Rhonda L. Clements, EdD, is a professor and the director of the master’s of arts in teaching (MAT) program in physical education and sport pedagogy at Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York. At Manhattanville College, she collects data regarding early childhood play activities and teaches about historical and sociocultural issues in sport and physical education.
Clements is the author of 10 books on movement, play, and games. She is past president of the American Association for the Child's Right to Play, a United Nations–recognized association composed of experts in play, games, and sports from 49 countries. The association’s primary purpose is to protect, preserve, and promote play and leisure activities throughout the world.
Clements has written numerous articles related to physical education, including 20 on sport and play factors. She is also a consultant for several manufacturers of sport equipment and playthings and has been interviewed by more than 300 journalists regarding children's right to leisure and physical play. She has presented at 40 international or national conferences and over 60 state or local conferences on topics related to cultural understanding through play and sport. Clements lives in New York City.
Sharon L. Schneider, MS, is an early childhood adjunct assistant professor at Hofstra University in Long Island, New York. At Hofstra University, she teaches all the required courses for undergraduate and graduate students pertaining to child movement, music, rhythm, and play and their integration into academics for early childhood and elementary educators. In addition, she has been a keynote speaker, a consultant for numerous groups, and a visiting scholar at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Schneider has served as a national physical activity consultant for Head Start Body Start and the National Center for Physical Development and Outdoor Play, and she has served as a facilitator for I Am Moving, I Am Learning (IMIL). She has been an officer and member of the executive board of the American Association for the Child’s Right to Play, for which she also served as an alternate representative to UNICEF and the United Nations Early Childhood Care and Development in Emergencies Working Group.
Schneider enjoys family adventures, her grandchildren, and the bragging rights she earns playing in her family’s fantasy football league.
