Liza Sullivan, MA

Liza Sullivan, MA is the community schools development director for the Skokie-Morton Grove D69 in Illinois.

Previously, Sullivan designed in-person and online continuing education programs for adult learners at Erikson Institute.  She has personal and professional experience in the field of education and is a strong advocate for the integration of informal and formal early childhood education.

Sullivan began her professional career in northern California as an elementary education classroom teacher. She returned to her native Chicago and joined Chicago Children’s Museum where, for five years, she was manager and director of student and educator programs, designing on-site and off-site programs for both students and area elementary teachers.  For three years, she served as the assistant vice-president of education, overseeing the museum’s daily operations, as well as internal and community-based programs that reached over a quarter of a million children and educators per year.

As part of her advocacy of “free play” and “nature play,” pedagogical movements popular throughout the United States, Sullivan authored several articles and blogs, and presented at local and national conferences. She is the co-founder of ThroughPlay, an early childhood educational resource, which supports the facilitation of innovative play experiences and the utilization of Chicago’s natural environment to educate young children.