Whether we are trying to help people learn, grow, or heal, play fosters powerful conditions for those things to take place. It creates a climate of curiosity, expression, connection, and movement.
Play can rehumanize learning all the way form kindergarten to doctoral studies. Play can also be a child’s vehicle to healing through story in the playroom. Different spaces, different purposes, same deep respect for what becomes possible when play is allowed back in.
I speak across two distinct areas. They share a belief in the power of play, but they are not the same work.
Using playful pedagogy as a stance and philosophy to reimagine teaching and cultivate learning and engagement through curiosity, risk-taking, connection, and emergent learning.
Explore this pathwayDeepening clinical practice through child-centered play therapy and a narrative-informed lens for understanding what unfolds in the playroom and better able to respond in an attuned and effective way.
Explore this pathway
I’m a faculty member at the University of Colorado Denver, a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), and a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor (RPT-S™). I co-founded Professors at Play, a global network of faculty exploring playful pedagogy in higher education.
My work lives at the intersection of teaching, therapy, and a healthy dose of rebellion. Through keynotes, workshops, trainings, and consultation, I help educators, clinicians, and organizations create the conditions for greater connection, engagement, learning, and aliveness.
Play is what the heart does when it refuses to harden.
Learn more →Want to poke around a little? Here are a few books, articles, and projects that say more about my work.
If you’re looking for a keynote, workshop, or clinical training that feels thoughtful, alive, and deeply human, let’s talk.