architects. These fine folks work hard to ensure we can provide LACES CEUs for the relevant conference sessions. Glad to have you on our Play Team, ASLA-SC!

Check out the list of LACES approved sessions:

• “All Ages, All Abilities, All the Time” – Jill Moore White
  Parks today face the challenge of providing environments where all visitors can feel safe, secure and fully engaged. Universal design increases usability, safety, health and social participation. In this presentation, participants will discover how applying the principles of universal design ultimately contribute to social equity and social sustainability in parks.
• “Designing Everyday Spaces for Children” – Shweta Nanekar, PLA, LEED AP (BD+C)
  How do we modify current approaches to the design of everyday spaces to make them more child-friendly? Available literature on child-friendly environments is reviewed to identify empirical research and project examples that can help designers and planners to create spaces that cater to the “Whole Child.”
• “Future of Play: Technology Integration” – David Flanigan, CPSI
  We all know that kids are spending countless hours in front of a screen, not only for gaming and social media, but due to COVID, many kids are attending school virtually. What will the future be like for kids if they are addicted to their screens and don’t want to go outside and play?
• “Healthy Communities, Parks and Splashpads” – Sarah Shepherd
  As demographics, inclusiveness and health concerns evolve, aging facilities need to step up their game to keep communities engaged and active.  Explore effective community infrastructure through the lens of aquatic play. Discover how Splashpads increase park usage, promote inclusion and build social capital that help communities grow and flourish.
• “The Importance of Failure in Play” – Melinda Pearson
  Failure is an inevitable part of life. By creating play spaces that push boundaries in thinking and stretch the limitations of our bodies we create a safe play to explore our failures and learn great things about our growing selves and our budding potential in the process.
• “Inclusive Playground Design:  A Case Study of Three New England Playgrounds” – Ingrid Kanics
  This presentation will share the research results of interviews with parents of children of all abilities around the design of three New England Inclusive Playgrounds. We will share what design features they feel make a playground inclusive and how these playgrounds impact the life of their communities, families and children.
• “Making Connections: People, Places, and Physical Activity” – Ines Palacios, PhD
  Discover planning and design considerations to increase community connectivity, offer more enjoyable ways to be physically active outdoors, and create multigenerational destinations that promote people’s health, happiness, and well-being. Effectively champion and advocate for solutions to provide more affordable, accessible ways to activate healthy lifestyles and increase economic vitality.
• “National Study of Playgrounds (2020)” plus a 2022 update! – Meghan Talarowski, MLA, CPSI, and Deborah A. Cohen, MD
  The National Study of Playgrounds (NSP), a joint research project of Studio Ludo and Dr. Deborah Cohen, is the first observational study of playgrounds to compare the impacts of playground design on play behavior and physical activity across gender, age group, and socio-economic status.
• “Prototyping: Play Applied” – Aaron Goldblatt, Dana Schloss, Meghan Talarowski, Christopher Kircher
  Designers of all stripes occasionally use prototyping to test ideas and physical realities. This discussion advocates for moving the act from occasional to central to a practice and to understand it as an act of play. Designing through joyful exploration makes better spaces for everyone.

The LACES series is part of the online reboot of the 2022 Conference on the Value of Play: THE NATURE OF PLAY.

For our 2022 IN PERSON Conference on the Value of Play: THE NATURE OF PLAY keynote kickoff on April 3, J. Drew Lanham, PhD, shared his PLAY wisdom with his presentation, “Passion as Playtime — Why Loving What We Do Can Save Us.”  It is a powerful message about being re-inspired to play, about claiming our right to play, about play as activism, and about moving play to the position of mainline attention.  IT IS A MUST SEE!

Dr. Lanham is Alumni Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology, Master Teacher and Certified Wildlife Biologist in the Forestry and Environmental Conservation Department at Clemson University.  His published writings — “The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature,” “Sparrow Envy: Field Guide to Birds and Lesser Beasts,” and numerous essays and articles — chronicle his experience as a Black man raised in South Carolina with a fascination for wild places and the feathered creatures that inhabit them.

