Helle Burlingame, M.A. Psychology, Director Kompan Institute, NA, Kompan Unique Playgrounds

Helle Burlingame is an educator, author and Scandinavian educated developmental psychologist (Cand. Psych.). Her experience is centered on child development and examining the interrelationship between environments and children’s behavior. Areas of expertise: Children’s Right to Play, Play and Changing Environments, Play and Health and Play and Technology. She has over 15 years of experience in managing education, outreach, marketing and research efforts. The last six years, she has been the Director of the Kompan Play Institute. She has presented numerous highly interactive workshops for international, national and state professional groups. She offers a continuing education program for landscape architects, on child development and implications for design. She has been invited to speak at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design’s Executive Education Program on Childcare Design for the past three years. She is a board member of IPA (The American Association for the Child’s Right to Play). Two recent published articles include:  “Exercising their Right to Play” in Park and Recreation magazine, December 2007 and “Making American Playgrounds Relevant”, in Recreation Management  October 2006.

Speaking topics:

• Play to Grow: Children Ages Two to Five
• Play for a Playful Age: Kids Ages Five to Twelve
• A Smarter Kind of Play
• Healthy Play
• The Psychology of Play
• Generation Digital Play