Sarah Lawrence College

Thomas H. Wright Lecture Series

The Thomas H. Wright Lecture, inaugurated in 1995, honors Thomas H. Wright's dedication to Sarah Lawrence and his long service on the Board of Trustees. An endowment, established by the Leon Lowenstein Foundation, funds the lecture.

Embracing Play

Conversation with Tricia Hanley and Cindy Parson Puccio
November 8, 2025

Embracing Play Full

Play Embraced

Panel with Conference Presenters: Jerusha Beckerman, Lorayne Carbon, Emily Cullen-Dunn, Kim Ferguson, Yoni Kallai, and Cindy Parson Puccio
November 8, 2025

Play Embraced Full
    • 2024
      Understanding Children's Rights as Human Rights and Embracing Our Responsibility as Educators
      Mariana Souto-Manning, PhD

    • 2023
      The Children Come Full: A conversation about culturally sustaining language and literacy practices in early childhood and elementary contexts
      Kindel Turner Nash, Alicia Arce-Boardman, Roderick D. Peele, Kerry Elson, and Jerusha Beckerman
      Watch the lecture video on Vimeo
    • 2021
      Gender and the Gender Spectrum in the Early Childhood Classroom
      Laleña Garcia, Cassandra Santos, Marjorie Brickley, and Brendan Cheney and Jan Drucker
      Watch the lecture video on Vimeo
    • 2020
      Mothering, Reimagining & Starfishing: A Radical Way Forward
      Jodie Patterson
      Watch the lecture video on Vimeo
    • 2019
      Social Justice Belongs in Our Schools
      Sydney Chaffee, '05
      Watch the lecture video on YouTube
    • 2018
      Small Actions for Big Justice
      Albert Sykes
      Watch the lecture video on YouTube
    • 2017
      When All Else Fails, We Must Protect Childhood
      Denisha Jones, PhD
      Watch the lecture video on YouTube

    • 2016
      Preserving Childhood at School: The Importance of Being Little
      Erika Christakis, MPH, MEd
      Watch the lecture video on YouTube

    • 2015
      Recognizing, Understanding, and Transforming Inequalities into Opportunities in the Classroom
      Steven Hawkins, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA
      Joshua Bogin, Director of Springfield Magnet School Program, Springfield Public Schools
      Jan Drucker, PhD, moderator
      Watch the lecture video on YouTube

    • 2014
      Asking Questions and Trusting What You're Told
      Paul Harris, PhD
      Watch the lecture video on YouTube

    • 2013
      The Environment of Childhood Poverty
      Gary Evans, PhD

    • 2012
      Teaching and Learning in a Diverse and Inequitable World
      Patricia Ramsey, EdD
      Watch the lecture video on YouTube

    • 2011
      Voices of Children Voices of Teachers: Reclaiming the Classroom
      Mary Hebron, MA

    • 2010
      When Parents, Educators, and Clinicians Collaborate: Classrooms for All Learners
      A Panel Discussion with Stephanie Petrillo Gould, MEd, CSP; Maggie Hoffman; and Cassandra Hyacinthe, MEd
      Jan Drucker, PhD, moderator

    • 2009
      Consuming Kids: Reclaiming Childhood from Media and Corporate Marketers
      Susan Linn, EdD, Co-Founder and Director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, and Associate Director of the Media Center of Judge Baker Children's Center
      Watch lecture video on YouTube

    • 2008
      Where da Heat Go: Social Justice, Agency & Science
      Angela Calabrese Barton, PhD, Associate Professor of Teacher Education, Michigan State University

    • 2007
      Children and Nature Design Principles
      David L. Sobel, MEd, Director, Teacher Certification Programs; Co-director, Community Based School Environmental Education Program, Antioch New England Graduate School

    • 2006
      Open Pandora’s Box: Curiosity in the Classroom
      Susan Engel, PhD,Director of the Program in Teaching at Williams College

    • 2005
      Building a Community/Building a School
      Nancy Mann, MA,Principal, Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School

    • 2004
      Reflections on Teaching: Relationships, Possibilities, and Power
      Jane Andrias, MA, Leader in New York City's progressive education movement

    • 2003
      Nurturing the Remarkable Powers of Children
      William Crain, PhD,Professor of Psychology at The City College of New York

    • 2002
      Processes of Change in Schools
      Tom Roderick, MEd,Executive Director of Educators for Social Responsibility, New York City Metropolitan Area

    • 2001
      Pathways to Literacy: Non-Standardized Approaches to the Enhancement and Assessment of Literacy Across the Curriculum
      Frank Smith, PhD, Writer and Researcher, British Columbia, Canada

    • 2000
      Rethinking Standards and Assessment
      Harriet K. Cuffaro, EdD, Professor Emerita of Education, Bank Street College of Education and Staff Developer at the City and Country School, New York City

    • 1999
      Play and Learning
      Celia S. Genishi, PhD, Professor of Education, Teachers College, Columbia University

    • 1998
      A New Look at Families, Schools and Child Development
      James P. Comer, MD, Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry, Yale University Child Study Center

    • 1997
      Rethinking Teaching: What Schools Can and Should Be
      Linda Darling-Hammond, EdD, Stanford University

    • 1996
      Conflict as a Fact of Life: Families, Schools, Communities
      Regina Arnold, PhD, Professor of Sociology and Associate Dean of Studies, Sarah Lawrence Colleg e

    • 1995
      Family/School Partnerships: Working Together for Children
      Patricia Carini, Founder of Prospect School and the Prospect Archives and Center for Education and Research, North Bennington, Vermont

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