Organizers - 2023 Play Make Learn Conference

TARAH CONNOLLY
Tarah Connolly is a graduate student in the department of Curriculum and Instruction at UW-Madison. While studying Psychology and Linguistics at UC Berkeley, she began a career in museum education at The Lawrence Hall of Science and then the Bay Area Discovery Museum. She then became the Curriculum Specialist at MOXI, the Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation where she developed informal STEM programs for a makerspace, K-6 camps, and an NSF-funded field trip program. As a researcher, she is interested in playful learning, family engagement, and human development in children’s museums, science centers, libraries, and makerspaces and is asking the question: how do we create informal learning environments that are better connected to their communities?

CHRIS BAKER
Chris is honored to be the joining the Play Make Learn conference organizers for his first time as a Public Library Consultant with the Library Services Team at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Gaming in all of its forms – and video games in particular – have been a lifelong passion of Chris’s, and have served as a keystone inspiration for his personal and professional endeavors. Before joining DPI, Chris worked as a Youth Services Librarian at the Spring Green Community Library, Teen Services Librarian (and eventually Adult Services Librarian) and Technology Coordinator at the Portage Public Library; prior to that, Chris enjoyed a robust career in professional theatre, earning a BA in Theatre from UW-Parkside and an MFA in Theatre Pedagogy from Virginia Commonwealth University. He has presented statewide numerous times about the intersection of games and learning within libraries – particularly when it comes to library programming and collection development. As a library practitioner, Chris is a specialist in project management and collaboration building, especially in relation to workforce development and wraparound services, and inclusivity/equity/accessibility.

SARAH GAGNON
Sarah is the creative director at the Field Day Lab in the Wisconsin Center for Educational Research at University of Wisconsin, Madison. She is an artist, UX designer, messaging expert, and a fierce advocate for the kids who play their games. From the beginning, she has pushed them to create games that are more than just research instruments. Sarah knows that kids won’t learn anything if they don't care. She makes sure they're designing games that are fun, beautiful, and compelling.

YOON JEON (YJ) KIM
Yoon Jeon (YJ) Kim is an Assistant Professor of Design, Creative, and Informal Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at UW–Madison. Before joining UW-Madison, she was the founder and director of MIT Playful Journey Lab where she led an interdisciplinary team of game designers, developers, and researchers to create playful assessment tools. Her work centers on the topic of innovative assessment and application of playful activity design to challenge what and how we are measuring learning. YJ’s playful assessment research ranges from a computer game using evidence-centered design and analytics techniques to paper-based embedded assessment tools for making. The core of her work is close collaboration with practitioners—empowering teachers to innovate around classroom assessment and use playful and authentic assessment tools that can truly impact student learning.

PETER KIRSCHMANN
Peter Kirschmann is joining as the Outreach Learning Design Specialist in the Office of Professional Learning and Community Education (PLACE). Peter is a designer, educator, and maker who is interested in creating opportunities for learners to tinker, design, and create personally and socially meaningful projects. Most recently, Peter was a learning designer in the MIT Playful Journey Lab and was a founding curriculum design team member and instructor at the High Meadows Graduate School of Teaching & Learning. He has designed and facilitated creative learning experiences at various informal learning spaces including the Science Museum of Minnesota, The Field Museum, and The Clubhouse Network. He holds an EdM from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

PETER MCDONALD
Peter McDonald is an Assistant Professor of Design, Creative, and Informal Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at UW-Madison and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. His research explores the ways people interpret play and playful behavior as meaning-making activities, the design practices that can support critical engagement through play, and the historical contexts of playfulness. McDonald uses practice-based design research to build and study experimental forms of play, including alternate reality games, augmented reality games, and roleplaying games. His interests include play theory, media theory, feminist and queer methodologies, design research, and hermeneutics.

