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Games for Change Virtual Festival 2021

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Speakers

Joshua Shen

Strategic Designer, Interactive Media and Games, U.S. Department of State

Stanley Pierre-Louis

CEO, Entertainment Software Association

Evelyn Mora

Founder, Digital Village

Jesse Damiani

Senior Writer, Freethink; Director of Simulation Literacies, Nxt Museum

Debbie Unger

Library Media Specialist, Jefferson County Public Schools

Cari Warnock

Education Strategist, Dell

Kendall Latham

Senior K-12 Education Strategist, Dell

Matt Bulka (he/him)

Southeast Regional Consultant, High School Esports League

Archie Stonehill (He/him)

Investor, Makers Fund

Dylan Urquidi

Researcher / Engineer / Designer / Artist, Unity Technologies

Drue Kataoka

CEO, Drue Kataoka Studios

Myriam Achard

Chief New Media Partnerships & PR, Centre PHI

sofia crespo

Artist, Entangled Others

Raffael Boccamazzo, PsyD (he/him)

Clinical Director, Take This

Walter Greenleaf

Visiting Scholar, Virtual Human Interaction Lab, Stanford University

Noah Falstein (he/him)

President, The Inspiracy

Sithe Ncube (she/her)

Advisor, Black Game Developer Fund

John Polson (he/him)

Portfolio Director, Publishing, Humble Bundle

Justin Woodward

Director / Co-Founder, Media Indie Exchange; BGDF Advisor

Kamini Tiwari (she/her)

Vice President of Social Impact and Internal Communications, Humble Bundle

Tracy Fullerton

Director, USC Game Innovation Lab

Imre Jele

Chief Creative Officer, The Dairymen / Bossa Studios

Florent Maurin

President, The Pixel Hunt

Sophie Guindon

Digital Project Manager, Bibliothèque nationale de France

Rocio Almanza Guillen

Digital Producer, Fred Rogers Productions

Jimmy Vainstein

Senior Program Manager, The World Bank

Shannon Case

Digital Producer, Fred Rogers Productions

Illya Szilak (she/her)

Writer / Director / Producer / Artist, Cloudred

Paige Wood (she|her)

Supervising Producer, Rise-Home Stories Project

Paisley Smith (She/They)

Unity for Humanity Program Lead, Unity Technologies

El Lim (he/him)

Founder / Head Developer, Khayalan Arts

Lien Tran (she/her/hers)

Assistant Professor, DePaul University, College of Computing & Digital Media

Derek Chan:(he/him)

Producer, Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center

Katherine Wheeler (she/her)

Narrative Designer, Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center

Shiva Kannan (he/him)

Programmer, Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center

Yuzhu Zhou(she/her)

Artist / Game Designer, Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center

Juan Pablo Urgilés

Creative Director, Imán Transmedia

Nika Nour

Executive Director, IGDA Foundation

Katie Salen Tekinbaş (she/her)

Professor, UC Irvine

Glenn Gillis (he/him)

CEO, Sea Monster

Gilson Schwartz

Director, Games for Change Latin America

Jean Michel JM Blottiere - Games for Change Europe

Co-President, Games for Change Europe

Sam Rodriguez, MD (he/him)

Physician, Stanford University

Grace Collins

CEO, Snowbright Studio

Quill (they/them) Kolat

Creative Manager, Snowbright Studio

Kelli Dunlap

Psychologist, American University

Jessica Murrey (she/her)

Co-Founder / CEO, W!CKED SAiNTS Studio

Kellee Santiago (she/they)

Head of External Publishing, Niantic, Inc.

Trinidad Hermida | @thisistrini (She/Her)

Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Niantic, Inc.

