Speakers

Adam Dolin is a writer with 17 years in games. Credits include God of War (WGA Award, BAFTA), God of War Ragnarök (Game Awards Best Narrative), and Horizon Forbidden West. He's a creative consultant with clients including SEGA, Netflix, and iam8bit, and teaches narrative design at ELVTR. His work focuses on systems-driven storytelling and collaborative pipelines between writers and other disciplines in game dev. For more information, check out GameDevDolin.com

Ahmed is an executive producer, actor, writer, director, producer, host, educator, and futurist. Writer of Jar Jar #1 (Marvel Comics, Lucasfilm) Director of South ofMidnight (Microsoft Xbox/Compulsion Games.) Producer and host of Star Wars Jedi Temple Challenge (Telly Award Winner.) Executive producer writer and director of The Nebula (web series.) Executive producer, writer and director of This Can’t Be My Life (web series.)Writer of Sherlok and Holmes (Universal Studios Animation.) Writer of Captain E.O. (Disney Animation.) Executive Producer The DL Chronicles (GLAAD Media Award winner.) Creator and Director of Dinner at Lola (web series.) Ahmed created and plays Jedi Master Kelleran Beq in The Mandalorian, the first CGI main character in movie history, Jar Jar Binks, and starred in the Broadway musical Stomp. Host of Recording Artists Podcast (Getty Museum Podcast. Anthem Award, W3 award, Webby Award, Communicator Award.) Professor at USC School Of Dramtic Arts, Professor at Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of design. He’s a Senior Fellow at USC’sAnnenberg School for Journalism and Communication. Co-Founder of the AfroRithm Futures Group and host of The Afrofuturist Podcast.

Alan Lewis Head of Global Corporate Communications Take-Two Interactive Alan Lewis is a communications professional with over 30 years of expertise working within the interactive entertainment industry. Since 2008, Mr. Lewis has served as Head of Corporate Communications for Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO). In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the Company’s corporate communications initiatives and media relations. Mr. Lewis also serves as the Chairman of Take-Two’s Charitable Giving Committee, spearheading the Company’s philanthropy initiatives. Prior to Take-Two, Mr. Lewis was a Senior Vice President with Edelman in New York, where he led the agency’s Digital Media Practice, representing such clients as CA Technologies and Sony Ericsson. Earlier in his career, he worked with several leading interactive entertainment and digital media companies, including Acclaim Entertainment, GT Interactive Software and MusicNet; as well as top-tier PR firms such as Burson-Marsteller and MSL. Mr. Lewis is a Board Member of GamesforChange.org and the Entertainment Software Association Canada, and serves on the Advisory Board for the Animation Industry Council that is run by the New York Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment. Mr. Lewis holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Stony Brook University.

Ben Kertman is the founder of Future People Lab, a behavior change studio that designs research-backed tools for social problems. His flagship project, Disagree Differently, is a cooperative card game built from 589 behavioral techniques across 47 fields, refined with hundreds of players at MIT, Harvard, and Princeton. The game teaches constructive disagreement as a practiced, embodied skill. His work sits at the intersection of public health, behavioral science, and game design.

Alexander Lee is GamesBeat's lead news writer. Before joining GamesBeat, he spent four years as a senior reporter at Digiday, where his coverage of gaming, esports and the world of content creators resulted in a nomination for Journalist of the Year at the 2023 Esports Awards. In addition to speaking frequently at gaming and advertising industry events, Alexander is an adjunct instructor at New York University, where he teaches the business of gaming and esports.

Victor Seidel is a 20-year-old Brazilian developer and entrepreneur, certified as a Systems Development Technician. He works independently on web, software, and game projects, and founded his own tech company at a young age. Victor has hands-on experience in full development, with indie games and projects published under his own name.

Allisyn is passionate about creating meaningful, playful, inclusive learning experiences that inspire kids to be curious, creative, critical thinkers, and collaborators. She offers the unique perspective of a parent, teacher, product strategist, learning designer, community creator, and partner with over 10 years of teaching experience and 18 years developing, implementing, and overseeing innovative educational programs for formal and informal learning. Prior to joining the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, she worked as a Product Strategist for the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at MIT Media Lab, and played an integral role in the creation, launch, and continued development of multiple features at the educational website, BrainPOP.

Amelia Avery is Senior Manager of Global Inclusion & Social Impact at Zynga, a Take-Two Interactive company, where she leads global initiatives spanning inclusion, employee engagement, community impact, and emerging talent. With 17+ years of experience, she builds partnerships that connect business, culture, and social good through innovation, storytelling, and play. Amelia is also a speaker, podcast host, and advocate for creating lasting impact through human-centered leadership.

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 Duncan holds a Ph.D in neuropsychology and has a background in academia, e-learning, as well as impact games and immersive technologies. She is passionate about creating engaging and impactful learning experiences that go beyond the acquisition of knowledge. In addition to running her own neuropsychology practice, she consults on projects and programmes from a monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) perspective and also holds the position of Programme Director for Games for Change Africa where she runs the chapter’s initiatives and events, increasing the G4C footprint on the African continent.

Andrei is a postdoctoral fellow and part-time faculty member at Concordia University. He focuses on how 'resonance' is utilized as a corporate design strategy in cultural adaptation practices of AAA game studios, and the process of game legitimation across award institutions drawing cultural capital from legacy media. Andrei is a co-author of Streaming by the Rest of Us (MIT Press, 2025), and has published work in New Media & Society, Convergence, Games & Culture and the Journal of Consumer Culture. He consults for the New York Times, La Presse, Le Devoir, and other newspapers worldwide.

