Speakers

Allison Matthews is the purpose-driven head of Minecraft Education at Microsoft, focused on inspiring young people to build the skills they need to succeed in a rapidly changing world. She has led Minecraft Education’s product strategy and customer growth to what is now a global learning platform with impactful partnerships and millions of players. Previously executive producer of Minecraft Education, Matthews joined Microsoft in 2006 as a financial analyst. Prior roles at the company included marketing director, director of category management for wearables, director of business operations and planning for U.S. retail, and planning and strategy lead for Canada consumer sales and marketing.

Amanda "Manda" Farough is a multiclasser (narrative designer, writer, producer, and strategist) at the intersection of creativity and business in games. She's currently working on TMNT: Tactical Takedown as Executive Producer and Writer, as well as Lead Narrative Designer & Writer on Terrible Lizards (and an unannounced game). Manda is a mom of four, which brought her to co-author the Digital Playgrounds books with Dr. Rachel Kowert as an exploration of parenting with video games.

Ami Cai is the Project Manager for Digital Game Development at Empire State Development, New York State’s economic development agency supporting and promoting the industry. Ami's previous work experience in assisting game investment companies, branding and graphics for various video game studios, and digital community management. She received a Master’s of Fine Arts in Game Design at NYU Game Center and a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Communications Design from Pratt Institute.

Dr. Amy Patterson is Chief Program Officer at Urban Arts, where she is on a mission to power up the next generation of creators through game design and computer science. She manages U.S. DOE-funded grants that bring Urban Arts' educational programs in arts and technology to schools in NYC and beyond. An award-winning Career & Technical Education (CTE) educator with 15+ years of experience in STEAM education, Amy is passionate about building college and career pathways through game development. She believes in the power of games to inspire, educate, and engage students and communities.

With more than 15 years of experience in philanthropy and nonprofit management, Ann has had the privilege of leading Niagara Cares, Niagara Bottling’s philanthropic initiative to leave a legacy across the United States and into Mexico. This role allows her to blend her expertise in grantmaking, partnership development, and team building to create impactful programs. Previous roles include executive leadership roles for significant philanthropies investing worldwide.

JOSE ANTONIO TIJERINO is president and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF), a national nonprofit focused on education, workforce, societal impact and leadership through a cultural lens, which he describes as a “malleable mission.” Under Tijerino, HHF has been honored by The White House, US Congress, Fortune 500 companies, other nonprofits, and even the Government of Mexico. Tijerino is also executive producer of the Hispanic Heritage Awards at the Kennedy Center, which are broadcast on PBS. Prior, he was an executive at Fannie Mae Foundation, Nike, Burson Marsteller, and Cohn & Wolfe. Tijerino was honored with the “Ohtli Award” by the government of Mexico, which is the highest honor outside of Mexico; “Lifetime Achievement Award” by National PTA; Hispanics in Philanthropy “Giver Award;” “Vision Award” by Silicon Valley Latino Leadership; MALDEF “Human Rights Award;” Telemundo’s “Community Service Award;” “Civilian Impact Award” by US Army; “Brillante Award” by NSHMBA; “Estrella Award” by SHPE; “Digital Hero Award” by MMTC; “Cesar Chavez Award” by NHLI; multiple BRAVO Awards including “Pioneer Award,” and in the Greater Washington Hispanic Business Hall of Fame; among others. Tijerino has served and serves on various boards and advisory committees inlcuding Harvard’s Latino Leadership Initiative at the Kennedy School; University System of Maryland Foundation; HHTP (Hispanic Technology & Telecommunications Partnership); Independent Sector; National Girls Collaborative; America’s Promise Alliance; Games for Change; Ayuda; CSforAll; KID Museum; Notre Dame’s Exoneration Justice Clinic; Nielsen’s Latino Advisory Counsel; Coca-Cola’s Equity and Accountability Council; Disney’s Community Advisory Committee; WhiteBoard Advisors; and FCC’s Communications Equity and Diversity Council (CEDC); among others. As a proud immigrant from Nicaragua, Tijerino was recognized by FWD.US for his work with migrant families on the border through the Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, TX, and on the Mexico side. He also co-founded the American Project; #WeDreamAmerica campaign; #Masks4Farmworkers, which provided more than 2 million masks for farmworkers during the pandemic; DREAM LEAD for DACA recipients; and supported Imagination Stage’s Theatre For Change featuring the Oyeme! Project portraying the plight migrants; among other efforts. Tijerino co-produced the first Latinx-themed game with Minecraft and featured as a Minecraft character; produced an anti-hate tool kit with Nickelodeon; co-founded the Code as a Second Language (CSL) initiative, which has introduced 100,000 youth to coding; co-founded the LOFT (Latinos On Fast Track) Institute; co-found the Hispanic Leaders Alliance (HLA) with the NFL; and an educator’s “Maker Academy” with KID Museum to attract minority students into STEM; among other efforts. As host of the Fritanga Podcast, Tijerino presents Latino culture, unitiy, perspective, information, and inspiration with guests ranging from celebrities to policymakers to opinion leaders. He is designated as an “Influencer” on LinkedIn and was selected as “Top Voices on Diversity, Equity & Includsion” on the platform. His blogs and media presensence have made him a national voice on various issues. Tijerino earned a BS degree from the University of Maryland’s school of journalism, and honored with a Doctorate of Humane Letters from The Chicago School. He is a Salinas Fellow at the Aspen Institute and lives in Washington, DC, with his family.

