Board of Advisors
IPEMA Announces 2008 Board of Advisors for
“Voice of Play” Initiative
Voice of Play goal is to increase outreach to consumers about the benefits of play
Harrisburg, Pa. – The International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA) today announced its 2008 Board of Advisors for the “Voice of Play” initiative. The Board is comprised of four well-known experts in the academic and professional communities in the fields of childhood development, children’s play and playground design safety. This year’s Board includes: Dr. Joe Frost, Teresa (Teri) Hendy and Ken Kutska.
“This year’s Board is an outstanding group that will help us continue to advance our goal of teaching the world about the many proven benefits kids get from play,” said Tim Ahern, IPEMA President. “We are grateful to have Joe and Teri continue to serve, and thrilled to welcome Ken to the Board. This group’s dedication to making play better for children is unparalleled.”
The Voice of Play campaign is centering outreach on five focus areas of research about children and play:
- Intellectual benefits – various research surrounding brain development in kids through play
- Social benefits – the valuable, real-life social lessons kids learn on the playground
- Educational value – the way play helps kids develop skills used in other areas of their education
- Universal accessibility – accessible playgrounds introduce kids to varying levels of physical and mental abilities early in life, which helps them grow up to be more accepting of differences
- Physical benefits – specifically fighting obesity and helping kids develop healthy habits early
Board members, who will serve one-year terms, beginning January 1, 2008, are:
Teresa (Teri) Hendy
Teri Hendy is president and owner of Site Masters, Inc. (SMI), a design and safety consulting company based in Cincinnati, Ohio. For the past 20 years, Hendy has been actively involved as a design and safety consultant to the school, park and recreation industry and is a nationally recognized author, speaker and expert in the field. She is currently serving as co-chair of the National Playground Safety Institute (NPSI) Curriculum Committee. Hendy brings extensive knowledge of the standards and guidelines that apply to the playground industry as she has actively worked with the ASTM subcommittees and the Consumer Product Safety Commission since 1987.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.Click here to read about Joe Frost being named a "Great Friend to Kids" by the Association of Children's Museums.
Ken Kutska
Ken is president of Children and Recreation Environment, Inc., a company that consults on playground safety systems and markets an all-purpose safety surface system adhesive for use in outdoor environments. Kutska’s 35+ year career in park and recreation management includes serving for 30+ years as the Director of Parks and Planning for Wheaton Park District. He also has served on numerous playground industry boards and committees including, the Illinois Park and Recreation Association (IRPA), the National Park and Recreation Association (NRPA), the NRPA’s National Playground Safety Institute and the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) subcommittee on public playground equipment.
