For more information, please contact Molly Wells at 202.862.5903 or
[email protected].
Biographies
Rhonda L. Clements is Professor of Education within the Department of Educational Leadership and Special Subjects and Program Director of the MAT in Physical Education and Sports Pedagogy at Manhattanville College. A former President of The American Association for the Child’s Right to Play, Professor Clements has authored or edited nine books in the area of movement, play, and game activities for children, as well as written more than 20 articles concerning the need for play for preschool and elementary school age children. She was one of eight national experts to contribute to “Active Start: A Statement of Physical Activity Guidelines for Birth to Five Years.” Dr. Clements received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maine at Presque Isle, an M.Ed. from both The University of Maine and Columbia University, and her Ed.D. from Columbia University.
Amy L. Freitag is Deputy Commissioner for Capital Projects for the City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation, where she leads over 300 architects, landscape architects, engineers, and budget staff responsible for investing $300 million annually in parks, playgrounds, and recreation facilities throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Prior to this position, she was Director of Historic House for the City of New York and Executive Director of The Historic House Trust of New York City. From 1994 to 2000, Ms. Freitag worked in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park systems holding several titles including Historic Preservation Officer and Planning and Development Administrator of the Fairmount Park Commission. She received her undergraduate degree from Smith College and two graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.
Joe L. Frost is Parker Centennial Professor Emeritus at The University of Texas. He is former President of the Association for Childhood Education International and of The American Association for the Child’s Right to Play. For the past 30 years, Professor Frost directed The University of Texas Play and Play Environments Research Project. An author of numerous books, articles, and reports on early childhood education, child development, children’s play and play environments, and child safety, his works include Play and Playscapes (Thomson Delmar Learning, 1991), Play and Child Development (Prentice Hall, 2000), and The Developmental Benefits of Playgrounds (Association for Childhood Education International, 2004). Dr. Frost earned his undergraduate degree from Arkansas Polytechnic University and his M.A. and Ed.D. from the University of Arkansas.
Robert W. Hahn is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the American Enterprise Institute-Brookings Joint Center and a resident scholar at AEI. Previously, he worked for the Council of Economic Advisers. He also has served on the faculties of Harvard University and Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Hahn frequently contributes to leading scholarly journals and general-interest periodicals, including The American Economic Review, The Yale Law Journal, Science, and The New York Times. He is the author of Reviving Regulatory Reform: A Global Perspective (AEI-Brookings Joint Center, 2000) and In Defense of the Economic Analysis of Regulation (AEI-Brookings Joint Center, 2005). In addition, Dr. Hahn is Co-Founder of the Community Preparatory School, an inner-city middle school in Providence, Rhode Island, that provides opportunities for disadvantaged youth to achieve their full potential.
Darell Hammond is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit organization that rallies communities to achieve better public policy, funding, and public awareness for increased play opportunities nationwide; provides resources, including trainings, challenge grants, and publications for communities that wish to plan a new playspace on their own; and brings together children, business, and community interests for a select number of community playspace builds each year. Mr. Hammond, a former employee of the Chicago Park District, has won numerous national service and leadership awards and has been profiled in People and Washingtonian. Additionally, KaBOOM! has received awards or recognition from Fast Company and Worth and, most recently, was named as one of ten finalists for Amazon.com’s Social Innovation Awards.
Roger A. Hart is Professor in the Ph.D. Psychology Program and Co-Director of the Children’s Environments Research Group (CERG) at The City University of New York. CERG provides an important link between university scholarship and the development of policies, environments, and programs that fulfill children’s rights and improve the quality of their lives. Professor Hart’s work has focused on the development of theory and research on children’s relationship to the physical environment. He has been particularly concerned with the application of research to the planning and design of children’s environments and to environmental education. Dr. Hart is the author of the forthcoming book, Undesigning for Children: Creating Space for Free Play and Informal Learning in Community Gardens. He received his undergraduate degree from The University of Hull and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Clark University.
Philip K. Howard is Vice Chairman of Covington & Burling and Chair of Common Good. He is the author of The Death of Common Sense: How Law is Suffocating America (Random House, 1995) and The Collapse of the Common Good: How America’s Lawsuit Culture Undermines Our Freedom (Ballantine Books, 2002). A periodic contributor to the op-ed pages of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, Mr. Howard has advised leaders of both parties on legal and regulatory reform. A civic leader in New York City, Mr. Howard is Chairman of the Municipal Art Society and chaired the committee which installed the “Tribute in Light” interim memorial for the World Trade Center tragedy. He received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Hara Estroff Marano is Editor-at-Large of Psychology Today, a position she has held for the past 15 years. Her observations and writings about human behavior have also appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Smithsonian, New York, and the Ladies’ Home Journal. She is the author of two books, the most recent on the social development of children and titled, “Why Doesn't Anybody Like Me?”: A Guide to Raising Socially Confident Kids (Morrow, 1998). Her third book, A Nation of Wimps, is due out in late 2006. Ms. Marano is a member of the planning group of the Bringing Theory to Practice Project, an effort seeking to advance student engagement in learning and civic service as natural means of countering the epidemic of depression and other disorders of disconnection on college campuses, as well as a member of the Board of Governors of the University of Haifa in Israel.
Anthony D. Pellegrini is Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota, where his interests include observational research methods, children’s peer relations, and social contextual influences on classroom achievement. From 1986 to 1991, Professor Pellegrini was Director of the Cognitive Studies Group at the University of Georgia’s Institute for Behavioral Research. An author of numerous books, book chapters, and articles, Dr. Pellegrini’s most recent works include Recess: Its Role in Education and Development (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2005) and “The Role of Recess in Children’s Cognitive Performance and School Adjustment,” which appeared in Educational Researcher in 2005. He received his undergraduate degree from Nasson College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from The Ohio State University.
Susan G. Solomon is Founding President of Curatorial Resources & Research, a Princeton, New Jersey, company which provides museums, historical societies, foundations, and other organizations and individuals scholarly research on modern art and architecture. Trained as an art historian with a concentration on twentieth century architecture, Dr. Solomon has had extensive experience as a curator, writer, and speaker. She is the author of Louis I. Kahn: Trenton Jewish Community Center (Princeton Architectural Press, 2000) and American Playgrounds: Revitalizing Community Space (University Press of New England, 2005), both of which were supported by funding from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.
Franklin H. Stone is Executive Director of Common Good. Before joining Common Good, Ms. Stone was a partner for thirteen years in the New York City office of Hunton & Williams, where she gained a broad range of litigation, employment, governmental, and managerial experience. Ms. Stone has also worked as an Assistant United States Attorney with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. She currently serves on the board of numerous civic organizations, and is a commissioner, appointed by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, on the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board. Ms. Stone received her undergraduate degree from Hollins College and her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
