Professor Game Podcast

Over the past twelve years, Will has worked with seven different billion-dollar banking and securities companies. During that time, he witnessed long-time industry incumbents lose market share to FinTech unicorns, as products democratized access to financial markets and minted millions of new investors overnight. Will felt that the industry had prioritized access over education, and in the process failed to appropriately equip new investors with the knowledge to succeed. Will built Stack to teach the youngest generation foundational finance principles so that they could build habits that last a lifetime. By leveraging the zeitgeist of digital assets and web3, Will (via Stack) wants to make learning about finance fun, social, and rewarding.

Noa Lahav is a community manager at the Tech Innovation Unit in the Israeli Ministry of Education, and head of Start GameDev - a unique program where teachers become game developers, using a no-code game engine. They learn from top game designers and have weekly meetings with a personal mentor. We (the Ministry of Education) will share the games with all teachers and students for free. Former middle school science teacher and district coordinator, M.Ed in science teaching, researched scientific creativity using digital collaboration tools. Passionate about game-based learning - taught science using Minecraft in a flipped classroom model, and guide teachers who incorporate RPGs in their lessons.

Danielle M. Orsino is a fantasy novelist whose lifelong vision is to create whimsical realms that her readers can escape to. Her compelling word-weaving pays homage to a multitude of personal muses, from Chris Claremont and George Pérez (both famous comic book writers) to Anne Rice and Wonder Woman. The creative spark of storytelling has been with Danielle ever since she was a child, but martial arts and her nursing career took center stage into adulthood. Then, on a day like any other, it was reignited during the most unexpected of moments: while treating one of her patients. Seeing that they longed for a distraction during their arduous treatments, the floodgates of inspiration soon burst forth. So, Danielle took it upon herself to tell them a story; a fantastical narrative that would leave the confines of that IV room's walls and land upon a page. Before she knew it, what started as an imaginative tale to pass the time, turned into a book, followed by an entire series: The Birth of Fae. This awe-inspiring series includes Locked out of Heaven (Book One), Thine Eyes of Mercy (Book Two), and From The Ashes (Book Three), all of which are published by 4 Horsemen Publications, Inc. And with an unwavering passion for cosplay and comics, it was a unanimous decision to place her on the cover of each book in all her Fae cosplay glory. The Birth of Fae also features Los, an affable chameleon dragon inspired by her fun-loving Yorkie named Carlos. This "New Queen of the Fae's" unmatched world-building and masterful Fae-origin retellings have led to an ever-growing queendom of "Fae-natics".

Tammie Schrader is a science and computer science coordinator at Northeast Washington Education Service 101 for the State of Washington. She serves 59 public schools in their science and computer science implementation. Recently, Tammie has worked with the Department of Education and been a guest at their Education Games Expo in Washington D.C. She also spoke at the White House Game Jam in 2014, that was sponsored by The Department of Education and the White House. She has since spoken 6 other times at the White House on Computer Science, Games, Assessment and Technology. She has been a moderator and guest speaker at the SciC is Cool conferences and does professional development for Washington Education Association around UDL and Science, STEM, as well as Game-Based Learning in education. Before accepting a job serving the northeast region, Tammie was a science teacher at Cheney Middle School, in Cheney, Washington for 15 years. She taught Life Science as well as Computer Programming, Gaming Programming, Robotics as well as coaching the Science Olympiad Team, Robotics Club, SeaPerch Team as well as Future Business Leaders of America at her middle school. Tammie has her B.A. in Education as well as a B.S. in Biology. She earned her M.A. in Education and Teaching At-Risk Students. She currently is an adjunct science methods instructor at Whitworth University and St. Martin's University. In 2013, Tammie was selected as a Hope Street Fellow, working on Education Policy around coding in the classroom. She was also awarded a National Science Foundation grant working with Filament Games on Educational Video Games in the classroom. Tammie is currently enrolled as a Ph.D. candidate and is writing her dissertation on Leadership, Policy and Game-Based Learning in the Classroom, which is scheduled to be finished in December of 2022. She served on the Professional Education Standards Board for five years. Tammie was awarded over 50 grants for her classroom to integrate technology and the latest practices. Tammie was selected as a 2008-2009 Teacher Fellow for the Department of Education. She was also Pacific Northwest Earth Science Teacher of the Year, as well as being selected to work on Washington State STEM programs. Tammie worked for ACTS (Academy Creating Teacher Scientists) at Battelle Northwest National Laboratory for several years during the summer. She is National Board Certified in Early Adolescent Science. Tammie spent the first 7 years of her career life in Southern California working on the Space Shuttle Program for Rocketdyne International.

