My name is Kerri and I am an engineer, a fitness trainer, and a play researcher. I recently received my Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, where I studied play in adulthood (although it may be more accurate to say I studied the lack of play in adulthood). See, play scholars believe that humans play throughout their lives, but I’m not so sure. I did my dissertation on the play of college students, and they told me that most adults don’t use the word play except in the sense of playing something (for example, playing tennis or playing cards). Something else they said was that adults play in different ways than children do. Adults tend to choose an activity and do that activity according to the established rules; most of us don’t make stuff up like we once did. Remember when you were a kid? You were probably pretty great at creating your own fun. That’s the kind of play I’m interested in. Do you still do that? If so, I want to meet you! (I’m not joking. Email me. Do it now!) If you don’t play like that any more, would you like to? If so, I want to meet you, too. Because I don’t play like a kid very much, either, but I’d really like to do it more. This website is dedicated to all the adults who sometimes miss playing like a kid.

I have a BS in Electrical Engineering, an MBA, and I worked for many years as a fitness trainer and wellness coach at the Bellevue Family YMCA, where I developed and taught a weekly class called Recess for Adults (R4A). I am a proud member of the US Play Coalition and I’m on the Board of Directors for Let’s Play America. I live in Oahu with my wife and two spoiled cats.

I live to help others put more joy into their everyday lives, by creating more opportunities to “play like a kid” and by encouraging others to pursue their own crazy dreams.