Sandro Olivieri (he/him)

Executive Director, Project FoundED

Violeta Ayala

Film Futurist, UnitedNotions Film / Prison X

Maize Longboat

Producer / Writer / Game Designer

Santo Aveiro

Game Designer, Brujería @ Werk

Phoebe Watson (she/her)

Game Designer

Naphtali (He/Him) Faulkner

Director, Origame Digital

Kate Gigliotti-Gordon (she/her)

Stay-at-Home Mom

Silver Spook

Game Developer, Silver Spook Games

Sabrina Culyba (she/her)

Owner & Game Designer, Ludoliminal

Mary E. Pratt (she/her)

Music Educator

Jason Horne

Managing Director, GSV Ventures

Michael DeAnda (he/him; she/her)

Professional Lecturer, DePaul University

Lisa Osborne

Director of Emerging Media, Black Public Media

Wendi Sierra (she/her)

Assistant Professor, Texas Christian University

Cody Mejeur (They/Them, She/Her)

Visiting Assistant Professor of Game Studies, University at Buffalo, SUNY

Lindsay Grace (he/him)

Knight Chair in Interactive Media, University of Miami; Vice President, Higher Education Video Game Alliance

David Langendoen

Founder / President, Electric Funstuff

Michelle Chen

Senior Producer, Kids' Media & Education, The WNET Group

Amelia Winger-Bearskin

Associate Professor of Artificial Intelligence and the Arts, University of Florida

Devon Wyland

UX Design Lead, 12traits

Cynthia Emami

Research Assistant, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos Business School

E. O. Adeola Babatunde

Research Associate, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos Business School

Eugene Ohu

Senior Lecturer, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos Business School

Morenike Alugo

Research Assistant, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos Business School

Kat Schrier

Director of Games / Associate Professor, Marist College

Judith Okonkwo

Founder, Imisi 3D

Kim Chouard

Global Education Senior Manager, Salesforce

Matt Omernick (he/him)

Chief Creative Officer, Akili Interactive

Luis Renato Olivalves

Head of Gaming Creators, Facebook

Rhonda Moore (she, her, hers)

Program Officer Global Health, NIH

Elan Schneider (He / Him)

Co-Founder / CEO, TrainPain

Val Vacante

Director of Strategy - Experience and Innovation, LiveArea

Alexandria Heston (She / Her)

UX Designer, Niantic Inc.

Ebby Wahman (she/her)

Senior Software Engineer, Niantic Labs

Phil Stuart (he / him)

Founder / Creative Director, Preloaded

Kelly White (she/her)

VP, Digital Product Strategy & Partnerships, Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products

Brian Schwab (he/him)

Interaction Design Director, LEGO Creative Play Lab

Jamil Moledina

CEO, Hexagram

Holly Pope

NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Immersed Games

Jerome Waldispuhl

Associate Professor, McGill University

Lindsey Tropf

Founder / CEO, Immersed Games

Attila Szantner

Co-Founder / CEO, MMOS

Monica (he/she mix it up) Arrambide

CEO, Maven Youth

Natasha Miller(she/her)

Senior Research Scientist, Fair Play Alliance / Blizzard Entertainment

Jenny Wu (she/her/hers)

Chief Product Officer, Understood

Kishonna (she/her) Gray

Professor, University of Illinois - Chicago

Steve Isaacs (he/him)

Education Program Manager, Epic Games

Alton Glass

CEO / Director, GRX Immersive Labs

Gita Barry (she/her)

EVP and General Manager, Real System, Penumbra

Romina Ruiz-Goiriena

National Correspondent, USA TODAY

Glenn Cantave

CEO, Movers and Shakers NYC

idris brewster

Founder / Chief Creative Officer, Movers and Shakers NYC

David Miller (he/him)

Program Director, National Cancer Institute

Ellysse Dick (she/her)

Policy Analyst, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

Joan O'Hara

Senior Director of Public Policy, XR Association

Margaret Wallace (she/her)

Game Industry Executive

Oleksii Netrebenko

Developer, Brinemedia

Mia Consalvo (she/her)

Canada Research Chair in Game Studies and Design, Concordia University

Drew Moger (he/him)

Graduate Assistant, American University Game Center

Jocelyn Wagner (they/them)

Graduate Assistant, American University

Andrew Phelps (he/him)

