President David Fithian - Clark University 

As the chief executive officer of the University, the President is responsible for leading the achievement of Clark’s mission and strategic goals and representing institutional values.

Joseph Corazzini  Vice President for Government and Community Affairs - Clark University

Leads external relations, community affairs, and government engagement and fosters partnerships in the city and more broadly.

Danny Martin, CEO and co-founder of Esposure Inc. - Keynote 

Danny is a visionary and thought-leader in the esports industry. As the Co-founder/CEO of Esposure Inc. and Esports Subject Matter Expert at SMU, he has aided in the professional development of students, interns, and post-graduates. These students have received esports scholarships and employment from acclaimed Universities and esports Organizations like Central Methodist University, Complexity Gaming, Pacers Gaming, and Mavs Gaming. Furthermore, he has provided opportunities for many esports players to play with professional franchises. Danny's passion for helping others has allowed him to speak at several high schools and universities, on panels in front of thousands of individuals. In his pursuit of connecting everyone to esports, he maintains relationships with the NBA, NFL, & music industry. Danny is always ready to talk about esports and is on a mission of helping 20,000 esports enthusiasts by 2025. 

Verta Maloney -  Chief Innovation Officer at the*gamerHERs - Plenary speaker

Verta {she/her/hers} is all love with appropriate doses of rage. Verta is a founder, storyteller, yogi, mama warrior and anti-racism facilitator. she has designed, managed, and delivered learning experiences and programs for humans across many industries. 

Verta began her 25 year career in education as a teacher in Prince George’s County Public Schools and then as a literacy specialist for the New York City Department of Education. after getting her master’s degree in politics and education at Columbia’s Teachers College, she became the founding principal of Bronx Arts and then served for several years as a leadership coach for principals and aspiring principals at New Leaders. 

Verta is a co-founder and the Chief Innovation Officer at the*gamerHERs. the*gameHERs is a women-led media company and community based app dedicated to amplifying and centering the voices of women and/or femme identifying persons across the spectra of gender identity and expression in the video game industry.  Verta is also a founding team member at Civics Unplugged  where she supports the growth and development of exceptional generation z leaders as they become the civic superheroes their communities need. 

Verta co-founded 45 Lemons in 2017 so that she and her co-founder, Naa Yirenkyi, could bring their expertise together to help individuals and organizations share their racial autobiographies/stories, identify their core motivators, help their people be and do better all in order to act on and undo racism in this lifetime. it is Verta’s hope that in every encounter Black, Indigenous and folks of color will leave seen, heard, healed and loved. 

Kevin Mitchell - Founder and Managing Director of College EsportsX - Guest Moderator 

I am the Founder and Managing Director of College EsportsX, a consultancy, event production, and product development company that caters to the international college gaming community. We provide strategic insight and convergent media expertise to key stakeholders in the collegiate esports and gaming ecosystem. 

Our collegiate esports events are hosted under our CEX brand in the US, Brazil, India, and South Africa. Our clients include some of the biggest brands in gaming and technology. The company has provided services to game publishers. streaming platforms, educational institutions, professional sports organizations, print publications, and television networks

Formerly served as a Business Development and Strategic Intelligence Director for National Amusements (NAI), focused on the intersection of entertainment and technology. NAI is a closely held company operated by the Redstone family, and it is the parent company of Viacom, CBS, Showcase Cinemas, and UCI Cinemas Brazil/Argentina 

Veteran media and technology executive devoted to driving rapid growth and identifying business opportunities in esports, the metaverse, and immersive entertainment. 

Margo Foreman - Vice President and Chief Of Diversity and Inclusion at Clark University  - Clark University

Margo leads Clark’s programs and initiatives around diversity, equity, and inclusion, providing direction for priorities and planning to strengthen campus community, culture, and climate. 

Kamala C. Kiem (she/her/hers) - Associate Provost for Student Success and Dean of Students @ Clark University

Kamala joined Clark in January 2022. She has a portfolio of more than 20 years of accomplishments in student affairs and student success. Since 2008, she has held several leadership positions within student affairs and student success at Fairfield University, serving as Associate Dean of Students and Director of Student Engagement for the past six years. Early in her career at Fairfield and previously at Smith College, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Kamala directed residence life activities.

