As Executive Director of play:groundNYC, I work in both spreadsheets and mud pits. I spend time thinking about how to make free play a more consistent and natural part of childhood. I am lucky to be around lots of playful children, and to work with kind, creative adults who respect play and see its value. We all deserve a playful life.

Prior to play:groundNYC, I served as Development Director of Downtown Community Television Center (DCTV), and Development Manager/Interim Development Director at MASS MoCA.

I also write short stories and screenplays. My writing has been published by McSweeney’s Quarterly Review, Brooklyn Rail and Lovers & Other Strangers.

I’ve made performance projects about NYC street vendors, an aging custom machinist named Hugo, and a woman growing up, working in and disappearing from the town of Wassaic, NY. Thanks to The Street Vendor Project, Vermont Studio Center, The Wassaic Project, Guapamacataro Interdisciplinary Center for Art and Ecology, XO Projects, Inc. and UnionDocs, as well as Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Puffin Foundation Ltd. and Princess Grace Foundation - USA for supporting these projects.

In 2015, I earned my MFA in Creative Writing from Hunter College.

I live in Brooklyn, NY with my husband and our son. If I’m not with my son, or at The Yard, you can often find me on the mat, training in jiu jitsu and kickboxing.

Contact: steph.skaff@gmail.com | linkedin.com/in/stephanie-frances-skaff