Trajectory Alumni Profile
Toys with purpose: How a GSE alum turned a classroom moment into a personal mission
BY DANIELLE LEGARE
When Hannah Bogdan, EdD ’23, opened a preschooler’s backpack at UB’s Early Childhood Research Center (ECRC), she didn’t expect to find inspiration for her future nonprofit. But nestled between a book and winter gear were a few classroom toys and one student’s honest explanation: “I was just borrowing them like a library.”
Instead of treating it as a disciplinary issue, Bogdan—then a teacher at the ECRC—turned the moment into an opportunity. She began allowing students to check out one toy every Friday to take home and return on Monday, transforming the experience into a semester-long action research project for her doctoral coursework.
The children loved it. So did their families. And before long, a much bigger idea began to take shape.
Today, Bogdan is the founder and executive director of the Buffalo Toy Library, a nonprofit community play space that aims to make high-quality toys and materials accessible to all children in Western New York regardless of income, background or zip code.
From dissertation to nonprofit
Bogdan's classroom experiment became the foundation of her dissertation and her mission. While researching international models of toy libraries, she discovered thriving networks in countries like Australia and New Zealand, where borrowing toys is as routine as checking out books.
“Just like a library—where you can walk in and read any book on the shelf—here, the idea is that you can walk in and play with any toy on the shelf,” she said. “There’s no financial barrier between the kids and the toys in this space.”
Through GSE’s learning and teaching in social contexts EdD program, Bogdan’s dissertation became what one grant reviewer later called “the ultimate business plan.” Her research explored models for sustainable and accessible play and equipped her with the tools to launch her nonprofit.
In 2024, the Buffalo Toy Library officially launched, offering a rotating collection of donated toys for children ages 4 months to 12 years. The nonprofit now operates out of its first physical home at 2929 Main Street, where families can drop in to play, explore and borrow toys with a membership.
Bogdan has been encouraged by how eager local organizations, small businesses and families were to support the idea. And, thanks to a recent grant from the M&T Charitable Foundation, the Children's Foundation of Erie County, and the generosity of supporters, scholarship memberships ensure that no child is turned away.
Deep GSE roots
Bogdan credits much of her success to her time at GSE, where she earned both her EdM and EdD and worked at the ECRC for over five years.
Faculty from the Department of Learning and Instruction, like X. Christine Wang, Tiffany Karalis Noel and Elisabeth Etopio, played key roles in supporting her research and professional growth.
In addition, her relationship with Keeley Benson, associate director of the ECRC, who first helped run the toy checkout project in her classroom, remains especially meaningful.
“At the ECRC, I supported the project by acting as the librarian, as children checked out toys from our storage room. It quickly became clear to both Hannah and me that this concept had real merit and was something the Western New York community was missing,” Benson said. “Today, Hannah continues this vision through the Buffalo Toy Library. I’m proud to support this work as a board member, and my own children love spending time there and borrowing toys themselves.”
Building while parenting
While launching the Buffalo Toy Library, Bogdan became a first-time mother to her son, Flynn.
“I have always wanted to be a mom, and I’ve always believed in the power of play … Now, as a mom, I feel like I can relate to families on a different level.”
Bogdan is excited to continue building a city where free, joyful play is the norm and not the exception.
“All kids in Buffalo deserve play,” she said. “All kids everywhere deserve play.”