Angad is the Chapter Lead for Games for Change India, where he works at the intersection of video games, social impact, and public engagement to help build India’s gaming-for-good ecosystem. He also works closely with UNESCO on gender equality in gaming and co-authored The Gender Equality Quest in Video Games, which was launched at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

Angelina Shi is an Interactive Media Producer at PBS Wisconsin. She works to create innovative interactive content, such as video games, websites, and virtual tours, intended to inform and inspire public media audiences. In her free time, she can often be found playing D&D at the local game store.

Anjali Bhimani is an award-winning actor known for roles including Symmetra in Overwatch and Rampart in Apex Legends. Her work spans TV, Broadway, tabletop RPGs, and gaming, including Ms. Marvel, Critical Role, Dimension 20, and more. She created The Puppy Roll, a charity livestream event that has raised over $60,000 for animal rescue efforts and earned three Anthem Awards. She is the bestselling author of I Am Fun Size, and So Are YOU! and a G4C Global Ambassador. @sweeetanj on IG/TT/FB & YT.

Asante Asiedu is the founder of Udēēsa, an immersive learning platform focused on building accessible XR systems for youth, educators, and cultural institutions. His work centers on lightweight, cross-device experiences that support skill-building, reflection, and educator-guided learning. He is a 2026 Well-Being by Design Fellow with the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and a presenter at iLRN 2026.

Ashwin Desai leads games, experiences and new IP franchises at OneTeam Partners, the world leader in athlete group licensing. He works at the intersection of sports and culture, partnering with brands, consumer businesses and creators to build athlete-driven digital products, physical properties, and original media franchises. Previously, Ashwin was Director of Growth Strategy for new and emerging sports franchises at 2K Games, and Head of Digital Media Rights, Games and Experiences at Formula 1.

Austyn is a Project Manager at Current Studios, where he leads the delivery of immersive educational technology that gets students excited to learn. His work with Verizon has centered on building AR-powered learning platforms that turn classroom subjects into hands-on, explorable worlds. Across these projects, he has managed everything from concept and creative direction through technical delivery, partnering with clients and creative teams to bring large-scale edtech to life.

Ayesha Kazi is the co-founder and COO of ASL Aspire, a game-based edtech platform that teaches STEM to Deaf students. She holds a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science from UIUC and is currently an MBA Candidate at Chicago Booth. Ayesha is passionate about expanding access to high-quality education through inclusive game design. Her work combines technology, education, and accessibility to bridge language and STEM learning, reimagining how educational games can serve diverse learners.

Azadeh Jamalian, PhD, is the Founder and CEO of The GIANT Room co-design lab for families and schools. Through her leadership at The GIANT Room, Jamalian has collaborated with more than 15,000 schools, libraries and organizations including Joan Ganz Cooney Center, Scratch Foundation, Verizon, Nike, and Lysol - to deliver community engagement initiatives, co-design research, and learning programs that sit at the intersection of creative STEM and the responsible use of technology, including AI.

Dr. Barbara Chamberlin directs development of games and research at NMSU’s department of Innovative Media, Research and Extension. The professional instructional design studio develops transformational games, virtual reality, interactive media and apps for education in K-12, college, adult and professional development. Previously a stand-up comic, she changed careers to capture the power of educational technology, especially through game based learning.

Barry Joseph is the Principal of Barry Joseph Consulting, a leader in innovating solutions for learning in a digital age. An early developer of after-school game design youth programming, Barry has been a national leader in both games-based learning and games for social impact, producing dozens of curriculums and games. He teaches Digital Design for Museum-based Learning at New York University, based on his book Dancing with Dinosaurs: A Toolkit for Digital Design in Museums. Work and clients include the American Museum of Natural History, Girl Scouts of the USA, the RAND Corporation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the International Criminal Court. Barry has been featured by the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, CBS Morning News, All Things Considered, and many more. He is also the co-founder of the Games for Change Festival. His most recent book is Matching Minds with Sondheim: The Puzzles and Games of the Broadway Legend. Learn more at his website: MatchingMindsWithSondheim.com.

Benjamin Stokes is the author of "Locally Played: Real-World Games for Stronger Places." He is an associate professor with the Game Center at American University, where he leads the Playful City Lab. He is one of the original co-founders of Games for Change. Previously, Benjamin worked at the MacArthur Foundation in their portfolio on Digital Media and Learning. His designs for cities have been featured in the Smithsonian and the Guggenheim, from repurposed payphones to crowd-mapping by bicycle.

As founder of Midwest Games, Ben Kvalo is helping lead the evolution of games publishing models, including coining a new publishing model, Shadow Publishing, providing more flexible and sustainable support for publishers and developers. Ben is an entertainment and video games leader, most recently having built out films and games while at Netflix. Previously, Ben has worked at two of the largest global video game companies, 2K and Blizzard, working across various roles in publishing, marketing, and technology. Ben has worked on some of entertainment's biggest brands including Bird Box, Extraction, Army of the Dead, and over 50 other titles. In video games, he has worked on major franchises like NBA2K, Borderlands, BioShock, Civilization, Mafia, and all of Blizzard’s Esports brands, having helped to publish over 100 titles. Ben is proudly Midwestern, originally from Wisconsin, having graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Bola Akinrolabu is a Program Assistant Director at the Endless Games and Learning Lab at Arizona State University, where he works at the intersection of gaming, education, and social impact. He leads efforts to scale game-based learning programs that expand access to digital skills and future-of-work opportunities globally, particularly for underserved communities. His work focuses on reimagining education through play, creativity, and immersive technologies, aligning with global development goals around education and economic growth. At the Endless Lab, he helps build relationships that connect learning, industry, and innovation to prepare learners for emerging careers.