At Fairfield, Kamala created holistic experiences for students to discover themselves and their calling. She established tighter synergy between student development areas including student activities, leadership development, international student life, and graduate student life — and improved engagement with and support for the entire student body. She innovated a robust onboarding, orientation, and transition process for first-year students; co-created new and enhanced living and learning communities; strengthened training and development of student leaders to create an influential peer leadership culture; and created social justice mediation and dialogue programs. Importantly, Kamala served as Co-Chair of the President’s Institutional Diversity Council and the Co-Lead of the Diversity Leadership Team — both instrumental in driving diversity, inclusion, and equity efforts. In those capacities, Kamala led the development of a roadmap for addressing campus climate, including core recommendations for a university-wide diversity strategic plan.

Kamala earned her bachelor’s degree at Florida International University; master’s in student affairs administration at Michigan State University; and master’s in social justice education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is pursuing her doctorate in higher education (expected in May 2023) at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where her research focuses on how the influences of the market and the demanding pressure for higher education to serve the public good have shaped enrollment management leadership teams’ decisions, actions, and practices to recruit and admit students. One of her most memorable educational and transformative experiences was her South Africa study abroad program. The courses centered on engaging in a comparative analysis regarding race relations in South Africa and the United States.

Kamala’s Clifton Strengths are Connectedness, Relator, Learner, Restorative, and Context.

For fun, Kamala loves playing strategic board games such as Catan, Pandemic, Castles, Dominion, and Agricola!

Dr Jules Trobaugh, MFA, EdD is the Diversity Manager in the Diversity and Inclusion Office at the UMass Chan Medical School. 

An artist first, she received her Master of Fine Arts beginning at the School of Visual Art in New York New Your, then finished at the University of Alabama with a concentration in Digital and Photographic Arts. Dr. Trobaugh recently completed her doctorate in education at New York University in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, it concentrated on Educational Leadership and Innovation through the lens of diversity. Her studies focused on the Campus Climate’s impact on people with a variety of identities including LGBTQ and BIPOC individuals. Dr. Trobaugh has led the Population and Community Health Clerkship for Medical and nursing students for multiple years (Trans and Nonbinary Health and Advocacy). Additionally, she serves as an advisor to the QMass Chan LGBTQ student group as well as the LGBTQ Optional Enrichment Elective. Dr. Trobaugh collaborates with the three schools and all our business units at UMass Chan Medical School on their efforts to improve our campus climate. She facilitates the Centering the Margins monthly discussion that strives to highlight the voices of those who have historically been marginalized. In addition, Dr. Trobaugh leads collaborations with our native and indigenous as well as the transgender communities. And she will lead our campus's efforts to build community through the restorative justice model.

Hillary Phan, Assistant Operations Director at AnyKey and Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Voice of Intercollegiate Esports 

Hillary is committed to raising the standard and making the world a better place, and is passionate about mentorship and skills development + diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts (especially in the esports and gaming space) + human rights and social justice work.

Jason Chung, Director, Esports and Gaming Initiative and Clinical Assistant Professor at the New York University Tisch Institute for Global Sport

Jason Chung is an educator and attorney leading the development of esports business programs at major U.S. universities.  Currently, he heads the Esports and Gaming Initiative at NYU’s Tisch Institute for Global Sport. Professor Chung's interdisciplinary approach to understanding the history, growth, and future of esports stems from his diverse international background in law, business, and public policy in both the public and private sectors.

As part of his legal practice, he also heads the esports, gaming and media practice group at Zuber Lawler LLP and co-hosts the metaverse videocast “What the Meta!” for Virtual Times (virtualtimes.com).  He previously served as the founding Executive Director of Esports at the University of New Haven where he developed and led innovative undergraduate and graduate programs at the Pompea College of Business, visiting clinical assistant professor of sport management at New York University, where he created and launched the first courses studying esports business and senior researcher for the NYU Sports and Society program studying the intersection of sports, health and technology. He also was an attorney in the financial sector in Hong Kong and a public servant in various policy, programs, and investigations roles for the Government of Canada.