Barbara Chamberlin directs research and development at the Learning Games Lab at New Mexico State University. She first started developing educational games in the early 90s and sought her doctorate to help guide ways research could inform the design of educational games. Her department creates research-based educational media such as games, apps, animations, videos, interactive programs and virtual reality experiences, for a wide range of audiences and content. Her Ph.D. is from the University of Virginia in educational technology. Their shop is weird for a university: the primary goal is to develop educational media based on research. They function more as a non-profit educational design studio than a university department. As a result, they have a pretty big variety in what they create (innovativemedia.nmsu.edu and check the links on the side for sample products). Their most popular games are the Math Snacks suite of games; but we have some on financial literacy, science and health, etc.

One of the United States' foremost educational futurists, Katherine Prince leads KnowledgeWorks' exploration of the future of learning. As Vice President, Strategic Foresight, she speaks and writes about the trends shaping education over the next decade and helps education stakeholders strategize about how to become active agents of change in shaping the future. Katherine earned a certificate in Foresight from the University of Houston and is a member of the Association of Professional Futurists.

Andy is the co-founder and director of Focus Games. Prior to entering the world of serious games he completed an undergrad in human biology and worked in sales, marketing and client relationship roles for international life sciences organizations. Focus Games launched in 2004 to develop education and learning games to change thinking and behaviour. They achieve this through both physical board games in person AND digital games with virtual options too. They work primarily in the health and social care sector, making learning memorable, enjoyable and effective which encourages players to discuss new ideas, share knowledge and learn from each other.

Carrie Baughcum (she/her/hers) is a mother, wife, mismatch sock wearer, a self-described inspiration junkie, learning enthusiast and most of all a passionate believer that all children can learn, we just need to find out how. As a teacher for students who receive support and services through their individual education plan of 20+, she integrates technology, creative thinking, a fearless attitude and endless doodles into her classroom. Carrie strives every day to enhance her students' learning while empowering them to achieve things they didn't know they could do or be a part of. She is also the mother of two children, 14 and 16 years old. At home, she encourages her children to explore, learn and try anything their imagination can think up. Together they create and get involved in activities and experiences with exploration, creativity, problem-solving and making. Carrie shares her experiences from her classroom, her adventures and passion for life by presenting at conferences, sharing on her youtube channel, co-hosting Doodle and Chat with Friends, at carriebaughcum.com, in her first book: My Pencil Made Me Do It: A Guide To Sketchnoting and now in her new book Stanley and The Very Messy Desk: An Adventure in Sketchnoting.

Andrzej Marczweski is a recognized expert in gamification, especially on the topic of gamification mechanics and user types. In 2015 he published Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play. In his spare time, Andrzej enjoys spending time with his family, playing guitar and video games. On this episode we bring back one of the legendary content creators of the industry, to see how his perspective has changed since he is back to not being a full-time practitioner and perhaps taking a more "academic" role in the industry.

Marlene Sharp is a creative and business-savvy entertainment multi-hyphenate who originally hails from New Orleans but is now a (San Fernando) Valley girl. Firmly ensconced in LA life, Marlene is top dawg at Pink Poodle Productions and Head of IP Strategy and Acquisitions for Rainshine Entertainment. Noteworthy clients and collaborators include BoredPanda.com, WeFixYourScript.com, ToonBo, Society Cabaret, Euramco Pictures, and The Center for Learning Unlimited/Brainstorm Productions. Prior to Pink Poodle and Rainshine, Marlene served as Director, Production at LEVEL-5 abby, home of YO-KAI WATCH and other Japanese hit video game-based franchises. Formerly, as Producer, TV Series, at Sega of America, Marlene worked on much more than the Teen Choice Award-nominated Cartoon Network series SONIC BOOM. For example, her extensive Hedgehog duties took her to the heights of nerd-dom as an official San Diego Comic-Con 2017 panelist. She also consulted on the 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog feature film. As a freelance journalist, Marlene concentrates on pop culture for noteworthy fan destinations, such as GameDeveloper.com, DOGTV, ToonBarn.com, Geekified.net, and CultureSonar.com. As a short film auteur, she has snagged recognition at La Femme Film Fest, Austin Comedy Film Festival, KIDS FIRST! Film Festival, Canine Film Festival, and San Luis Obispo Film Festival. Marlene is the proud winner of the 2019 LA Shorts International Film Fest Script Competition (an Oscar- and BAFTA-qualifying fest), at which her backdoor sitcom pilot received a staged reading courtesy of The Groundlings. As a human being, basically, Marlene Sharp loves all kinds of pups. For proof, please see her website www.pinkpoodleproductions.com.