I am currently studying to become a psychoeducator at the University of Montreal. My research interests focus on the impact of sport involvement on youth development. At the same time, I am contributing to the creation of the game The Road Ahead with the Ludic Mind Studio. This game guides players through lived experiences related to mental health struggles and explores different ways of coping with them.

Ashley Rosenbaum is the Lead Animator at Niantic Spatial Inc, the leader in geospatial AI and spatial intelligence, where she’s focused on building out immersive entertainment experiences. Prior to Niantic Spatial, she worked at Niantic, Inc. for over 3 years, merging games and social communities through augmented reality. At Niantic, she developed projects within the Peridot franchise, shipping across multiple platforms such as mobile, mixed-reality headsets, and AR glasses.

Neurodiverse, fluidly expressing, nomadic storytelling human. SXSW & UNICEF winning producer. Oscar Shortlist nominee. Worked in games mental health for Safe in our World. Consulted on social impact driven campaigns for Netflix, Sybo, Vice, Sony, the United Nations. Produced Just Play game jams, and served as judge for disinformation jams and labs with GGJ and UAL. Benn has previously spoken at the Paris Olympics, GDC, Gamescom, Develop, Devcom, Davos, the UN High Level Political Forum.

Biagi makes games! I thrive on collaboration, sharing knowledge, and fostering connections through playful interactions and creative projects. My work explores the peculiarities of our human existence, using humor and play to strengthen bonds within the greatest community of all—humanity.

Bonnie Liu is a Master's student in Human Centered Design & Engineering at University of Washington and UX designer at Qualtrics. As part of a five-person team for her graduate capstone project, her team partnered with Washington Interactive Learning Alliance (WILA) to investigate critical challenges in educational game design, developing insights to create more engaging and effective learning experiences in classrooms.

Brendon is a seasoned designer of learning games and interactive educational experiences. Harnessing the power of play, he creates work that engages and inspires, making learning natural and joyful for users of all ages. He graduated from the New Media Design program at Rochester Institute of Technology in 2008 and has been in playful education since. He has produced many innovative learning experiences for the classroom and beyond alongside leading organizations such as Games for Change, Institute of Play, Quest to Learn, BrainPOP, and Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

Caelan is a master's student studying game design at NYU. He has a BA in English and creative writing from Brandeis University, and decided to return to school to pursue his passion in game design.

Caroline has over 12 years of experience in production and external development at EA and Riot Games. Through her consulting work, she advocates for sustainable, ethical development practices, strong partnerships, and greater inclusion in game development.

Christina (Tina) Thomas, LSCW,/MS- Tina is the Children and Families Grief Support Coordinator at Blue Ridge Hospice, located in Winchester VA. As a hospice professional, she has been serving dying and grieving populations for over 10 years. Tina earned her Master's of Science in Child Development from Erikson Institute in Chicago in 2012. A year later she earned her Master’s of Social Work with an emphasis in Medical Social Work. She is a Certified Advanced Grief Specialist and a Therapeutic Game Master, allowing her to combine her love of games and grief work.

Clayton Weimers is the Executive Director of RSF USA, the North American branch of Reporters Without Borders (RSF). He oversees an office which monitors press freedom across English-speaking North America and advances RSF's global priorities to advocate for journalist safety and everyone's right to information. His writing on press freedom has appeared in publications including the Washington Post, Newsweek, The Hill, and the Independent. He originally joined RSF USA as its Deputy Director for Advocacy after a career in political campaigns. He holds an AM in International Relations from the University of Chicago and a BA from Pitzer College.

