Healing Spaces with Susan Shepardson
Join us as we discuss Healing Spaces with Susan Shepardson.
Susan Shepardson has worked in the field of child development and education for 40 years. For the past 20 years of her career, she has merged education with space design. Her interest and passion in educational design was initially sparked by a tour of a Reggio Emilia inspired school in San Francisco. Since then, she has been curating environmental research, training educators and designing classrooms, children’s bedrooms, playrooms, teacher lounges, and student wellness centers.
In 1997, Susan started selling educational furnishings for a national corporation. She assisted clients with classroom and playground design, product selection, and trained adults on how to optimize learning spaces. Since this time, Susan has designed numerous indoor and outdoor learning environments and trained thousands of adults. In 2008 she started her own design firm and called herself The Play Architect ™. From 2010 until 2015, Susan volunteered for Make a Wish designing children’s bedrooms and playrooms.
As an educator, Susan is passionate about teaching and training adults. For over a decade she has taught part time at several colleges and universities. Her areas of expertise include: child development, developmental screening, social-emotional learning, play, trauma informed practices, mental health, wellness and curriculum planning and implementation.
Susan strongly believes in being a good steward of the earth and tries to practice slow consumerism. She loves to reduce, reuse and repurpose items. About 3 years ago, she embarked on yet another business venture and became a vintage retailer. She has a shop in Old Towne Orange, CA. and also sources vintage goods for interior designers and retail stores.
Susan holds a B.S. degree in Social Science from Chapman University, a M.S. degree in Child Development from the University of La Verne, and a Career and Technical Education Credential from Orange County Department of Education. She recently completed a year-long apprenticeship with the Center for Optimal Brain Integration on Trauma-Responsive and Resilience-Building Practices.
In her spare time, she loves to travel, be in the company of family and friends, create art and explore nature – she has a strong sense of wonder and curiosity, an attribute she’s had since childhood.
