Let Us Play was originally developed by Lisa Caughman through her work with Lee Lee’s Life Lessons, a nonprofit grounded in supporting individuals navigating life during and beyond cancer.

Lisa’s work has always centred around care, connection, and lived experience. With a professional background as a Director of Child Nutrition, she spent years supporting diverse communities, building environments that nurtured both wellbeing and dignity.

Following her own experience as a cancer survivor, Lisa’s work evolved into something more personal. Let Us Play emerged as a response to the emotional impact of illness and adversity—a gentle but intentional invitation for people to reconnect with joy, even in the midst of uncertainty.

Rooted in compassion and real-life understanding, the programme was shaped by her direct work with individuals facing some of life’s most difficult transitions.

The programme was later developed further in collaboration with Shelby Caughman, co-founder of PlayveraCo.

Following a late diagnosis of neurodivergence, alongside experiences of burnout, chronic illness, trauma, and a profound loss of sense of self, Shelby began exploring what it truly means to return to yourself after adversity.

Bringing a background in ecological research, consulting, and project delivery, Shelby introduced a structured, systems-based approach to the work. By combining lived experience with academic thinking and practical application, she developed the EPIC approach—helping Let Us Play develop into an adaptable pathway.

The EPIC structure (Express, Play, Integrate, Carry Forward) provides both grounding and flexibility, allowing the programme to meet people where they are while still offering a sense of direction and progression.

This evolution bridges emotional insight with practical implementation—ensuring the work is not only meaningful, but usable in real life.

Together, Lisa and Shelby bring complementary perspectives—one rooted in decades of care, community work, and lived experience of cancer and adversity; the other shaped by research, systems thinking, and personal experience of rebuilding identity after burnout and trauma.

Let Us Play: The EPIC Pathway to Joy After Adversity reflects this integration.

At its core, the programme exists to create space for people to reconnect with who they are, explore what brings them joy, and carry that forward into their everyday lives—with intention, authenticity, and support.