Dr. James Therrell
Dr. James A. Therrell was born in Grand Junction, Colorado. After completing his baccalaureate in History at Duke University in 1976, he worked as the legislative aide of a U.S. Senator in Washington, D.C., then as a high school teacher and supervisor of recreation in Durango, CO, until returning to school to earn a Master of Science in Recreation and Leisure Studies at San Francisco State University in 1986. From 1986 to the present, he trained over 50,000 participants worldwide in a variety of lesson planning and leadership skills with children as the Executive Director of the National Play Leaders Association.
Publishing “How to Play with Kids” in 1989, with a 2nd edition in 1992, he also produced two educational videotapes for teachers. Elected as a national Afterschool Association Board Member in 1997, he served as Chair of Professional Development and as Vice- President, and helped to found their refereed journal. After beginning Ph.D. studies in Early Childhood Education at The University of Texas at Austin in 1998, he won and completed a year-long contract with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2000 to research and write “Age Determination Guidelines: Relating Children’s Ages to Toy Characteristics and Play Behavior” (2002), a document that informs toy manufacturers and consumers about age appropriate labeling for toys. He has taught young children in pre-school and public school, as well as undergraduates, and is married with five daughters and five grandchildren.
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