Dan Norton is the CCO and a founding partner at Filament Games. He loves approaching each new project at Filament as an opportunity to find authentic passion and engagement around learning new things. Dan blends his love for game design with his love of collaborative creativity to support Filament’s design and artistic teams.

Danny Pimentel is an Assistant Professor, Fellow at Yale’s Program on Climate Change Communication, and co-Director of the University of Oregon’s Reality Lab where he develops and studies immersive storytelling for social impact. His projects have been supported by Meta, Snapchat, Unity 3D, and National Geographic, among others. His research has been published in peer-reviewed venues such as Nature Scientific Reports, New Media and Society, and Journal of Nature Conservation, among others.

DEEPAK CHOPRA MD, FACP, FRCP, is a physician and the leading authority on Integrative Well-Being and Spiritual Intelligence, Founder of Cyberhuman.ai and DeepakChopra.ai. Chopra is a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego, and serves as a senior scientist with Gallup Organization. He is also an Honorary Fellow in Medicine at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. He is the author of over 95 books, translated into over forty-three languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. For the last thirty years, Chopra has been at the forefront of the meditation revolution. His mission is to create a more balanced, peaceful, joyful and healthier world. Through his teachings, he guides individuals to embrace their inherent strength, wisdom, and potential for personal and societal transformation. In his next book, *Awakening: The Path to Freedom and Enlightenment* (Harmony/Rodale, 01/06/25), Chopra offers the power to free you from the limitations of ego into a life marked by inner and outer peace, purpose, and boundless possibility. TIME magazine has described Dr. Chopra as “one of their top 100 most influential people.” www.deepakchopra.com

Diane Urban is an established consultant in digital media, entertainment, and education. Diane has led the development of award-winning mobile and web-based games for prominent clients like General Mills, Pokémon, Disney Publishing, and Disney Citizenship. She holds a Master’s degree in Technology, Innovation, and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor’s degree from Duke University. Diane currently leads program development for the Geena Davis Institute’s gaming initiatives and serves as the Institute’s NY Council Chair.

Didar Güzelkara is a researcher and game designer specializing in therapeutic games. She is the Program Coordinator of Games for Change Türkiye and is responsible for international projects in the Game Design Department at Bahçeşehir University. Her work focuses on using games as tools for mental health, well-being, and social impact.

Dr. John W. Borchert is the Director of Videogaming and Esports Studies as UNC Greensboro. His teaching and research engage gaming and esports through a cross disciplinary lens, with a particular focus on engaging the arts and humanities in STEM fields. As an Unreal Academic Partner, UNCG's VES program looks to industry standards to guide curricular and research profiles to create impact for students and the community.

Drew Davidson is a professor, producer and player of interactive media. His background spans academic, industry and professional worlds and he is interested in stories and transformational experiences across texts, comics, games and other media. He explores the art, design, and science of making media that matters, working to expand our notions of what media are capable of doing, and what we are capable of doing with media. He is an expert in leading creative collaborations with interdisciplinary groups, orchestrating change, and building initiatives focused on making positive social impact. He is a Teaching Professor at the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University and is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Play Story Press, an open community publishing consortium, and the Well Played series and journal.

Edward Metz is a developmental psychologist, researcher, and nationally recognized leader in education technology innovation, with over two decades of experience catalyzing the R&D and commercialization of impactful learning technologies (including dozens of learning games!) through government investment. As the former manager of ED/IES SBIR and founder of the ED Games Expo, Ed has advised hundreds of developers and researchers whose products reached tens of millions of students and pioneered new models for scaling evidence-based edtech. Today, Ed continues to consult with small businesses and is leading a new project to create a novel testbed platform to accelerate research to inform product development and validation.

Elizabeth D. Kilmer, PhD, is a clinical psychologist dedicated to education and research on applied games and resilient gaming communities. She has developed therapeutic groups utilizing table-top role-playing games to promote well-being, social connection, and interpersonal effectiveness in children, adolescents, and adults. Dr. Kilmer is a leading expert on therapeutic applications of games, and co-authored Therapeutically Applied Role-Playing Games. Dr. Kilmer is leading training and research on the Blue Ridge Hospice Adventures Through Grief program, supporting grief centers in providing this innovative approach for teens and young adults, while researching the efficacy and generalizability of therapeutically applied role-playing games in grief settings.

