THE DOCTOR OF PLAY AWARD:

Bev Bos

“Though Bev may have left us, her spirit, her words, and her legacy live on. Her impact on the child’s right to play was evident as she and Michael traveled the globe, presenting practical and applicable strategies for protecting childhood and ensuring every child was seen and valued. She was an inspiration, a model for best practice, passionate in her beliefs, and sharing her wisdom. Bev and her impact, she was a gift to children and to the profession. “Recognizing the importance of play in fostering creativity and resilience, she dedicated her efforts to ensuring that all children have access to safe and enjoyable play spaces. Bev worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the significance of play in a child’s life, aiming to inspire communities to prioritize play opportunities for children of all backgrounds. Through her advocacy, she hoped to create a world where every child could experience the joy and benefits of play.

Through Bev Bos, “Wild About Learning,” Generations of students have come away from seeing her in that film changed, changed that “instruction” is not all that it is cracked up to be, changed that “risk” is in the eyes of the beholder. My favorite lines of Bev’s include: “Experience isn’t the best teacher. It is the only teacher.” “Ah life ought to be fun for kids,”

One person described her as a force of energy, swirling in a brightly colored dress, leading us in getting messy, singing, and playing with rhythm. Her enthusiasm for children and play was infectious, inspiring, and refreshing.

Claude Stephens

Claude Stephens has been a revolutionary force in the world of free play, not just at Bernheim, but across the country. Claude’s early days working in informal education began over 30 years ago, where he was always seeking to push the boundaries of what the educational experience could be. Once Claude became a father, the evolutionary biologist’s mind began studying the way children learn from the beginning: through play. This discovery and early research forever changed and shaped Claude’s worldview, as he came to understand that play is essential to the nature of being human. Claude pioneered what is now known as Bernheim’s Children at Play Network: an initiative that works at the regional level to connect children to nature through free play. It is the foundational belief of Claude and the CAPN that free play in nature nurtures the next generation of environmental stewards. By shifting the conversation around what environmental education can look like, Claude has been instrumental in expanding the collective mindset to understand that learning happens on a full spectrum of experiences, from directed to undirected (i.e. free play). 

Claude’s advocacy for the child’s right to play has uniquely positioned Bernheim’s CAPN to be a regional leader in both play-based trainings and programs, as well as design consulting for the development of nature playscapes. Groups from all over the Louisville area, Kentucky, and now as far as California, have called upon the CAPN to share expertise and resources that enable more children to have access to free play. The combination of Claude’s passion for play, knowledge, and tireless pursuit of equitable access to quality play environments has had a ripple effect through the community. The positive results of Claude’s dedication to play are palpable and can be witnessed whenever Claude is interacting with any of CAPN’s many partners and collaborators.  Jenny Gardner

There is no one like Claude. The inner child he has preserved within himself has inspired me to embrace and release my own into the wild. He has advanced the ideology of play within our state through his fierce research, bold vision, and collaborative spirit. 

• From Katy Delahanty, Executive Director of the Portland Museum, Louisville, KY

• Through his work, he has helped children and adults alike understand that play is not just recreation, but a fundamental right tied to our sense of freedom, control, and imagination. He has shown us that play is essential for healthy child development, but also for shaping a worldview where we reclaim power over our bodies, our choices, and our communities.
• Claude teaches us that play allows us to take up space, to expand our presence, and to exercise our radical imaginations. His leadership has created spaces where children and families feel safe to get lost in thought, experiment, and heal through movement and creativity. His humility and deep consciousness mean he does not simply lead from the front, but rather as a servant leader, ensuring that the joy and power of play ripple outward into the community.

“Claude is truly magical. He taught me the folklore of a buckeye being lucky, and I’ve seen little dollhouses out of cardboard and natural items he’s made for his daughter. In everything he does, he brings together environmentalism, resourcefulness, and imagination—his very presence turns community into a place of wonder and play.”