He regularly writes on issues at the intersection of sport, technology, and health, including esports governance, data privacy, AI regulation, and youth health and safety issues. His research and commentary have been featured or cited in a wide range of academic and media publications, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Wired, Boston Globe, CBC News, Minnesota Star-Tribune and Newark Star-Ledger, Journal of Public Health Policy, Asia-Pacific Journal of Health Law and Ethics and the Journal of the Legal Aspects of Sport.

Prof. Chung has also been an expert presenter on data privacy for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as well as the Law & Technology editor for The Health Care Blog.

In his spare time, he enjoys being fodder for much better players in video games such as Apex Legends and CS:GO and beating the computer on easy in sports titles such as NBA 2K. He is living proof that enjoying video games and having played them regularly since childhood does not equal being proficient at them. 

Paul Cotnoir - Dean Becker School of Design & Technology - Clark University

Dr. Cotnoir leads Clark University’s world ranked interactive media program, and has served in various leadership roles in higher education, industry, and the public sector in the areas of automation, robotics, fiber optics, economic development, workforce training,  and manufacturing design. 

Under his leadership the Becker School of Design and Technology interactive media program grew from 12 to 600 students in a few short years and garnered constant national recognition by the Princeton Review, reaching a ranking of No. 2 in the world in 2021. He has also been instrumental in the development of the statewide Mass DiGI initiative and the development of summer STEM-based game design programs for high-school-age students and middle-school-age, under-served girls. 

Dr. Cotnoir holds a doctoral degree in manufacturing engineering from WPI.

Danielle Rourke, Senior Strategist for Higher Education at Dell 

Danielle Rourke is a Dell Technologies Senior Higher Education Strategist and brings extensive leadership and technology skills, having worked in a variety of disciplines and industries. Prior to joining Dell Technologies, Danielle served as an Associate Director of Information Technology for the University of Colorado Boulder, where she championed new and innovative methods of utilizing technology to make education more accessible to under-served student populations. A technologist and analyst at heart, Danielle's true passion is helping broker technological solutions to help students, staff, and faculty across the globe engage more fully in the power of education. In addition to undergraduate degrees in Psychology, Business Quality Management, and Computer Operations, Danielle holds a Master's Degree in Information Technology from Capella University. Danielle has been a gamer her whole life and now brings her passion for games and immersive technology to speaking with schools, clubs, and universities about the ways esports can facilitate social and emotional learning, diversity, equity, and inclusiveness, and help students find career pathways in a growing industry that they are passionate about.

Aaron Haddock, Associate Professor of Practice, Psychology, and Director of Behavioral Health Initiatives and Programs, Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise at Clark University

Stephanie Orme, User Experience Researcher at Key Lime Interactive 

Former Chair of the National Communication Association's Game Studies Division, and Board Member for the Esports Research Network. o-chair of the Games and Gaming minitrack at the Hawaii International Conference on Systems Sciences (HICCS).  Stephanie has organized and ran several well-attended conferences, pre-conferences, meetings, and events, receiving very positive feedback from attendees, and spearheaded organizational initiatives, including a Diversity and Inclusivity bibliography project for games researchers and partnerships with industry 

Shifty (Nicholas Travis), Director of Esports at Clark University 

There are those that do what they do because of the pay grade.  There are those that chase esteem and status. Personally I'm going after my passion of Esports - helping create environments for people to grow and strive and infecting them with the same passion that I have all the while gaining expertise in a field that just so happens to be growing exponentially. 

Candace Corrales, Lead Program Manager, Apex Legends Esports at Electronic Arts

Candace leads Program Management of the Apex Legends Global Series at EA and Respawn Entertainment. She’s been in the video game industry since 2017 and specializes in strategy and operations. In her spare time, she plays TTRPGs, crafts dice, and is an absolute fiend in Among Us.

Russ Hamer, Director of Esports at Mount St. Mary’s University 

Dr. Russ Hamer is the Director of Esports at Mount St. Mary’s University and the Director of the Esports and Games Studies. He coaches teams, teaches classes in gaming, esports, streaming, and innovation, and manages the esports facility at the Mount. His PhD is in philosophy and he’s published work in the intersection of philosophy, games, and esports.  I work in the intersection of philosophy and gaming. I'm into esports, innovation, game design, and storytelling. I want to do cool stuff. If you're doing cool stuff, I want to hear about it.  Philosopher and Gamer. I just want to work on cool projects. Russ is the co-author of the Collegiate DEI Esports Handbook

