Ann is a passionate advocate for play, particularly in outdoor, nature-based settings. She has over 25 years’ experience working with children from early childhood through to college, as well as a master's degree in Education from Harvard University. Ann began her teaching journey in a low-decile primary school in Washington D.C., before moving to Aotearoa where she worked with special needs students at Auckland Girls Grammar School. The birth of her own 3 children led to 12 years of involvement in Playcentre as a parent, session co-ordinator, and facilitator of workshops, where Ann supported hundreds of children and their parents to take the leap into nature, whether just outside the centre door, or on dedicated outdoor sessions. She went on to become the co-founder and Director of Conscious Kids Education Ltd, which offers outdoor play-based programmes for schools and communities, as well as professional development and consulting services. In collaboration with the Devonport Recycling Centre, Conscious Kids Devonport developed the loose parts programmes Tinkering Kids and Junky Monkeys, firmly grounded in the play-based and maker-space philosophy. Ann was instrumental in developing the successful pedagogy of these programmes, refined over the course of 2 years of delivery and thousands of students. She is an experienced provider of adult training experiences, for small teams through to large groups in the hundreds, and is also a presenter and professional learning coach for Longworth Education, offering workshops and mentoring for educators in the area of play-based learning. Currently she is the founder and Director of Ann Langis Play Ltd. which offers professional development, facilitation and consulting services. When she’s not thinking about play, writing about play, or talking about play, she can be found outside playing, generally climbing a tree or having an impromptu boogie in the grass.