Wendy Smolen is a copywriter, editor, and idea generator. She has been an astute player in the children’s toy and media industry for over 20 years, testing, evaluating and rating products. She plays with hundreds of products each year, and speaks as well as blogs about the best of them as a regular contributor to Kidscreen.com. In 2007 she cofounded Sandbox Summit, a series of conferences that explores the synergy between play and technology. Since 2010, Sandbox Summit@MIT has become a highly-anticipated annual event, attended by thought leaders across all media platforms.

Wendy has held senior positions at several parenting magazines. At Toy Wishes she was the Editorial Director, responsible for selecting the much-quoted “Hot Dozen” toys for the holidays and publishing a weekly blog on Amazon.com. Prior to that, she was the Deputy Editor of Nick Jr. Family Magazine, where she oversaw all play and lifestyle features, including the annual “50 Best Toys of the Year.” As the Lifestyles Editor of Parents magazine, she turned the holiday toy section into one of the most popular features of the year, year after year. She was also instrumental in creating a joint venture with Parents and Consumer Reports to rate children’s products. At all three publications, she established collaborative relationships with the magazines’ online counterparts.

Wendy has worked on new projects and concepts for major companies including LEGO, Hape, Crayola, Out of the Blue, and Microsoft, and has consulted on several virtual world concepts. She was a member of the 2010 and 2011 Nomination Committees for the TOTY Awards. She has appeared on numerous television and radio shows, and has been interviewed by national publications discussing both parenting and play. She is the author of an award-winning book, Playing Together, 101 Terrific Games and Activities that Children Ages 3 to 9 Can Do Together (1995, Simon & Schuster, Inc.), and recently edited a cookbook, No Whine With Dinner (2011, M3 Press). Prior to looking at the ways and means of kids’ play, she played with more grown-up toys as the creative director of two international cosmetic companies.

Wendy earned a B.S. at Cornell University. She and her husband live in Connecticut. They have three children whom she credits with keeping her up to speed in social media, since they now text more often than they call.