Below is the full recording of the keynote session:

This is one of the amazing presentations from the 2022 IN PERSON Conference on the Value of Play: THE NATURE OF PLAY – all recorded live earlier this year. Want to see more great online professional development content like this?!  REGISTER FOR THE ONLINE REBOOT!!!!

The 2022 Play Conference ONLINE REBOOT features headliner recordings from the in-person conference PLUS new content, and virtual event opportunities that kickoff on June 29 and continues through July 31, 2022.

The Conference on the VALUE of Play
The Play Conference, as it is commonly known, is an annual educational conference presented by the US Play Coalition. The latest research and practices in the field of play are presented at the conference, which brings together play researchers, educators, health scientists, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, park and recreation professionals, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians and parents from across the U.S. and beyond. The  2022 Conference on the Value of Play: THE NATURE OF PLAY  explores play across the lifespan, play in the workplace, play in the classroom and address universal issues of access, equity, inclusion and more.  The conference features weekly live headliners and networking events, dozens of recorded educational and research presentations and much more.

The 2022 Health & PLAY Institute is a special series featuring leading health professionals and researchers from across the country.

Recorded live at the 2022 IN PERSON Conference on the Value of Play: THE NATURE OF PLAY, the second annual Health & PLAY Institute (HAPI22) builds on the 2021 inaugural Online Health & PLAY Institute.

This year, the institute examines the synergies between play and health through the lens of the conference theme, THE NATURE OF PLAY. 

Topics include:

• “The Nature of Play” – Stuart Brown, MD
• “The Therapeutic Benefit of Nature PLAY an Acute and Chronic Pain” – Michael Suk, MD, JD, MPH, MBA
• “Pushing Through a Fixed Notion of Play” – Brooke Buckley, MD, FACS
• “National Study of Playgrounds” – Deborah A. Cohen, MD, MPH & Meghan Talarowski, PLA, ASLA, CPSI
• “Environmental Determinants of Emotional Intelligence: Role of Nature Play and Greenspace Exposure” – Matthew Browning, PhD
• …and “Movement Snacks” with Darryl Edwards

Speaker details and Registration information is below.

Meet Our Experts

Michael Suk, MD, JD, MPH, MBA, (Moderator) is a leading advocate on health and nature, outdoor recreation as a gateway to better health, and play for life champion as our Moderator for the Health and Play Institute. Dr. Suk is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon, Professor and Chair of the Musculoskeletal Institute at Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania. In his role as a Steering Committee Member for the US Play Coalition, Dr. Suk helped to create the Health and PLAY Consortium that aims to build momentum in exploring and promoting the VALUE of play as a tool for improving health.   Dr. Suk also serves on numerous Boards including the American Medical Association, Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Associations and SHIFT at the Center for Jackson Hole. Previously he served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the US Department of the Interior and Senior Advisor on Health and Recreation to the National Park Service.

Stuart Brown, MD, is Founder of the National Institute for Play.  His background in psychiatry, the evolution of human and animal play, as well as his clinical research into the causes and prevention of violence, have shown him that authentic play is a state of being which can be accessed and used by everyone, and that play is as important to humans as vitamins or sleep.

Brooke Buckley, MD, FACS, is Chief Medical Officer at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital. She is a board-certified general surgeon and national expert on physician well-being. Dr. Buckley has dedicated a significant portion of her training and professional life to organized medicine and taking a broader look at medical care delivery, with specific interests in emergency surgical care, health-care delivery to rural communities, and physician wellbeing.

Deborah A. Cohen, MD, MPH, is a Research Scientist for Kaiser Permanente Research and Evaluation.  Dr. Cohen’s work focuses on improving the food environment, so that it promotes moderation and the consumption of healthy foods. She is also investigating how the design of playgrounds can encourage more people to be physically active and whether park prescriptions promote more physical activity.

Meghan Talarowski, PLA, ASLA, CPSI, is Founder and Executive Director of Studio Ludo in Philadelphia.  Meghan believes that play environments in the United States can, and should, be better.  She is a licensed landscape architect and a certified playground safety inspector whose research focuses on how the design of play environments impacts physical health and social behavior of children and caregivers.

