Executive Director
Misti Peppler, M.S., OTR/L

Misti's belief in the value of play in the development of children started at an early age. At the age of 12 Misti started working at a residential camp for children with physical disabilities. She worked and lived in this playful environment every summer through high school and into college. She graduated from Illinois State with a Bachelor's of Science in Special Education. The children she taught for the next 8 years had physical and mental disabilities ranging in age from 5 to 14 years old. During these years she volunteered her time as a Special Olympics coach and working with people who were living with HIV and AIDS.

Misti returned to school at Rush University in 1996 to attain a Master's Degree in Health Sciences in Occupational Therapy. It was here that her interest in play as a means for evaluation as well as a developmental tool became a focus. After becoming an Occupational Therapist, she worked with young children who experience motor delays due to sensory processing dysfunction, autism spectrum disorders and language delays. She has post-graduate training in using Sensory Integrative Theory as an approach to enhance development. This clinical theory base drives her belief that child directed play is one of the most effective forms of learning. Her business design incorporates fundamentals from this theory allowing all children to access learning through playful experiences.

She and her husband Jon live in the Lincoln Square neighborhood. They have three toddlers. In addition to her graduate and post-graduate work, it is her experiences as a mother which inspires her to create playful environments that all children can benefit from. Misti believes all children and caregivers can benefit from child directed play.