Professor, University of Canterbury / American University

DeLonn Crosby

CEO, SayKid

Veronica Weser

Associate Research Scientist, play4REAL XR Lab

Noel Ullom

Student

Jayda Murray (she/her)

Student

Marzuq Mazid

Student

Johnathan Sherrill

Student

Conor Russomanno

Founder / CEO, OpenBCI

Toks Bakare

Principal Consultant and Behaviour Analyst, asktoks.com

Maureen Berho (she/they)

Producer / CEO, Niebla Games

Alessadro Biollo

Business Development, Ludus Games

Valeria Colombo (She/Her)

Head of Engineering, Etermax ; Board Member, Women in Games Argentina

Nyambura Waruingi

Founder / Creative Director, Akoia & Company Ltd

Son M.

Co-Founder / Studio Director, Perfect Garbage

Ellis Bartholomeus

Play Alchemist, Ellis in Wonderland

Nuha Alkadi

Narrative Designer, Ubisoft Toronto

Malek Teffaha

Head of Communications and Localization, MENA / Ubisoft

Rami Ismail

Industry Ambassador

Adam Dube (he/him)

Associate Professor, Director of the Learning Sciences Program, McGill University

Jose Luis Vazquez-Poletti (he/him)

Associate Professor, Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Aaron Gani

Founder / CEO, BehaVR, Inc.

Anthony Castoro

CEO, HiDef, Inc.

Geneva Heyward

Gameplay Programmer, Glow Up Games

Rick Fox

Chief Business Development Officer, HiDef, Inc.

Gregg Katano (He/Him)

SVP of U.S. Operations / Partner, HOLOGATE

Estella Tse (she/her)

XR Creative Director

Kathryn Yu (she/her)

Executive Editor, No Proscenium

David Liu (He/Him)

Head of Studios, BetterUp

Michaela Ternasky-Holland (she/her)

Creative Strategist & Consultant, CRUX / Freelance

David Ball (he/him)

Director, SecondMuse

Jenn Panattoni

Head of Social Good, Xbox

Elizabeth Adams

Chief AI Ethics Advisor, EMA Advisory Services

Allen Turner (he/him/his)

Senior Professional Lecturer, DePaul University

Kahentawaks Tiewishaw (she/her)

Skins Workshop Associate Director, The Initiative for Indigenous Futures / Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace

Outi Laiti (She/Her)

Associate Researcher, University of Helsinki, Indigenous studies

Ekaterina Malievskaia (she/her)

Co-Founder / Chief Innovation Officer, COMPASS Pathways

Vicky & Jon Redstart Interactive

Director, Redstart Interactive

John Spinale

Managing Director, JAZZ Venture Partners

Margarita Belorukova

Business Development, Luden.io

Vicky Wei

Director, Redstart Interactive

Shel Mann

CEO, FireflyVR

Nanea Reeves

CEO, TRIPP, Inc.

Georgii (he/him) Kurgan

Marketing Manager, Luden.io

Kahlief Adams

Owner / Host, Spawn on Me, LLC

Jim Huntley

Professor / Head of Marketing, University of Southern California

Elaine Gómez

Co-Founder, Latinx in Gaming; Game Designer, Brass Lion Entertainment

Mark Barlet

Founder / Executive Director, The AbleGamers Charity

Afeez Bello (He/Him)

Senior Software Engineer / Tech Lead; Mojang Studios / Microsoft

Adam Elsesser

President / CEO / Chairman, Penumbra

Laura Higgins

Director of Community Safety and Digital Civility; Roblox

Martina Welkhoff (she/hers)

Managing Partner, WXR Fund

Estelle Tigani (she/her)

Cinematics Producer, Santa Monica Studio

John Wie

Content & Marketing Manager, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

Kate Edwards (she/her)

CEO / Executive Director, Geogrify / Global Game Jam

Leah Hoyer (she/her)

VP, Creative, Wizards of the Coast

Alanah Pearce (she/her/any)