Matthew Browning, PhD, is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Virtual Reality and Nature Lab, Clemson University.  His research career encompasses three domains (nature, health, virtual reality) and the intersections between them. Dr. Browning’s research aims to improve human health and well-being through environmental interventions, both physical and simulated.  His collaborative research expands awareness of the protective impact of urban greening on health.  Dr. Browning has published nearly 50 peer-reviewed articles and ranks among the top 15 most productive/cited scholars on nature and health based on PubMed metrics.

Darryl Edwards is the founder of the Primal Play Method® and a physical activity, health and play researcher. The Primal Play Method® fuses the science of evolutionary biology with exercise physiology and play psychology.  Darryl is author of the best-selling book “Animal Moves.”

Registration Information for the 2022 Health and PLAY Institute

• The 2022 Health & PLAY Institute recordings are included with the ONLINE REBOOT of the  2022 IN PERSON Conference on the Value of Play: THE NATURE OF PLAY.
• Registration Fees:
  • Member — $99
  • Non-Member — $129
  • Clemson University F/S/S — $49
  • Students — $69 (student ID required)
• Coming Soon!  ADD-ON CME Opportunity — Inaugural Online Health & PLAY Institute plus (6) CMEs — $100/person
  Includes access to our 2021 Online Health & PLAY Institute sessions eligible for up to (6) AMA PRA Category 1 Credits with the successful completion of the related Activity Evaluation Forms.

The Conference on the VALUE of Play
The Play Conference, as it is commonly known, is an annual educational conference presented by the US Play Coalition. The latest research and practices in the field of play are presented at the conference, which brings together play researchers, educators, health scientists, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, park and recreation professionals, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians and parents from across the U.S. and beyond. The  2022 IN PERSON Conference on the Value of Play: THE NATURE OF PLAY   explores play across the lifespan, play in the workplace, play in the classroom and address universal issues of access, equity, inclusion and more.  The conference features weekly live headliners and networking events, dozens of recorded educational and research presentations and much more.

The US Play Coalition is partnering with the Multicultural Play Therapy Center at UNC Charlotte to offer a Play Therapy Forum, shedding light on the therapeutic power of play. This special series is one of our new Play Forums for the 2022 IN PERSON Conference on the Value of Play.

“There is more evidence now than ever that children need play in order to live healthy lives, and play therapy is improving children’s mental health and overall well-being all over the world,” according to the Association for Play Therapy.

The Play Therapy Forum will help kickoff the conference on Sunday, April 3. Sessions include:

• Healing from Trauma: Play Therapy Principles for Intergenerational Relationship and Connection
  – Jennifer Geddes Hall, PhD, LPC/S, ACS, RPT and Jill C. Shelnut, PhD
• Time for a Reboot: Prescribing NaturePlay Therapy for Emotional Wellness for Children, Teens and Families
  – Jamie Lynn Langley, LCSW, RPT-S
• The Power of Play Therapy – Jessie Guest, PhD
• Understanding Play Therapy, the Barriers, and How to Break Through for School Counselors!
  – Jill Van Horne, Jill Van Horne, PhD, LCMHC-S, NCPSC, NCC, RPT-S, EAGALA Certified
• A special poster session by graduate students studying Play Therapy at the University of South Carolina

Register for the full 2022 Play Conference or choose the Play Therapy Forum (Sunday) ONLY/Single Day option for just $75 (includes lunch).

Eligible participants may earn APT and NBCC credits (additional fee required).  Approved Providers:  APT Approved Provider #07-191 and NBCC Approved Provider #4208

The Conference on the VALUE of Play
The Play Conference, as it is commonly known, is an annual educational conference presented by the US Play Coalition. The latest research and practices in the field of play are presented at the conference, which brings together play researchers, educators, health scientists, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, park and recreation professionals, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians and parents from across the U.S. and beyond. The 2022 IN PERSON Conference on the Value of Play: THE NATURE OF PLAY explores play across the lifespan, play in the workplace, play in the classroom and address universal issues of access, equity, inclusion and more.