Brett is an experience designer and maker focusing on ways new technologies can shape and respond to visitor engagement with and within museums. As Senior Project Manager, Emerging Technologies in the Audience Engagement Group at The Met, Brett leads audience-centered pilots, prototypes, projects, and partnerships focused on new tech.

Calvin Gray is the Founder and Executive Director of Bad Ape, a leading Roblox agency connecting purpose and play. Based in Malta, Bad Ape designs immersive experiences for brands and nonprofits reaching Gen Z and Gen Alpha; from a Webby-honored ASEAN campaign with AirAsia and Agoda, to Shorty Award–winning impact experiences tackling gender stereotypes, mental health, and social change. His work has engaged millions of youth across 180+ countries.

Can Oral, also an award-winning filmmaker, has been envisioning games as Cultic’s creative director for nearly a decade. Not a stranger to raising social awareness through the medium, as he donated a portion of the profits from Cultic's second game, Cats and the Other Lives, to medical care for Istanbul's street cats. In addition to his creative endeavors, he teaches game design at Bahcesehir University's Video Game Design Department.

As Assistant Director of Family Programs and Initiatives at MoMA, Cari Frisch creates programs, resources, and hands-on experiences that connect families with art and with one another. A member of the Learning & Engagement Department since 2005, her work has included developing a creative play app, co-authoring Art Making with MoMA, and designing the game Everyone’s a Critic. Interested in the intersection of games and visitor engagement, Cari was a 2026 Games for Change Game Plan Fellow.

Celia Hodent, PhD in psychology, is recognized as a leader in the application of user experience and cognitive science in the game industry. Through her 16-year experience in game studios (Ubisoft, LucasArts, & director of UX at Epic Games), she has contributed in advancing the topics of UX strategy, inclusion, and ethics in games. Author of the critically acclaimed book The Gamer’s Brain, Celia is the founder of the Game UX Summit & Ethical Games, and works today as an independent consultant.

Celia Zimmermann is the Head of Player Experience at SYBO, the mobile games studio behind the global hit Subway Surfers. With a decade of experience in mobile and free-to-play games, she has spent the past seven years building communities and leading communication and engagement strategies for Subway Surfers, Subway Surfers City, and SYBO.

Champika Fernando is the CEO and President of Scratch. They first joined Scratch back in 2011 and have played many roles, most famously a sprite in the sprite library. Champika returned to Scratch in 2026 with a renewed focus on our creative community.

Chris Dede is a Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Chris is a Co-Principal Investigator and Associate Director for Research of the NSF-funded National Artificial Intelligence Institute in Adult Learning and Online Education. He is a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association, a Fellow of the Online Learning Consortium, a Scholar of the Immersive Learning Research Network, and a Distinguished Fellow of the Learning Engineering Network.

Christopher Stare is a people scientist, user researcher, and assessment designer dedicated to bridging the gap between human cognition and design. After researching learning and memory at the University of Arizona, he transitioned to industry, where he leverages psychological insights to enhance digital experiences. His personal passion for gaming led him to his current role at Roblox, where he collaborates closely with game designers to build innovative, game-based tools for talent discovery and professional development. By synthesizing academic research, iterative user testing, experimental design, and personal gaming insights, Christopher ensures that Roblox’s internal game-based tools are valid, reliable, and deeply engaging.

UCI Informatics Professor researching cognition and social interaction in multiplayer games. Former Senior Policy Analyst in Obama White House OSTP. Work featured in Science, Wired, USA Today, New York Times, LA Times, ABC, CBS, CNN NPR, BBC.

Cristina Amaya is Director of Events and Production at Makeshift Partners focused on User Generated Content. She is founder of Latinx in Gaming and currently serves on the board. She has a decade of experience in gaming across Riot, Unity, Google and more.

Danial Ezzati is an award-winning game designer and XR/VR developer leading the Immersive Learning Lab at Con Edison. He created Digital Creative Reconstruction (DCR), a methodology using games and immersive media to preserve cultural heritage and counter digital colonization. His project, TIME: Journey to Nowruz, won the RPI GameFest Impact Award for transforming Persian rituals into interactive play. Danial bridges technology, storytelling, and cultural advocacy to foster empathy and social impact.

Daniel brings a deep commitment to community well-being and digital safety to his work. A graduate of Northwestern University, he began his career in public education through Teach For America while earning his M.Ed. Daniel transitioned into the tech sector, initially focusing on educational content before moving into Trust & Safety work. At Twitter, Daniel played a key role in community protection, with a focus on election integrity. Since 2023, Daniel has served on the Civility team, leveraging his expertise to build programs that promote community well-being, advance safety education, and embed prosocial design to foster a positive, connected experience for the Roblox community.

Daniel is a Senior Educational Game Designer at Roblox, specializing in the intersection of deep engagement and learning. Currently leading design strategy for the Roblox Learning team, he has spent the last four years at the company developing assessment tools, educational games and helping global brands navigate the platform's unique gameplay ecosystem. His work is informed by a deep entrepreneurial background, having spent over two decades as the founder and Creative Director of Octopi, a studio focused on competitive, multiplayer live-service games.

Danielle Tulchinsky is an art director and game designer whose work moves fluidly between digital games, learning tools, and physical experiences while staying grounded in curiosity, connection, and community. She has contributed to digital games for organizations including Roblox and Sesame Street, designed teacher professional development games and learning materials at The Agile Teacher Lab, and built phygital exhibits for the Digital Futures Institute. Along the way, she has founded and worked at a handful of game startups and taught in art studios and maker spaces. She has an MA in Technology, Media, and Learning from Teachers College and serves on the board of directors of the Children's Media Association.