Writer, Santa Monica Studio

🎮 Miranda Due

Associate Producer, Treyarch

Jeanette Bushnell

Co-Founder, The N.D.N. Players Research Group

Eleanore Falck

3D Environment Art Student, University of Wisconsin-Stout

Amber Taylor

CEO, ARA Journeys

Kari Kēhau Noe

Graduate Research Assistant, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa

Susan Rivers (she/her)

Executive Director & Chief Scientist, iThrive Games

Tyler Golson (he/him)

Senior Tech Advisor, Novetta

John Cook

Research Fellow, Monash University

Jon Roozenbeek

Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Cambridge

James Vaughan

Founder, Ndemic Creations

Sam Glassenberg

Founder / CEO, Level Ex

Bob Cunningham (he/him)

Understood

Diane Hickey

Program Director, National Science Foundation

Judith Brisson (She/Her)

History Teacher, Collège Jean de la Mennais

Maxime Durand (he/him)

World Design Director, Ubisoft Montreal

Daniel Kauwila Mahi he/him

PhD Student, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Dale Linegar (he/him)

Director, Games for Change Asia-Pacific

Louis Weinstock

CEO, Apart of Me

Raul Carvajal (he/him)

Director of Production & XR for Change, Games for Change

Amanda Sweaton (she/her)

MegaGrants Manager, Epic Games

Julie Lottering

Director of Education, Unreal Engine, Epic Games

Erin Hawley

Digital Content Producer, Easterseals / The Geeky Gimp

Chunan Huang

Programmer, Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center

Jack McClain (he/him)

Game Designer, Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center

Jayda Washington-Boothe

Student

Brendon Hale

Senior Principal Research Scientist, OptumLabs

Nse Ufot

CEO, The New Georgia Project

Brittan Heller

Counsel, Foley Hoag LLP

Laylah Bulman

Business Program Manager, Microsoft, Minecraft: Education Edition

Erik Leitner (he/him)

Chief Strategist, Florida Scholastic Esports League

Ariel Garten

Founder, Muse

Charles Nduka

Chief Scientific Advisor, Emteq Labs

Erika Siegel

Research Scientist, HP Inc.

Alex McDowell

Creative Director, Experimental Design

Aaron Wisniewski

Founder / CEO, OVR Technology

Jeremy Bailenson

Thomas More Storke Professor of Communication, Stanford University

Sarah Makdad

Community Developer, Focus Home Interactive

Alan Gershenfeld

Co-Founder / President, E-Line Media

Erinn Budd

Impact Producer, Crux

Katherine Moran

Associate Professor, Saint Louis University

Andres Waisberg

Director, Virtual 360

Rob Knight

Professor, University of California San Diego

Noelle Mazurek (she/her)

Production Coordinator, Games for Change

Dave Culyba (he/him)

Assistant Teaching Assistant Teaching Professor, Carnegie Mellon UniversityProfessor, Carnegie Mellon University

Matthew Farber

Assistant Professor, University of Northern Colorado

Sounak Ghosh (he/him)

3D Designer and Developer, New York University

Lindsay Hoover

Co-Founder, ImmersiveWorlds LLC

Stefania Maggi (she/her)

Associate Professor, Carleton University

Joanna Liu (she/they)

CEO, Cartographr Technologies Inc

Ian Southwell

Creative Director, Cleverlike Studios, Inc.

Pearly Chen

Vice President, HTC

Meriem Gray

Communications Lead, The World Bank

Malcolm Barnes

Director, Hollywood Gaming

Güven Çatak

Academic-Director, Bahçeşehir University Game Lab

Georgios Yannakakis

Director / Professor / Co-Founder, Institute of Digital Games / University of Malta / Modl.ai

Samir Ghosh

Assistant Director, Ahmanson Lab at USC

Chris Rush

Sr. Advisor for Innovation / Director of Education Technology, US Department of Education

John Hanke

Founder / CEO, Niantic, Inc.