Accomplished Director of Learning with over 20 years of experience, specializing in the development of impactful digital learning strategies and products within the SaaS sector. At Unity Technologies, I spearhead a team to revolutionize learning experiences, achieving a 40% year-over-year growth in creator engagement and tripling retention success. My expertise encompasses crafting scalable learning solutions, applying adult learning principles, using generative AI to streamline content production, and driving strategic alignment across global teams to foster professional growth and product adoption. By leveraging AI-driven content creation tools, I've optimized the production process, ensuring timely delivery and high-quality learning materials. My leadership in curriculum development and instructional design has consistently delivered measurable business impacts, positioning me as a strategic asset for driving learning and enablement initiatives.

Enora Le Roux is a French research methodologist and public health researcher. Her expertise lies at the intersection of research methodology, health intervention evaluation, and healthcare pathway improvement. She leads and contributes to numerous nationally and internationally funded research projects, and is associated with more than 40 scientific publications. Since 2017, she has been utilizing video games for health promotion purposes. Her interest in improving children's and adolescents' health is reflected in her active involvement in several professional networks, notably as vice-president of the French Adolescent Health and Medicine Research Group and coordinator of European recommendations on healthcare improvement for adolescents with chronic diseases.

Eric Monacelli is an Executive Producer for Marvel Games. He is Marvel’s supervising project lead for multiple franchises, including Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise, and the upcoming Marvel's Wolverine game, having most recently shipped Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. He manages the teams working with Electronic Arts on the upcoming Iron Man project and a game based on Marvel’s Black Panther as well as the team working on Marvel’s 1943: Rise of Hydra. He leads game development collaboration, ensures game brand authenticity, oversees game franchise and creative strategy, and spearheads cross-functional planning across multiple Marvel gaming projects. He also represents Marvel Games for select Marvel and Disney corporate initiatives.   He has worked at Infinity Ward (Call of Duty), Naughty Dog (The Last of Us, UNCHARTED), Capcom (Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Okamiden), 2K Games (MLB, NBA, Civilization, Borderlands, BioShock, Elder Scrolls), and Atari (Ghostbusters) in various production, communications, and marketing roles having launched multiple award-winning and best-selling video games in his career. He’s spent nineteen years in the gaming industry and is credited on over 40 games in Production, Marketing, and even VO roles. His first major title shipped was 2K’s BioShock in 2007.   He has been a guest speaker at Harvard, MIT, NYU, and Penn State, a Forbes 30 under 30 judge, an AIAS/DICE Awards judge, a Games for Change Judge, and has served on the SXSW Gaming Advisory Board. He loves dogs, animals, baseball, hiking, and reading above all other terrestrial preoccupations.  

Eric Zimmerman is insatiably playful. He designs games that play with culture - like Dear Reader, a smartphone game published by Apple that uses public domain literature as the basis for word puzzle games (with Local No.12). He invents new spaces for play - like large-scale installations for MoMA and the Smithsonian American Art Museum (with Nathalie Pozzi). He writes about game design - like the field-defining textbook Rules of Play (with Katie Salen) and The Rules We Break, a compendium of exercises for teaching design through games and play. And he is always experimenting with new games - like RATS: High Tea At Sea, a tabletop game of nasty social politics (with Josh DeBonis). Teaching is a core part of his design practice and Eric is a founding faculty at the NYU Game Center, where he can be found getting design students to play playground games as they learn about creativity, collaboration, and problem solving. If you ask him nicely, he will definitely play with you.