Danny Marti is Head of Public Affairs and Global Policy at Tencent, where he oversees the company’s global public affairs function and policy engagement across Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. He joined Tencent in 2021 and sits on the Tencent Americas Management Committee. He is currently also a Board Observer at Funcom, best known for its “Conan” and “Dune” video game series. Prior to Tencent, Marti served as the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, also known as the White House “IP Czar,” during the Obama administration. His earlier career in the private sector included serving as Head of Global Government Affairs at RELX, a London-based FTSE 100 company, as well as the Vice Chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC). He is a graduate of Georgetown University and the Emory University School of Law, and currently serves on the Emory Law Alumni Board, the Board of Directors at the International Trademark Association (INTA) and the Global IP Alliance (GLIPA).

Dan White is a founding partner and CEO at Filament Games. Founded in 2005, Filament Games employs 46 people and has developed over 400 learning games. Prior to founding Filament, Dan worked as a teacher, instructional designer, and game developer.

Darko Petrovic is the gaming partnerships lead at the World Food Programme, the UN’s frontline humanitarian agency fighting hunger. He worked in numerous countries and emergencies around the world, witnessing first-hand the challenges and the heartbreak of humanitarian action, but also the resilience, grace and creative spirit of people living through crisis and food insecurity. Reach out to Darko if you too want to conspire against world hunger and game the food system together with WFP.

David Gagnon is the Director of Field Day, a games studio and research laboratory in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Field Day’s games are played millions of times yearly, primarily in school contexts, and have won dozens of awards. Field Day’s research revolves around the use of game data to inform design, theory, teaching and learning at scale by teaming researchers and artists with computers.

David Kleeman is SVP of Global Trends for research firm and games studio Dubit, and principal at consultancy Playvangelist. As a strategist, analyst, author, speaker and connector, he’s led the children’s media industry toward sustainable, kid-friendly practices for 35+ years. David is advisory board chair to the worldwide children’s TV festival PRIX JEUNESSE and on the board of KidFirst.ai. In 2023, he was in inducted into the Children’s and Family Emmy Silver Circle, for 25+ years of service.

David Ruzicka is a creative thinker with a weird last name and even weirder dreams. He is a specialist in immersive storytelling, with multiple years of writing, creative directing, and design management experience for themed entertainment clients at Netflix, Walt Disney Imagineering, Universal Creative, Weta Workshop, MYCOTOO, Kennedy Space Center, Knott’s Berry Farm, and more. Ruzicka had a part in the writing and performance directing for every offering at the Netflix Houses in Dallas and Philly. He often executes creative concepts for live activations, including unique experiences for storyworlds such as Fallout, Uncharted, Westworld, and The Black Phone.

Despoina is side questing through life and game designer is the latest of many creative titles D holds. Her interests include theatricality in games, live play/performance mediated by game systems, and player creativity. As a designer by way of the theatre, D makes games where players either tell stories or unravel them.

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 and (by Courtesy) the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. He is the Founding President and Editor-in-Chief of Play Story Press, an open community publishing consortium, and the Well Played series and journal.

Elina Ollila is Deputy Director of ASU’s Endless Games and Learning Lab, where she explores games, AI, and learning. She teaches game development, mentors students, and leads initiatives connecting research and industry. Previously, she held leadership roles at Nokia and Daybreak Games and contributed to titles like H1Z1 and Candy Crush Saga.

Director of Family Programs and Initiatives at the Museum of Modern Art, where she has spent more than 26 years creating engaging experiences for kids and families across in-person, digital, and interactive platforms. She oversees MoMA’s family programs and resources, including workshops, gallery talks, digital projects, and the Heyman Family Art Lab. Liz co-created the award-winning MoMA Art Lab iPad app, and has collaborated on children’s products and activity kits inspired by modern art. She co-authored two books on creativity and art-making for children with her colleague Cari Frisch.

Dr. Newbury is an award-winning game producer and globally recognized expert in leveraging technology—especially games—for social impact. She consults with the Christchurch Call Foundation on combating online misogyny in gaming communities. She also is a Senior Director at Meridian International Center's Center for Technology, Innovation, and Space, leading tech diplomacy initiatives. Previously, she directed the Wilson Center's Serious Games Initiative (2017–2025) and was a Visiting Scholar at American University's Game Center.

Elizabeth Rood, EdD, is a senior fellow with the Joan Ganz Cooney Center. An educator, researcher, and writer with expertise in youth development, learning sciences, and participatory design. Elizabeth founded Learning Designs Consulting, which partners with organizations and companies developing new programs and products for kids and families. She has served as vice president of Education at the Bay Area Discovery Museum and director of the Center for Childhood Creativity. Elizabeth has a background in formal urban education, as a teacher and principal.

Emily Gardner is the Manager of Gallery Learning at Seattle Art Museum where she creates educational in-gallery experiences designed to spark creativity, encourage play, and connect visitors to the art. She is especially passionate about creating opportunities for tactile interaction and creative expression in SAM’s galleries. Prior to joining SAM, she designed and taught K-12 theater curricula in Washington, DC, where she was named an Arts Education Trailblazer by DC Arts and Humanities.

Emily Reardon works at the intersection of emerging technologies, learning, and social justice. An Emmy Award–winning designer and patents-holding inventor, she creates technologies and experiences that expand civic participation. A former Director at Sesame Workshop, she's a Fellow at the Digital Futures Institute at Teachers College, a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University, and an MFA candidate at CUNY.