• From Kristen Williams, founder and Executive Director of Play Cousins Collective

THE DOCTOR OF PLAY AWARD:

Dr. Tori Flint

Dr. Flint’s advocacy is deeply rooted in her service to children and families. As Co-Director of the Louisiana Center for Research and Education on Languages and Literacies (LA CREoLL), she advances playful, multilingual approaches to literacy, empowering communities to embrace the joy of play in language and literacy learning. Her appointment to the Louisiana Early Literacy Commission reflects her influence on policy, as well, where she has advocated for play-based literacy practices statewide. Her community engagement includes active roles with the Acadiana Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences (PACEs) Alliance and the Whole Health Louisiana Working Group, where she promotes play as a joyful, healing force for children facing adversity and trauma.”

Her work braids these areas in ways that diverge from traditional silos of research.  The result is an expansive and generative approach to literacy development for early learners.  Two qualities that deserve specific spotlight are her textured and nuanced applications of theory to bridge practice.  She tackles theoretically and conceptually dense approaches to play, multimodality, and early literacy and makes them accessible and applicable. 

Her service as an executive board member for the Early Childhood Education Assembly in the National Council of Teacher of English (NCTE) is a space where she advocates for play in the context of early childhood.  NCTE is an organization comprised of over 25,000 members.  Dr. Flint’s positionality amplifies the necessity of play across the curriculum.”

“Across nearly three decades of education as a preschool teacher (1997–2006), first-grade teacher (2006–2013), and now an endowed associate professor, Dr. Flint has centered play in all aspects of research, teaching, and service. Her scholarship consistently demonstrates how play ignites literacy, identity, and well-being for children across contexts

Tugce Arda Tuncdemir

“In her career as a teacher educator, researcher, PRESENTER and advocate, she has worked tirelessly to ensure that play is recognized as a fundamental right for all children and as a cornerstone of meaningful education. Her professional journey has been dedicated to demonstrating the importance of child-initiated play through teaching, scholarship, outreach, and advocacy, to preserve childhood and empower both educators and children

In her university teaching, Tugce integrates play-based pedagogy into courses such as EDUC 410: The Child and Institutions and EDUC 403: Curriculum and Instruction. In these courses, preservice teachers experience firsthand how play fosters creativity, problem-solving, social-emotional growth, and resilience. Student feedback consistently indicates that these courses deepen their understanding of play and inspire them to integrate playful learning into their classrooms. Many of her graduates report implementing play-based strategies in K-4 classrooms during their student teaching and carry these practices into their professional work, demonstrating the generational impact of embedding play in teacher preparation.”

Ozge Metin Aslan wrote, “Throughout her career as a teacher educator, researcher, and advocate, she has worked tirelessly to ensure that play is recognized as a fundamental right for all children and as a cornerstone of meaningful education. Her advocacy and outreach extend globally. As a member of the International Play Association (IPA), the Association for the Study of Play (TASP), the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), she works to protect, preserve, and promote children’s right to play as a fundamental human right. She regularly presents workshops, professional development sessions, and teacher education seminars, equipping educators with strategies to facilitate child-initiated play across age groups. Her work emphasizes the developmental, academic, creative, and social benefits of play.”

Equally powerful is her service to the profession: associate editor and editorial board roles across early childhood and play journals; mentorship of emerging scholars; leadership in state and university initiatives focused on child and family well-being; and ongoing supervision of teachers, graduate students, and doctoral candidates who carry this work forward.

The Child’s Right to Play Advocacy Award:

SHWETA CHARI

“For over two decades, Shweta Chari has been the pioneering voice championing children’s right to play in India. Under her leadership, the Opentree Foundation has delivered impactful, scalable, play-based interventions that reach over 150,000 at-risk children in Maharashtra, India. The foundations Life Skills Play Program has demonstrably addressed critical gaps in life skills, socio-emotional well-being, and holistic development of children growing up in adversity and uncertainty in a complex world. By integrating play into education, including training hundreds of teachers as Play Practitioners, Opentree has produced scalable, adaptable models that can be implemented in various contexts, making their approach relatively rare in the child development sector. Partnerships with government are helping to integrate play-based learning into national education policies, advocating for systemic change across India, and ensuring that play is mainstreamed in education for all of India’s children.”

A TIRELESS CHAMPION

Shweta has fought through deep-seated beliefs that trivialize play, advocating tirelessly for its inclusion in education systems, teacher training, and public discourse. Her vision aims to mainstream play into national education policies, by driving dialogue, collective action, and spearheading research and innovation to build a field for Play in India”.