Ryan Johnson is Founder of Cxmmunity, a non-profit committed to increasing participation in minority esports through STEAM development. He’s also an Advisor for Brickhouse Ventures, an early stage venture firm that focuses primarily on esports, sports technology, music, film and production.

Ryan and I met a few years back at a Dreamhack event in Atlanta. At the time, he was just breaking into the industry. In less than two years I have watched him become a true force in the space with a mission, intelligence and drive to evoke real change. 

From the moment he told me about his inspiration for the X in Cxmmunity, I knew he was setting me up for an education regarding his vision and mission. From grassroots initiatives in underserved communities – more than 9 million kids have no access to laptops and wi-fi – to making history and changing the world, he dropped knowledge, reeled off data points and started me down his path to a better future. It’s hard not to be impressed and with dual tasking his new norm he’s achieving he’s goals quickly.