Writer, director, and creative executive with 20 years at Pixar, Erica Milsom directed Loop, featuring Pixar’s first non-verbal autistic lead, and pioneered the studio’s unscripted strategy. Now CCO of Ryzo Studios, leading "Impact Franchises" bridging animation and play, she is the force behind Rage Fighters (Roblox) and the film Release The Beast. Both give boys permission to feel. A Rockefeller Bellagio Fellow, she creates stories that drive social change across film and interactive media.

Eric has spent his career at the intersection of community, creativity, and technology. As Executive Producer of Gay Gaming Professionals (GGP), he brings LGBTQ+ gamers together through events like Zero Proof Game Night at GDC. By day, he leads technology and innovation product work at American Family Insurance. He holds an MBA from Pepperdine and a BFA in Digital Media.

Eyram Tawia is a game developer, educator, and researcher with over 20 years in the industry. As CEO and Co-founder of Leti Arts, a leading Sub-Saharan African game development company, he focuses on enriching African storytelling through games and comics. Eyram has led gamification projects and has received multiple awards for his contributions. Currently pursuing a doctoral degree at Loughborough University, he explores gaming and politics in the Global South and lectures at Ashesi University.

Finn Degen is a German high school student interested in programming, game design, and technology. He enjoys working with artificial intelligence, procedural generation, and algorithms, and spends much of his time coding, experimenting with new ideas, and building projects.

As president and co-founder of FableVision, Gary Goldberger oversees the production of FableVision’s award-winning media products. Since the company's launch, Gary has held many positions, and he approaches each project with a multi-faceted perspective. Gary is an expert in designing and developing innovative games for learners of all ages, and is a frequent speaker nationally on the role of games in education. Gary’s unique blend of technical and creative leadership has been a key reason many FableVision projects have won awards for our partners.

Genevieve C. Johnson is Senior Instructional Designer for Roblox, the world’s largest user-generated social platform for play. She focuses on creating immersive educational content and advising global educators on integrating STEAM and game-based learning into their curricula. She is the author of two books, "Coding with Roblox Lua in 24 Hours" and "Roblox Game Development in 24 Hours".

I've helped produce various levels of content for games viewed by millions of people every day. I now primarily help produce content for Minecraft Education and the Minecraft Marketplace. My job is to help create unique and exciting experiences using platforms and mediums that have never been used together before.

George Osborn is the Editor of Video Games Industry Memo, a newsletter at the intersection of video games and politics. He is the author of Power Play: Video Games, Politics, And The Global Battle for Influence, an exploration of how video games have become a channel for political influence. He has provided expert commentary about the games industry for major media outlets such as The New York Times, Bloomberg, and BBC News. He is also the founder of Half-Space Consulting.

Gerald Bove is co-founder and President of ReWrite Media, Inc., where he has spent nearly a decade building at the intersection of Minecraft content, educational experience design, and creator development. He oversees the direction of multiple brands within the ReWrite family and has been a recurring production partner to Mojang Studios and Microsoft on some of their highest-profile educational initiatives — including three consecutive years of Hour of Code, the UNESCO Global Build Challenge, and Digital Citizenship content for Minecraft Education. Gerald's project credits span branded IP partnerships (MLB Home Run Derby in Minecraft), cultural education experiences (LatinExplorers with the Hispanic Heritage Foundation), and ISTE-recognized coding credentials developed with Prodigy Learning. He also manages open-source tooling for the Minecraft creator community and consults smaller studios on Marketplace readiness. ReWrite Media is a collective of publishing, mapmaking, education, and experience design teams working in and around Minecraft. The company partners with independent creators, brands, and institutions to produce original content for the Minecraft Marketplace and beyond, and provides consulting services to corporate partners and educators drawing on deep platform expertise. ReWrite has partnered with Mojang Studios, Microsoft, UNESCO, MLB, and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. Pathway Studios, co-founded by Gerald in 2017, is ReWrite's Minecraft Marketplace publishing brand. It operates as a publisher and production partner for independent creators — providing the resources, relationships, and Marketplace access that smaller studios typically can't reach on their own. Pathway is one of the longer-standing independent publishers operating on the platform.

Glenn is the co-founder and CEO of Sea Monster, and the chairperson of Games for Change Africa. Glenn is a seasoned entrepreneur with 28 years of experience as a senior executive and consultant in the creative industries. He is an expert on the role that technology plays in storytelling and a thought-leader on how impact games and immersive technologies) can be used to build brands and drive effective learning outcomes in Africa and beyond.

Gordon Bellamy builds bridges. From leading design on Madden NFL '95 at EA to leading Gay Gaming Professionals since 2006, he has spent his career making space for people the industry overlooked. Today he directs Cinematic Ethics at USC, mentors the next generation through GGP & CYSTEM Scholars, and leads GGP's mission to prepare underestimated talent for what comes next. A Games for Change Vanguard and Jerry Lawson honoree, Gordon believes games change lives because they changed his.

Haeny Yoon is an Associate Professor and Program Director of the Early Childhood Program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her work amplifies the role of teachers as public intellectuals and curriculum designers—especially as a way to facilitate play, creativity, and imagination. In an edited issue of Literacy Today, she brought together some of these classroom teachers alongside literacy scholars and educational leaders in scholarly and practical conversation around play, literacy, and identity across PK-12 contexts. As the Director of Play Initiatives at the Digital Futures Institute, she continues to cultivate collaborative, multimodal work that crosses disciplines, expertise, and professions. Her most recent project, PlayEd, is a newly published magazine that plays with form, content, and design. Curated alongside academic scholars, the publication invites individuals to write, make, illustrate, and design identity texts that rarely find space in their scholarly lives. She co-hosts the podcast, Pop and Play with Nathan Holbert, exemplifying how play expands the personal and professional lives of adults and children. No longer reserved for young children, the podcast aims to hold serious and playful conversations with researchers, educators, designers, media-makers, and young people to illustrate what play can do for social change.