DAVID MCHUGH
David is a founding member of both Play Make Learn and the Gee! Learning Game Awards. As teaching faculty at the UW-Madison Information School, David instructs future librarians and other information professionals in technology courses. In the past, he held a variety of education, IT, and leadership roles at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, including representing the department across the state as their first Games & Learning Liaison. David collects board games and degrees from UW-Madison, including an MA in Library & Information Studies and occasional PhD work in the design of games for learning.

EMILY NOTT
Emily Nott is a youth-focused educator, learner, artist, and researcher. She is a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in the department of Curriculum and Instruction. She previously served as the Director of Learning Communities at After School Matters in Chicago. Emily also developed programs and designed curriculum in public school settings, for the Eli and Edythe Broad Museum of Contemporary art, at REACH Studio Arts, and in other formal and informal settings. She’s been a presenter at the International Social Emotional Learning Exchange, the Creative Educators Summit and the Ready by 21 National Meeting. She holds an M.Ed in Instructional Leadership from the University of Illinois at Chicago, a BFA in Arts Education, and a BA in Arts and Public Life from Michigan State University.

DAVID GAGNON
David Gagnon is the program director of the Field Day Lab in the Wisconsin Center for Educational Research at University of Wisconsin, Madison. He directs a team of educational researchers, software engineers, artists and storytellers that explore the intersections of learning science and media design, specializing in mobile media, video games and simulation. David is also the Director of the ARIS project, a free and open tool that allows anyone to produce mobile games, stories and tours.

ERICA HALVERSON
Erica Halverson is a Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at UW-Madison. Erica has been a field leader in the learning sciences, creating a sub-field that focuses on how people learn in and through the arts. She has published numerous academic articles and book chapters and she is currently co-Editing a special issue of the Journal of the Learning Sciences tackling these issues and questions. Her first book, “How the Arts Can Save Education: An Actor-Turned-Professor Sets the Next Stage for Schools” will be published by Teachers College Press in 2021. At UW, she gets to teach a range of courses to undergraduates, graduate students, and teaching artists who want to improve their practice. She also works with students producing a range of art forms and reflecting on how those art forms are connected to big ideas in teaching and learning. In Spring 2020, Erica received the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award for her contributions to teaching on and off campus. Erica is a trained theater artist and co-founder of two theater organizations: PLaymakers Lab Theatre (in Chicago) and Whoopensocker (in Madison). A seasoned singer, actor & dancer, Erica performs regularly, working with the Children’s Theater of Madison, Music Theatre of Madison, Four Seasons Theatre, and Are We Delicious? while continuing to lead Whoopensocker.

RICH HALVERSON
Rich Halverson is a Professor in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis and the Associate Dean for Innovation and Partnerships at UW-Madison. He is a former high school teacher and administrator, and earned an MA in Philosophy and a PhD in the Learning Sciences from Northwestern University. He holds affiliate appointments in Educational Psychology and Curriculum and Instruction Departments, and is a Fellow at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery. Halverson leads Personalization in Practice, a study documenting how teachers, leaders, and students experience personalized learning in Wisconsin.

YOREL LASHLEY
Yorel Lashley is the Director of Arts in the Office of Professional Learning and Community Education. He is a developmental psychologist interested in self-efficacy and social-emotional learning in arts, academic and integrated environments as well as a professional musician and Founder/Director of Drum Power. He also serves on the Madison Arts Commission. His work at PLACE leverages University of Wisconsin-Madison’s arts expertise and rich history from all ten departments in the School of Education to enrich broader communities.

REBEKAH WILLETT
Dr Rebekah Willett is an Associate Professor in the Information School at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States. She has conducted research on children’s media cultures, focusing on issues of play, literacy, identity, and learning. Her publications include work on makerspaces, playground games, amateur camcorder cultures, families’ screen media practices, and children’s story writing. She has published in journals in the fields of education, childhood studies, media studies, and library and information science. In addition, she has co-authored and/or edited five books and contributed to numerous edited books and encyclopedia projects.
https://rebekahwillett.wordpress.com/