Board of Advisors
IPEMA Welcomes Stuart Brown to 2011 Board of Advisors for
“Voice of Play” Initiative
Industry leader joins IPEMA board veterans, offering expertise for the 2011 year
Harrisburg, Pa. – The International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA) has announced the addition of nationally renowned medical doctor, psychiatrist, clinical researcher and the founder of the National Institute for Play, Stuart L. Brown, M.D., to its 2011 “Voice of Play” Board of Advisors. Brown will serve alongside industry experts and IPEMA Board veterans, Dr. Joe Frost, Teresa (Teri) Hendy and Ken Kutska, supporting IPEMA’s efforts to increase the quality and quantity of children’s play and playgrounds.
Brown’s extensive medical background – including general and internal medicine, clinical research and psychiatry – has allowed him to dedicate years of scholarship and exploration to play. Throughout his clinical career, Brown specifically focused on the importance of play within the human life cycle and explored the evolution of human and animal play.
Brown has served as clinical director and chief of psychiatry at San Diego’s Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, as well as taught numerous courses on psychiatry and play at universities including the University of California-San Diego and Baylor College of Medicine. Brown is currently teaching a course titled, “Innovation Through Play” at Stanford University. He also has been actively involved as a consultant and board member for many industry organizations including Holoform Research, Inc., the Strong National Museum of Play and the Jane Goodall Institute.
“Brown’s science and evidence-based research on human play will compliment our returning Board member’s knowledge of childhood development and playground design safety,” said Lloyd Reese, IPEMA president. “I am honored to have his expertise to help us advance our goal of raising awareness about the many proven benefits children get from play.”
As founder and president of the National Institute for Play, Brown is regularly sought after to speak and advise on the importance of play, often visiting Fortune 500 companies and groups across the United States. He has produced a three-part PBS series, “The Promise of Play,” is author of the book “Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul,” and has contributed to over 30 publications and presentations within the last 40 years.
“I share a similar commitment with IPEMA members to enhance the value our communities place on play and I am looking forward to bringing my perspectives as a physician and researcher to the Board,“ Brown said.
Beginning January 1, 2011, Brown will serve alongside the following “Voice of Play” Board of Advisors:
Dr. Joe Frost
Dr. Joe Frost is often called the contemporary father of play advocacy. He is the Parker Centennial Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin, where he taught for 34 years. He has authored, co-authored, or edited 18 books, several having been translated into other languages, as well as six volumes of published and unpublished papers, reports and articles. Frost is known worldwide for his work in children’s play and play environments and continues to direct a 30 year-old research program addressed to this field. He has also lectured and served as a consultant worldwide and is a former president of the Association for Childhood Education International and of the International Play Association (IPA/USA). He recently donated an expanding research collection to the University of the Incarnate Word on children’s play and play environments, co-sponsored by IPEMA.