Hao Jie Sim is a Singaporean designer and MFA graduate in Design for Social Innovation from the School of Visual Arts. His work explores how play, culture, and community participation can reshape aging. He created Aging in Play, a project developed with older adults in New York to support joy, agency, and connection through accessible games and facilitation tools. He also led Silver Pride Lion Troupe, an award-winning project that reimagines lion dance as active aging for seniors.

Heather is a leader in curriculum and learning design, with over 20 years of experience creating inclusive, play- and game-based programs that build digital fluency, creative confidence, and career readiness. She has designed global initiatives that develop accessible curricula and foster learning environments where everyone belongs. Heather has also served as an adjunct professor, preparing educators to create effective digital learning experiences. She currently leads the development of Endless’ global game design curriculum, bringing her expertise in pedagogy and systemic innovation to underrepresented learners worldwide.

Huijia (Freya) Huang is a designer and researcher at Georgia Institute of Technology pursuing a PhD in Digital Media, focusing on game-based learning, AI literacy, and human-computer interaction. Her game TokenVerse uses reflective play to help players understand how large language models work and recognize potential harms. Her work spans XR experiences for accessible healthcare to multimodal interaction design.

Jacob Schwitzer is a First Descendant of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. He is a Game Producer for Nebraska Public Media seeking to entertain viewers like you with interactive experiences, whether that’s video games, VR experiences, or 360 video documentaries. In his free time, he can be found outdoors taking landscape photography or inside playing games with his friends.

James Delaney is the Founder of BlockWorks, a studio which creates educational games inside Minecraft. These games have been downloaded over 100 million times and won many awards including a Peabody. James also Chairs the Block by Block Foundation, a UN-backed non-profit which uses videogames as a participatory design tool. The Foundation has helped to create over 150 public spaces around the world. James has a background in architecture and planning and now lectures at UCL on ‘Videogame Urbanism’, where the worlds of videogames and architecture collide.

Jane Lee (She/Her) is the Director of Production at iThrive Games, where she leads the design and development of educational games and tools for teens. With a background in psychology, Jane specializes in translating research into engaging, youth-centered experiences. Her work is grounded in codesign with young people, partnering with youth, educators, and researchers to ensure learning experiences reflect teens’ lived experiences and needs. She has spoken about the intersection of education, game design, and mental health at UNESCO, Games for Change, Serious Play, and the American Psychological Association Convention.

Janine Scheer-Erb (JES) is a multimedia artist, game designer, poet, and curator from Vienna. Her concept-driven practice moves between installation and performance, engaging internet subcultures, algorithms, and poetic encounter. Her work creates intimacy through vulnerability, often addressing dark themes with softness and humor. With a queer-feminist lens, she foregrounds care, collectivity, and play.

Jeanny Pak is Interim President & CEO of New York City Economic Development Corporation, where she leads NYCEDC’s work growing an innovative and inclusive economy for all New Yorkers. Jeanny was NYCEDC’s Chief Financial Officer since 2023 and prior to that, she spent 25 years working in public finance investment banking. Most recently she was head of UBS’s East Region Public Finance Division. Jeanny has spent most of her career working with public sector clients at the state and local levels where she developed and executed financial strategies, large bond transactions, and forward-thinking financial structuring. She has led large teams and is very active in groups and initiatives that promote women and people of color in the finance industry. Jeanny holds a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Cornell University and a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Jennifer Javornik is an international speaker and thought leader on the topics of game-based learning and games for positive impact. Ms. Javornik is currently the Chief Partnerships Officer and Board Member for Filament Games. This award-winning video game studio specializes in digital games, simulations, VR, and AR experiences for positive impact. Having partnered with organizations like Meta, Roblox, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Smithsonian, and Amazon, Filament Games has won numerous awards from organizations such as Games for Change, the Webbys, and the Serious Play Awards. Ms. Javornik is a statewide video game industry leader and a founding board member of the Wisconsin Games Alliance.

Jennifer Jolly is an Emmy Award-winning journalist with more than 20 years covering consumer technology for the New York Times, USA Today, the Today Show, and many others. Her work reaches tens of millions of people every month with honest, practical advice about the technology shaping their lives. She covers tech the way a trusted friend would — not for engineers and early adopters, but for the people actually living with it. Her audience is primarily ages 25-65, the most powerful consumer demographic in America, responsible for the majority of household purchasing decisions across every category.

Jennifer is a seasoned strategist at the intersection of cultural narrative and commercial marketing. As the Co-Founder of Narratify, she leverages a deep-rooted expertise in communications—honed during her tenure at Ubisoft—to help global studios build games that resonate across borders. Jennifer doesn't just market games; she ensures they are built on a foundation of authentic representation. A dual-threat in the industry, she serves as an Authenticity Consultant and a Games Journalist at RFI, where her analyses shape the conversation on the global stage. Since 2020, she has also led Afrogameuses, a powerhouse association of over 800 members dedicated to the inclusion of racialized and queer women in gaming. Recognized as a GamesIndustry.biz Game Changer and a Top Leader Under 35, Jennifer is not just participating in the industry; she is actively redesigning it to be more inclusive, vibrant, and narratively rich.

