Congratulations to Dr. Mariana Brussoni, recipient of the 2024 Joe L. Frost Award for distinguished research from the US Play Coalition

Dr. Mariana Brussoni has been honoured with the 2024 Joe L. Frost Award for distinguished research from the US Play Coalition. This award is given in recognition of a body of exceptional research that has enhanced and expanded the study of play.

Dr. Mariana Brussoni is the Director of the Human Early Learning Partnership, and a Professor in the School of Population and Public Health and Department of Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She is a developmental psychologist and an investigator with the British Columbia Children’s Hospital Research Institute & British Columbia Injury Research & Prevention Unit.

Dr. Brussoni’s research investigates child injury prevention and children’s unstructured, outdoor play, including risks that come with it. Her work focuses on the benefits of unstructured play on children’s development and addresses the barriers that get in the way of children playing outside. Her research has investigated parent and caregiver perceptions of risk, teachers’ and educators’ experiences with outdoor play and learning, and the design of outdoor play-friendly environments.

Dr. Brussoni’s work has been local, national and international in scope. She partners with practitioners and policy makers in early childhood education, schooling, municipal planning and recreation provision, with the aim of promoting equitable access to outdoor play and creating environments where all children thrive in healthy societies.

Dr. Brussoni is a unique and powerful voice in the field of play research. One nominator said, “Her research has transcended well beyond Canada and North America and has impacted the lives of countless children and youth around the world.”

Another nominator said, “Her work has been instrumental in understanding why risk is essential to children’s development and wellbeing, and the critical importance of outdoor play in childhood. The field of play is that much richer for her research contributions, clarity of perspective, and pure joy in her chosen field.”

The first international recipient of the award, Dr. Brussoni said, “I’m delighted that we’re doing this work together – and that we’re doing it across our international borders and for the sake of children everywhere.”

The Joe L. Frost Award for Distinguished Research was presented to Mariana Brussoni at the 2024 National Conference on the Value of Play held at Indiana University in Bloomington. Upon receiving her award, Dr. Brussoni said that it served as “a reminder of all the remains to be done to live up to the legacy of Joe L. Frost and to advocate for children’s play.” The first Canadian and the first international recipient of the award, Dr. Brussoni said, “I’m delighted that we’re doing this work together – and that we’re doing it across our international borders and for the sake of children everywhere.”

About Joe L. Frost
Dr. Joe L. Frost was one of America’s leading experts on play and playgrounds. He had a global reputation as the contemporary father of play advocacy. He was the Parker Centennial Professor Emeritus at The University of Texas at Austin with a passion for children’s play and play spaces. Joe has been an influential member of the US Play Coalition’s steering committee since its humble beginnings. He served as a keynote speaker at the 2009 Summit on the Value of Play and then as honorary conference chair for each successive play conference until he passed away in 2020. Joe Frost was and continues to be an influencer for our organization’s work as well as for the world of play.

A version of this story originally appeared on the US Play Coalition’s announcement on Facebook.