Hector Melendez, Esports strength and conditioning coach - Head of Performance-Parabellum Esports 

Hector is a Strength and Conditioning Coach who has been in the health and wellness industry for 11 years. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Sports Science from Lasell University. He has worked with all a wide range of clientele ranging from elementary-aged students to collegiate and professional level athletes. In 2018, Hector started the framework of what is now known as Road to Strength which is an in-person fitness business, and has since expanded into working with athletes in the esports/gaming industry. He is currently Head of Performance at Parabellum where his main goal is to approach health and wellness through a holistic approach to mental and physical performance. He is certified with the NSCA as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist, USA Weightlifting Level 1 Coach, and Functional Movement Screen Level 1 Coach. 

Heather Blair – Chief Innovator at LG

I spend my time between the cinema, gaming and esports industries. I'm the founder and President of Women in Exhibition (cinema exhibitors, studios, and support vendor companies) and the president/founder of Cinema Esports Alliance Co -CEAC-( connecting cinemas who wish to offer esports & gaming with companies who wish to engage with them).  Heather is the CoFounder of CineSim ProAm. Bringing esports, motorsports, and cinema under one roof. )

Dr. Seth Jenny, Professor of Exercise Science and Esports at Slippery Rock University

Dr. Seth E. Jenny is an assistant professor within the Department of Exercise Science and Athletic Training at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (SRU).  As an esports academic, Dr. Jenny is a performance advisor to KovaaK 2.0: The Meta FPS aim trainer, founding member of the Esports Research Network, Deputy Editor of the International Journal of Esports, and Associate Editor of the Journal of Electronic Gaming and Esports.  He teaches esports courses in SRU’s undergraduate esports minor and serves as the faculty advisor to SRU’s esports team.  Dr. Jenny has conducted research studies relating to video gaming and esports since 2011.  He has provided 100+ professional presentations and has published 50+ peer-reviewed academic journal articles within his prime areas of research - esports, motion-based video gaming, instructional technology, and distance running.  

Twitter: @DrSethJenny - Website: https://www.sethjenny.com

Wim Stocks, Commercial & Partnerships Lead at Belong Gaming & Vindex and pioneer in online gaming and esports

Experienced CEO & GM with a demonstrated history of success and accomplishments in the esports, gaming, and entertainment industries. Highly skilled and experienced in Esports & Gaming, Digital/Social & Online Strategy, Brand DeveIopment & Marketing Strategy & Management, Mobile Applications, Mobile Content, Business & Partnership DeveIopment, and Digital Marketing. Strengths in business development and partnership management development,partnerships/partnership management

Amir Satvat, Head of Global Startup Operations at Amazon and Strategic Advisor at PlaySide Studios

Amir Satvat most recently served as principal publishing producer and, prior to that, both business development and strategy lead at Amazon Games. Prior to this, he served as COO for AWS’ Inside Sales and Demand Generation Businesses. Before this, he spent over a decade in the tech and healthcare sectors in a variety of roles across strategy, operations, and business development. Amir earned his MBA and Master’s in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and his MPA in Public Policy from New York University.

Amir also operates one of the largest video games LinkedIn communities with over 27,000 followers, half of whom work in the games industry. Amir has played over 2,200 titles in his life and his favorite video games series include Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Monkey Island, and The Witcher. The first game he ever played was Asteroids on the Atari 2600.

Victor Castro – Director of Army West Point Esports

Victor is the Deputy Director, West Point Simulation Center, Department of Military Instruction (DMI) and Director, Army West Point Esports

Nathan Lindberg – Commercial Director, Gaming at SuperAwesome, former Regional Vice President of Twitch

Savvy management professional with 10+ years of experience in both digital and print advertising arenas (primarily Gaming & Entertainment). My clients include blue chip companies across North America, Europe & Australia. I have forged business development deals, capitalizing on company strengths, despite perceived industry weaknesses to increase overall revenue & profit.   Nathan is a hard working player manager who will never be afraid to roll up his sleeves and jump into something. Always willing to pitch in where needed and recognized as a professional much more mature than my years of experience.

Jacob VanRyn, President of the NECC League

Striving to enhance the student-athlete experience on a daily basis 

Dani Marks, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Team Oxygen