Hi there! I’m Jeremiah, a creative programmer and Digital Media Master's student in Atlanta. I currently study @Georgia Tech, where I focus on game design and analysis, interactive systems, and experimental approaches to interaction and meaning-making in digital media. My work often sits at the intersection of code, play, and theory, blending technical systems with expressive and speculative design. I build interactive experiences across games, creative coding projects, and mobile apps—often exploring mechanics as arguments and systems that shape player behavior and interpretation. Outside of school and work, I enjoy songwriting on my guitar, playing video games, exploring digital art, and getting lost in a good book.

Jesse Mahler is a co-founder of the LinkUp Lab, an innovation hub that incubates solutions that reimagine the online spaces where young men play and connect to be safer, supportive, and pro-social. He brings his decade of experience in youth education, community organizing, and violence prevention to his work with gamers, parents, and mentors. In 2024, he co-authored the "Manosphere Rewired" report which—before the rise of Clavicular and shows like Adolescence—raised alarms around online misogyny and disinformation targeting young men while outlaying opportunities for a healthy digital future. Beyond leading Futures Without Violence's digital strategies, Jesse advances national campaigns with men and boys, athletic coaches, educators, and colleges to promote healthy relationships, positive mental health, and leadership to end violence. Since 2020, Jesse has led the curriculum development and training for the evidence-based Coaching Boys Into Men program, supporting implementation across all 50 states. During this time, he has also designed dozens of college trainings, tools, and custom resources utilized by hundreds of institutions across the U.S. Prior to working at FUTURES, Jesse was led youth organizing programs at The Center for Teen Empowerment in Boston.

Jesse Schell is the founder and CEO of Schell Games, a leading game development studio behind award-winning titles like Among Us 3D, I Expect You To Die, and Happy Atoms. He is also Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Entertainment Technology at Carnegie Mellon University and the author of The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses. A former Disney Imagineer and chair of the IGDA, Jesse is widely recognized for his contributions to both educational and entertainment games, and for his visionary insights into the future of interactive technology.

John Ristevski is the Chairman of the Board and CEO of CyArk. John is formerly the Vice President of Reality Capture and Processing at Nokia’s mapping company, HERE, where he led the company’s initiative to index reality. John joined HERE in 2012 through the acquisition of his company, earthmine, which developed systems to capture and deliver highly accurate street level imagery and 3D data of cities. John is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and currently serves on the board of the non-profit CyArk. He has lectured at Stanford's Civil and Environmental Engineering Department and has a Master of Science degree from the University of California at Berkeley and degrees from the University of Melbourne in both Geomatic Engineering and Law.

Jonah works with and coordinates various multidisciplinary teams to deliver high-quality games, animation, and more to FableVision partners. Jonah has a background in game production, with a bachelor’s degree in Game Design from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He also studied early childhood development and psychology, and has marketing and project management experience in a variety of fields. Outside of the studio, Jonah enjoys designing games, watching and playing sports, and discovering new obsessions, such as world geography, documentary films, and aquascaping.

I'm an aspiring game developer at Georgia Tech who is most interested in the systems side of games and how mechanics feel in the player's hands. A lot of my work so far has centered around Unity and C#, where I've focused on building gameplay loops, interaction systems, and mechanics that are easy to understand but still satisfying to use.

Juanjo Hernandez Laffitte is the Project Associate for Tech and New Media at Empire State Development, New York State’s economic development agency supporting and promoting the industry. His work prior was teaching and supporting children with developing social skills through a variety of games and forms of play while teaching game design. Juanjo received a Master of Fine Arts in Game Design at NYU Game Center and a Bachelor of Arts in Strategic Communications and Drama and Theater Studies at Elon University.

JunHee Lee is a Professor at the School of Art, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), and Chapter Head of Games for Change Korea. His work explores game systems, interactive storytelling, and social-impact design, with recent projects including location-based entertainment for urban development, educational games for cancer patients, and games developed with the UN World Food Programme (WFP). At G4C 2026, he will propose a Games for Change-certified curriculum framework for teaching impact games in higher education.

In addition to being a lifelong gamer, Justin is a nonprofit and public sector professional at the NYC Department of Youth & Community Development, where he works on the Youth Count initiative, a citywide effort tracking and analyzing youth housing instability to inform services and policy. He has worked across NYC nonprofits supporting LGBTQ+ youth, with experience in crisis intervention, shelter operations, and program coordination. Most importantly, he is a proud AMC A-List member.

KB is an educator, writer, and creator of games about vaginas, including the award-winning (val)iant: or, val's guide to having a broken vag. In her creative work and research, KB explores how games and play facilitate learning about relationships, intimacy, sexual health, consent, and more.

Katelyn Gumagay is a rising third-year student at Georgia Tech majoring in Computational Media. She is interested in interactive media and how technology can reimagine experiences in health and education. She currently works as a designer and undergraduate researcher for TokenVerse, an educational game focused on understanding large language models.

Kathryn M. Werntz is a child and human rights advocate and creative practitioner whose work explores how storytelling, music, and visual media support social change. She has worked globally across the development, humanitarian, and peacebuilding sectors, ranging from UN agencies to local schools. A musician, filmmaker, and author, she brings an interdisciplinary perspective to the intersection of children's well-being and digital experiences.

Dr. Karen (Kat) Schrier is Full Professor and Director of Games & Emerging Media at Marist University. A game designer who has worked at the World Health Organization (WHO), Nickelodeon, and Scholastic, she has over 100 publications, like We the Gamers and Knowledge Games and recently completed a Fulbright in Tunisia. Dr. Schrier is also the founder of PlatyPlay, LLC, and Chief Learning Officer of Dream Interaction Design. See more at https://www.linkedin.com/in/katschrier/.

