Speakers

Sophie Priest (she/they) is the Assistant Director of Esports Innovation at UNC Greensboro. Priest wears many hats, but primarily coordinates events, promotes career development for students, and manages external partnerships. Events produced include multiple Game Jams, speaker presentations and workshops in a series around accessibility in games, and too many tournaments to count.

Sparsh Ahuja is the founder of Project Dastaan and a National Geographic Explorer specializing in animation and documentary. His documentary Birdsong premiered at SXSW and was shortlisted for the Grierson, IDA, and BIFA Awards before being acquired by The Guardian, and his VR experience Child of Empire was an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival. Sparsh’s work has been showcased at institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, BFI Southbank, and ForumDesImages in Paris.

Sunny Williams is the founder of Tiny Docs, an interactive web app that uses cartoons to educate kids about health with a mission to improve children’s well-being and make a billion people smile. Prior to launching Tiny Docs, Sunny worked as an English teacher in Spain, produced short films, and practiced law at a major firm. His diverse background fuels his passion for storytelling, education, and impact-driven innovation. Outside of work, he enjoys improv, fitness challenges, and relaxing with his wife Gina and their two dogs, Maya and Charley.

Tami Bhaumik is the Vice President of Civility & Partnerships at Roblox. She develops strategies promoting digital civility and online safety. The Civility Initiative she leads empowers youth with the knowledge and skills to create a positive online environment and establish a healthy community. She collaborates with safety and industry organizations to provide resources for young people, parents, and teachers.

Tatiana Skliarenko is the Director of International Programs at Games for Change Learn, where she leads global programs that empower youth and educators to use game design for learning and social impact. With over a decade of experience in digital education, she has built and managed game-based initiatives across sectors and continents, driven by a passion for using play to spark meaningful change in the classroom and beyond. Her work focuses on designing, scaling, and adapting educational programs that help learners explore real-world issues, build critical skills, and reimagine what’s possible through the power of games and immersive technology.

Taylor Maxwell is Managing Director at Project Unloaded, a nonprofit working to reduce gun violence by engaging, empowering and educating teens with the facts through community partnerships, digital campaigns and creator partnerships, all spreading the message that we're safer unarmed. Taylor has spent more than a decade working in the movement to stop gun violence. She's based in Charlotte, NC.

Theresa Loong creates film, games, and AR/VR/MR experiences. She directed NOVA’s Building Stuff: Change It! and produced games for AMC’s The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad. Theresa is directing Game On, a documentary and outreach project featuring game designer Brenda Romero and Bought/Broken, an interactive healing art platform. She received awards from Meta, the IGDA Foundation, and the NEA. A Harvard grad, Theresa received an MFA from Hunter and teaches at Parsons’ Integrated Design Program.

Tracy Fullerton is an experimental game designer, professor, author and founding director (emeritus) of the USC Games program. Her research center, the Game Innovation Lab, has produced a number of influential independent games, including Cloud, flOw, Darfur is Dying, The Night Journey and Walden, a game, which was named “Game of the Year” at Games for Change 2017 and “Developer Choice” at IndieCade 2017. Tracy is the author of “Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games” and “The Well-Read Game: On Playing Thoughtfully.”

Victoria Kao is an MFA candidate at the NYU Game Center with an innate curiosity for developing digital and analog games. Prior to becoming a student, she was the Lead Creative Strategist for Gaming at Snapchat.

Vince Siu is the Founder and Lead Producer at Press Start Studios, an edutainment media studio that designs award-winning games for education and impact, and Founder and CEO at Press Start Academy, a globally recognized education startup creating immersive, game-based academic curriculums that have reached over 5,000 students and 1,000 educators worldwide. For his work in education, Vince has been recognized as an Asia-Pacific Leader by the Obama Foundation, a Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum, and a Gen.T Leader of Tomorrow by Tatler Asia.

Yağmur Burhan-Lim is a Technological University Dublin Research Scholar, conducting her PhD research on “A Design History of Irish Playgrounds from 1933 to present.” Alongside her PhD Yağmur is currently a part of an independent research group with New York University Game Center and play360, a non-profit organisation operating in developing countries, to design playground games that encourage bringing playfulness into the curriculum.

Zeynep Burcu Kaya is a game designer, researcher, and lecturer specializing in playful interaction, game aesthetics, and immersive media. She is the Arcade Coordinator for Games for Change Türkiye and an Unreal Authorized Instructor. Her work blends architecture, game design, and feminist design practices to explore meaningful, body-based play experiences.

Concept artist, Game Art Undergraduate of USC Games