Multicultural Play Therapy Center at UNC Charlotte
The mission of the Multicultural Play Therapy Center is to provide educational and supervision experiences for professional therapists in this region to support the emotional growth of children from diverse cultures through the process of play therapy. Play therapy training enables professionals to develop a therapeutic relationship with children aged 2½ – 10 using materials and communication skills that match the developmental needs of the child.  Learn more about our upcoming Multicultural Play Therapy Center Conference

(updated 2/14/22)

Check out this sneak peek of some of the amazing educational and research symposium sessions we have planned for the 2022 IN PERSON Conference on the Value of Play: THE NATURE OF PLAY, April 2-6 in Clemson, SC.

Below is an alphabetical list of some of the session titles.
The detailed conference schedule is coming soon!

• AAA Play: Examining Play as The Linchpin to Learning
• Active Play: What Role Did It Have in Our Evolutionary Past and How Vital Is It for Our Future?
• Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie, Who’s Not Ready Holler Eye
• Authentic Learning and Play Through Intergenerational Connections in Makerspaces
• Being Mindfully Curious to Discover Our Inner Play Being
• Bringing Kids Imagination to Life in Outdoor Play Through Augmented Reality
• Built and Social Nature of Neighborhoods Impact Women’s Play
• Coming To Our Senses: Envisioning Spaces for Play on A University Campus
• Community Edinburgh (Inspiration from Scotland)
• Contextual Play Hackathon – Creating Meaningful Play Solutions
• Controversial Play: Weapon, Fantasy and Risky Play-Why They Are Important and How to Support Them
• COVID Roadblocks Disrupting Play Opportunities: Fighting Back
• Creating Ecosystems of Play: The Synergies of Systems
• Developing A Love of Learning and Health Through Nature-Based Play Spaces
• Don’t Throw It Away! Make Something and Play!
• Earth Tones
• Experiential Spaces as Immersive Playscapes for Adult Players
• Exploration In Forests of Learning: Play-Based Ecosystems
• Get Up, Get Out, And Play Naturally!
• A Glimpse Beyond the United States: Considering the Trajectories of Play Via The ‘Land Down Under’
• How Global PLAY Has Influenced PLAY In the Early Years of Australian Schools
• “It Felt like Complete Chaos…at First” – A Student-Led Play Day with Non-Profit
• Just Playing: Towards A Universal Ethic of Play
• Körperkoordinationstest Fur Kinder (KTK): Assessing Motor Coordination Differences in Children Recess
• The Meaning of Play and Its Implications for Equitable Design in Outdoor Urban Spaces
• Mindfulness in a Bag – Bringing Social/Emotional Learning to life through Brown Bag Play
• National Study of Playgrounds
• Naturally, It’s Child’s Play!
• A New Perspective on Urban Playscapes: A Case Study Method
• Parent Motivations for Enrolling Young Children in Early Enrichment Programs
• Park Ranger Emergency Response Training Needs
• Play As Liberation: Exploring Self-Directed Education
• Play Protocols: Maximizing Learning Through Play
• Playcemaking: Designing Nature Playscapes with Children
• The Playful Life: The Power of Play in Our Every Day
• Playful Literacy Instruction: Making Learning Joyful and Culturally Responsive
• The Playful Remake: Repurpose Tried and True Activities to Make Them Playful
• The Power of Play Therapy
• The Power of Quality Recess: Why You? Why Now? And How?
• Recess Policy Implementation: Beliefs and Perceptions of Site-Based Decisions-Makers
• Second Nature: Technologies Enabling and Enriching Play in the 2020’s
• The State of Play: The State of Children’s Physical Activity and Access to Community Opportunities for Play in The U.S.
• Supporting Health Equity and Environmental Resilience Through Green Playgrounds
• Teaching For Social Justice: Honest Teaching of History While Building Community Through Playfulness
• Teaching Off Trail
• Time For a Reboot: Prescribing Natureplay for Emotional Wellness for Children, Teens and Families
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: Equity and Play
• What Did You Do in School Today? Developing Class Books Around Children’s Play Experiences.
• YES, I Have An IEP! Climbing, Forts and Snakes: Risky Playing My Way to College, Career and Beyond!
• You Can’t Fall from That: What National Playground Standards Could Learn from Childcare Regulations

