Dorothy Louise Justus Sluss is a Professor in the Department of Early, Elementary, and Reading Education housed in the College of Education at James Madison University. She is also Director of James Madison University's Early Education Master's of Art in Teaching Program. She has been involved in early childhood education for over three decades, and has served as an advocate for young children through her work in numerous professional organizations. As a public school classroom teacher, she taught kindergarten, primary grades, and started a program for four-year-olds in public schools. Later, working in higher education, she served on the faculties of East Tennessee State University, Clemson University, and the College of William and Mary. She was co-PI on the grant for Project TIES, Towards Inclusion in Early Childhood, and started the Mountain View Elementary Professional Development School. She initiated and chaired the research forum for the NAEYC Play, Practice, and Policy Interest Group at NAEYC for ten years. She has written numerous book chapters and articles that have been published in Childhood Education, Young Children, Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education, and other journals. She recently received the Brian Sutton Smith Award for lifetime achievements at the 2013 meeting of The Association for the Study of Play (TASP), and was also elected President of the International Play Association, USA.