Erika N. Ewing is the Senior Director of Interactive Ventures and Games as part of the Global Products & Experience group at Lionsgate. In her role, she works closely with top game developers, publishers and filmmakers to create and launch games centered around the studio’s film and television properties.    Ewing has led major AAA video game collaborations for Lionsgate, including Billy The Puppet’s appearance in Fortnite for the 2024 Fortnitemares event with Epic Games, as well as SAW x Call of Duty: Warzone as part of Activision’s Haunting of Verdansk and Saw x Rocket League. She oversaw the creative development and launch of STARZ’s Ash vs Evil Dead within Evil Dead: The Game in 2022, and served as project lead on Power Rangers: Legacy Wars and Battle for the Grid, Blair Witch (Bloober). She has also worked on various collaborations, including SAW characters such as ‘The Pig’ within Dead by Daylight, as well as Rambo crossovers. Additional highlights include launching Academy Adventures presented by The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes in Roblox, and the first 17+ IP-based experience with Saw X: Survive The Obby, in collaboration with Six Flags and Xbox, both in 2023.  Ewing holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Producing from The American Film Institute Conservatory (AFI) where she produced over eight films, including a VR short, and an award-winning short titled Rougarou led by an all-women filmmaker team that became an official selection of San Diego Comic-Con 2017. She also holds double Bachelor’s degrees in Communications – Broadcast Journalism and Theatre: Performance from Central Washington University. Prior to joining Lionsgate, Ewing worked at G4TV’s hit gaming news show X-Play, Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures, and was a Frag Doll Cadette with Ubisoft Entertainment serving as an advocate for women in the pro-gaming space.

Georg Broxtermann is the Founder of the GamesForest.Club, a non-profit connecting gaming companies with impactful climate action. Based in Berlin and Munich, he drives innovation at the intersection of gaming and sustainability. A serial entrepreneur and Business Angel, Georg also leads GameInfluencer, a global influencer marketing company for games and tech.

President, Games for Change Latin America

As CEO and Co-Founder of Sea Monster Entertainment, a leading impact games studio based in Cape Town, Glenn leads a world-class team dedicated to creating games that drive social and business change at scale. Since 2011, Sea Monster has delivered over 80 games and gamified experiences to leading corporations & public benefit organisations globally. Glenn is the chairperson of Games for Change Africa, where he leads a board of industry professionals across the continent to advance strategic initiatives & programmes that promote social impact & economic growth through gaming in Africa.

Gordon is a Professor of the Practice of Cinematic Arts at USC and the Director of Cinematic Ethics, helping to cultivate the next generation of leaders in our craft. He has played key business and product leadership roles at Tencent, Electronic Arts, as a designer on Madden NFL Football, and MTV Networks. In 2020, Bellamy was honored by Games for Change as their Vanguard Award winner for his contributions to the craft. In 2019, he was awarded the first ever Jerry Lawson Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2018 he was featured in Nickelodeon's Black History Month. Currently, he is featured in Netflix's Game Documentary, High Score, Amazon’s It’s In The Game Docuseries, and on The World According to Jeff Goldblum on Disney + . Gordon serves as the Executive Director / CEO of the Gay Gaming Professionals and on the Board of Directors of Wave and has served as Executive Director of both the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences and the International Game Developers Association. He is a graduate of Harvard College with a BA in Engineering, and resides with his husband Joe Heally, and their dog, Colby Janet, in Los Angeles, California.

Assoc. Dr. Güven Çatak started to write in video game magazines and make short films while studying architecture at İstanbul Technical University. His shorts won several awards and were screened at various festivals. He continued his games career as an academic at Bahçeşehir University (BAU). His media network and academic studies empowered him to found "BUG Lab" which kickstarted the indie game scene in İstanbul and eventually transformed into an education and incubation platform. In 2024 he started Games for Change Türkiye Chapter.

Hans ten Cate is the co-founder of Breakthrough T1D Play, uniting the video game industry to fund type 1 diabetes research. Inspired by his daughter’s diagnosis, he’s helped raise over $7M since 2019 to accelerate progress toward a cure. An entrepreneur and games industry veteran, he has supported startups and held roles at PlayStation, Electronic Arts, and Deluxe. He holds an MA in Public Policy and an MBA.

Award-winning author/journalist Harold Goldberg is president of NYVGCC and the New York Game Awards. He is The New York Times' video game critic, is the author of the upcoming novel The Skinny and All Your Base Are Belong to Us (How 50 Years of Videogames Conquered Pop Culture) (Crown).

Noriaga is a gaming content creator that focuses on the medieval melee-action game For Honor and hardcore survival game DayZ. His focus is to provide an immersive experience for the viewer in an inclusive environment. Noriaga enjoys building a community of likeminded players.

James Delaney is the Chairman of the Block by Block Foundation, a non-profit partnership with UNHabitat which uses Minecraft as a public participation tool in urban design, helping communities reimagine their own city spaces. James is also the Director of BlockWorks, a content creation team working on metaverse experiences inside Minecraft. Over the last decade, BlockWorks has pioneered the use of Minecraft as a versatile digital platform to create, inspire and educate.