The Conference on the VALUE of Play
The Play Conference, as it is commonly known, is an annual educational conference presented by the US Play Coalition. The latest research and practices in the field of play are presented at the conference, which brings together play researchers, educators, health scientists, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, park and recreation professionals, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians and parents from across the U.S. and beyond. The 2022 IN PERSON Conference on the Value of Play: THE NATURE OF PLAY explores play across the lifespan, play in the workplace, play in the classroom and address universal issues of access, equity, inclusion and more.

The US Play Coalition partners each year with Clemson University’s Youth Learning Institute for their annual Youth Development Practitioner Award.  The purpose of this award is to recognize outstanding performance in the creation and implementation of youth development programs or services. The YLI award winner is honored during the Annual Conference on the Value of Play.

According to Stephen Lance, Executive Director of Youth Learning Institute, “There are many deserving practitioners across the nation and our goal is to bring recognition to this field of service.”

First awarded at the 2017 Conference on the Value of Play, our awards program honors exceptional individuals each year.  The YLI Youth Development Practitioner Award winner receives a physical award, social media coverage, free full conference registration and more for the annual Conference on the Value of Play. 

YLI’s Youth Development Practitioner Award Application Process

Purpose:
To recognize outstanding performance in the creation and implementation of youth development programs or services.

Eligibility:
Must have operated a youth development program or service within the United States for at least 10 or more years. (The nominee does NOT have to be affiliated with Clemson University.)

Evaluation Criteria:
Applicants should show evidence of as many of met criteria in their submitted statement.

• Accomplishments serve as an example for other youth serving programs.
• Program/service demonstrates best practices and a nurturing culture that supports inclusivity and human resilience.
• Outreach efforts promote youth development programs and encourage support and participation from the community at-large.
• Equips young people to lead and serve, through direct work with youth and by training other practitioners.
• Demonstrates positive impact on lives of young people and leads by example.
• Demonstrates high level of leadership, professionalism and integrity in the field of youth development.
• Strengthens the field of youth work by providing quality training opportunities for youth workers to maximize their investment in young people.
• Focuses on attempts to improve the quality of youth services by providing training standards and improving program function.
• Shares best practices with other youth practitioners or serves as a liaison in the community to create a network of participation and sharing of ideas/knowledge.
• Program/service demonstrates exceptional commitment to public service and/or educational leadership.

Our 10th anniversary play swag took home the “2019 Best Merchandise” Excellence Award from the South Carolina Festivals and Events Association at its annual conference in 2020.

The SCFEA Excellence Awards celebrate the best from South Carolina!  Our “PLAY FOR LIFE” cuff bracelet, featured at our 10th Anniversary Conference on the Value of Play: PLAY FOR LIFE, won the 2019 Best Merchandise award.  With the holidays upon us, we thought it was fitting for us to do an encore campaign with our 2020 and 2021 themes added to the mix!!

So order our LIMITED EDITION, AWARD WINNING PLAY CUFF BRACELETS – they make great holiday, birthday, graduation, thank you gifts or “just because” gifts!!

Made locally in Clemson, South Carolina. These very popular cuff bracelets are available in three colors – silver, gold and rose gold.

Each color can have one of three phrases:

PLAY FOR ALL

PLAY FOR LIFE

PLAY IS SURVIVAL

Support the US Play Coalition and PLAY by purchasing a PLAYful bracelet – or get one of each!!

Overview
• Handmade item
• Material: Aluminum, Brass, Copper
• Bracelet length: 6 Inches
• Bracelet width: 1/4 Inches
• Adjustable: Yes
• Style: Minimalist

Please note: Shipping is only available in the continental U.S. at this time.
Shipping in the continental U.S. is just $3.50.  OR! Locals can save on shipping with pickup at the US Play Coalition office at Clemson University