Jeremy Dela Rosa

Founder / CEO, Leyline

Libby Falck

CEO, Forward Labs

Brenden Gibbons

Game & Narrative Designer, Studio Fizbin / Massive Miniteam

Felix Kramer

Producer, The Game Band

Josh Boykin

Founder / Editor-in-Chief, Intelligame

Stephen Reid

Customer Engagement PM, Microsoft

Lucy Hoffman (she/her)

Co-Founder / COO, Carry1st

Nichol Bradford

Co-Founder / Executive Director , Transformative Technology Org.

Stephanie Dinkins

Artist

Fei Wang

Project & Design Lead, Musitation

Jill King (she/her)

Senior Vice President, Marketing and Partnerships, WarnerMedia

Laila Shabir

Founder / CEO, Girls Make Games

John ( he/him ) Keefe

Co-Founder, Draw & Code

Charles Theuma

Principal, Saint Martin's Institute of Higher Education

Ricardo Kayanan

Department Director, Game Design & Development, University of Silicon Valley

Eduard Medina (He/Him)

3D Artist, Manticore Games

David P. Chiu (he/him)

Director of Creator Marketing, Manticore Games

Allan Cudicio

Game Designer/Founder at TwinDrums

Brian Niiya

Content Director, Densho

Nicole Cassier-Mason

CEO at Lemonade Day

DeAngelo Murillo

The Geek Lyfe

The event is over

Hosted by

Games for Change

Founded in 2004, Games for Change is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that empowers game creators and social innovators to drive real-world impact through games and immersive media.

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Booths

Unreal Engine

Preparing Students for the Jobs of Tomorrow

Apart of Me

Guiding Young People From Grief To Compassion

Beyond Blue

A narrative adventure into our planet's beating blue heart.

We Are The Caretakers

Defend your planet & animals from sci-fi poachers in this strategy RPG

iCivics

Free, digital games to engage students in meaningful civic learning

Legends of Learning

Explore our library of math, science, and career training games!

Supernatural

Real Coaches. Stunning Destinations. Finally, a Workout You'll Love

NYC Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment

Top Ten City for Game Developers

Disinfo Cloud

A counter-disinfo hub supported by the US DOS Global Engagement Center

Ubisoft

Enrich players' life by creating memorable gaming experiences

XR Association

Promoting the responsible development & adoption of VR, AR & MR.

Evil Geniuses

Live Evil Think Free

GamingMalta Foundation

Home of Gaming Excellence

Core Games

Your Portal to the Multiverse — Create, Publish, and Earn

Games for Change Latin America

The Latin America Chapter of Games for Change

Games for Change Europe

The Europe Chapter of Games for Change

Games for Change Asia-Pacific

The Asia-Pacific chapter of Games for Change

Games for Change Africa

The Africa chapter of Games for Change

Grand Story

The winning SGDP game from developers in Ukraine. You are an elderly woman living in a rural area. Apart from doing your daily routine, you are also waiting for a letter from a grandson.Will your grandson write a letter?

Paving the Way

Cross-Cultural Impact Jam Grand Prize Winner. See through the eyes of a visually impaired person by helping them navigate through town using tactile paving.

Automated Days

Cross-Cultural Impact Jam Most Creative Award. Play as a warehouse worker in an industry that only seeks to become more efficient, despite human well-being.

Mask

Cross-Cultural Impact Jam Making an Impact Award Winner. A game about masking, as well as the risks and rewards of revealing yourself to others.

Piggy

Cross-Cultural Impact Jam Best Visual Design Winner. - In this horror-themed platformer game, you are a pig trying to escape a slaughterhouse.

XR Brain Jam

A meeting of the minds between researchers and XR creators...

A Fold Apart

MOST INNOVATIVE: A puzzle game about a long-distance relationship in a world of folding paper.

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure

MOST SIGNIFICANT IMPACT: Even the smallest person can make a big difference.

Before I Forget

MOST INNOVATIVE: A narrative exploration of a woman living with dementia: love, loss and a life well-lived.

CHANGE: A Homeless Survival Experience

BEST GAMEPLAY: An emotional homeless survival experience within a randomly generated city with rogue-like elements.