Kellian Adams Pletcher is the Director of GLAM Innovation at FableVision Studios in Boston. As an educator, writer, award-winning game designer and specialist in museum games and interactives, Kellian has created hundreds of projects in museum and cultural institutions. Kellian is the author of Building Museum Games (Bloomsbury, 2026) as well as articles in the Journal of Play and AMA's Exhibition Journal Journal. Her original immersive creations include Club Drosselmeyer and the Cthulhu Luau.

Kellie Lu is an award-nominated positive impact game designer and game writer. They design all genres of games end-to-end in small teams. In collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, they've created games about STEM, humanities, civics, and more. For fun, Kellie leads a games-as-art analysis club, enjoys leading playful martial arts experiences, and cooks.

Kristoffer Gandrup Marino has worked with innovation and markets for more than 20 years, moving between the private sector, investing, and global health. He has spent more than a decade with UNICEF Supply Division as Chief of Product Innovation, with longer roles as OIC, including as Chief of the Health Technology Procurement Centre and, for the last couple of years, as Chief of the Sustainable Market Centre, alongside his role as Chief of Product Innovation. In that role, he worked with teams across innovation, sustainability, finance, partnerships, and local investments, focusing on how to push ideas past pilots and into scale. Prior to UNICEF, Kristoffer worked as a management consultant, in tech companies, and in venture capital, as well as for corporates within industrial biotech (Novozymes), all with a focus on innovation, investments, and business development. MSc in Economics & Business Administration (Cand.merc.) – Strategy, Organization & Management, Copenhagen Business School. Outside work, he recharges in nature, practices meditation, trains kickboxing, and spends time with his American wife and two daughters (10 and 13). His most frequently used question in the world of UNICEF is “why”.

Krystel is a worker-owner of the NYC-based worker-cooperative Munity Games. With a goal to democratize access to the industry, she created the first state-approved, high school program in video game design. As the Speaker Coordinator for the Game Devs of Color Expo, she curates a platform that amplifies and recognizes underrepresented developers. Together with her fellow worker-owners, Krystel works to bring back junior-level positions and prioritize the rights of workers in the games industry.

Lacey J. Hilliard is an Associate Professor in Psychology at Suffolk University and director of the Social Development & Social Issues Lab. Her research explores how families, schools, and media shape children's and adolescents' understanding of identity, equity, and social issues. She partners with educators and communities to evaluate media and practices that center student voice and support young people's belonging and well-being.

Currently a Literature student at the University of São Paulo, Latin America’s top-ranked university, and formerly a Music student at the Federal University of São Carlos. Passionate about catchy music, compelling stories, and digital games, I entered tech by composing soundtracks for indie games through a university project. On Island of Communion, I led the creative vision, writing the narrative, composing the soundtrack, and designing the game’s sound effects.

Dr. Laura Erickson-Schroth is the Chief Medical Officer at The Jed Foundation, a national nonprofit dedicated to protecting emotional health and preventing suicide among teens and young adults. Laura leads JED’s clinical strategy and plays a critical role in translating evidence-based research into practice for JED’s public education, policy, and media work. Her clinical guidance has informed public conversation through major outlets including The New York Times, Forbes, USA Today, TIME, and the Associated Press, and she regularly consults with content creators and media companies.

Laurence is a Partner at Lux Capital, where he co-leads the research team and creates media, experiences, and riskgaming scenarios that prepare today's leaders for tomorrow's crises at the intersection of science, technology, and public policy. He previously served as Director of Speechwriting for the U.S. Ambassador to the UN and was a Moynihan Public Scholar at the City College of New York, where he remains a visiting fellow.

Leo Olebe is widely recognized as a leader in the global games industry and is a frequent speaker and thought leader on the future of games and technology. He has launched multiple billion-dollar annual-revenue businesses for major technology companies and has marketed and released more than 100 games generating over $1B in combined revenue. With more than 25 years of experience, he has held leadership roles at Microsoft, YouTube, Google, Meta, Disney, and Electronic Arts. His work includes global partnerships and business development across top platforms—Xbox, YouTube Gaming, Google Play, Facebook—as well as the launch of top-grossing AAA titles on console, PC, and mobile. He has driven growth for iconic franchises including Star Wars, Marvel, Disney Princess, and The Matrix. Today, he advises high-growth companies and investors on platform strategy, market expansion, and go-to-market execution. Leo is an Independent Director at OnMobile (NSE: ONMOBILE), a Venture Partner at Griffin and serves as Board Chair of Games for Change and sits on the boards of The Strong National Museum of Play, Occidental College, Maestro Media, and Endless Learning. He holds degrees from Occidental College and the USC Marshall School of Business.

Lien B. Tran is an Associate Professor and Chair of game design at DePaul University. She is director of Matters at Play, a transdisciplinary design lab partnering in the creation of interactive advocacy solutions for positive social transformations. She is an award-winning designer who has serious fun teaching how to distill real-world complexity into engaging interactive systems. Her collaboration partners include Full Spectrum Features, Open Society Foundations, and the World Bank.

Lily is a producer based in Vancouver, specializing in User experience design and player-centered product development. Leveraging the experience from EA Sports and Tencent Mobile; she has led features end-to-end across cross-functional teams, with a focus on building intuitive, inclusive systems that help players engage more seamlessly with interactive experiences. Her work sits at the intersection of design strategy and execution , translating creative vision into shipped product.