2018 Board Election Candidates

Nominations for the 2018 IGDA Chicago Board Elections have closed and elections are about to begin.

We have four nominees running for three available seats on the Board of Directors. We have provided their candidate statements below so you may review who has stepped up to run.

If you are a paid IGDA member, please watch your inbox for voting instructions.

2018 Candidates

Sam Bond

As with many of us in the games industry, I don’t see myself as having one role anywhere. I’m a Certified Medical Illustrator and 2D artist; I’m an educational games theory researcher, a teacher, a learner, a programmer, a designer, a builder, and a gameplayer. In an organization with such a wide range of skills, the IGDA allows its members to display and embrace their roles without labeling, integrate and understand fellow members, and discover more about their own interests through exploration and opportunity. As a 2017 Women in Games Ambassador for the IGDAF (now the Viscosity program), I was so apprehensive about my future in games. I asked constantly if I was really good enough to be involved, if a medical illustrator belonged in games, if I would be accepted as a young woman with little job experience. Then I was given the opportunity to explore my own paths and carve out new friendships; I was able to see that through my membership in the IGDA, I was, all at once, all of my roles without sacrifice.

I’ve been teaching medical game development at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the Biomedical Visualization program for almost three years, building freelance games and playtesting for friends when I can. This spring, I’ll be starting as the director of our new undergraduate program in Life Science Visualization. When I see a good opportunity, it doesn’t take me too long to assess things, put in the work, and give it my all. My experience with the IGDA has been groundbreaking for the ways and the content that I teach. If I’m able to serve on the board, I feel I could bring a genuinely unique perspective, along with a drive and a commitment for an organization that has given so much to its members. The IGDA has done so much for me. I’m very eager to start giving back.

Thank you kindly for your consideration, and have a wonderful holiday!

Josh Delson

I’m pretty integrated with all the major game development schools in Illinois (DePaul, Columbia, COD, Bradley, Elmhurst) and mentors a ton of undergraduates in helping break into the game industry. The most recognized work I’ve done in Chicago was starting the Junior Development Experience to accommodate student developers. There is so much potential Chicago’s industry has to offer and my goal would be bringing the communities together. I’m pretty known for organizing events and loves hosting/promoting events targeted towards game developers. Due to my community management success, Alex Seropian (CEO/Creator of Halo/Bungie & Chicago native) hired me specifically as an Events Specialist at Electronic Arts (EA). I hope this gives a tiny glimpse of what I can offer as a Board Member (Also the IGDA site states 3 Board positions, but not the actual titles).

Something random I believe in, is that the largest room in the world is the ‘room for improvement’. It would be an honor to continue the legacy and improve Chicago’s IGDA Chapter with upcoming events in 2019. Feel free to let me know if there are any questions, comments, or concerns.

Ryan Sizemore

The game industry has always been a major driver in my life as I’m sure it has been with many of you. I knew from an early age that I wanted to be part of it, to create these things that bring so much joy and wonder to those that play them. And as I further pursued a career in games, I found the community of game devs to be one of the best that I’d been a part of and I knew that I wanted to contribute to its growth.

I am already an active member and volunteer of the IGDA Chicago chapter, attending as many events as possible, going to volunteer meetings, and helping whenever possible. Outside of that, I have also given intro 3D modeling talks to encourage others who may find interest in it as I did. As a game artist, I feel there could be more representation and activities for art within the chapter. If elected as a board member, I will push to move the chapter forward and to include more focused events, discussions, and resources that will help the members and hopefully the video game development scene as a whole in Chicago.

Chris Weiss

I’ve been working as a professional in games since 2011, taking on a multitude of roles from QA to design to production. Paired with my work running an independent studio, I have vast insight into the struggles and boons of our industry. My goal is simple: I wish to improve the issues we face daily as game developers as well as boost our local devs in Chicago to give them the appreciation they deserve.

I sat in a temporary seat on the IGDA Chicago board in 2018, and have been volunteering for the organization during previous years for events such as GDC. I hold skills outside of game development that may also prove useful for the association, such as film and photography, digital marketing, business development, and community management.

I look forward to seeing the continued growth of the IGDA as well as the Chicago game developer’s culture.

2018 Elections: Nominations are Open

The 2018 IGDA Chicago Board Elections are just around the corner in December and our local IGDA members will be voting on three available Board seats. These newly elected Board members will join the two standing Board members in volunteering their time and energy to move the chapter forward in the direction they feel most represents the will of the membership and the good of the chapter.

At this time we would like to open the floor to nominations for these three openings on the Board. Please consider your recommendations carefully, as the Directors of the organization are representative of you as the membership.

If you are nominating yourself, please send us a short candidate statement. If you are nominating someone else, please be sure to include complete contact information for your nomination. All nominations must be emailed to info@igdachicago.com.

There are only two requirements to be on the Board: you must be a paid member of the IGDA and you must be able to commit to attending the board meetings and IGDA Chicago meetings with some regularity. Specifics will be discussed with board members following the election.

Nominations will be accepted until 11:59 PM CST on November 22nd, 2018. After nominations close, we will be sending our local IGDA members additional information about the candidates and voting process.

If you are interested in getting involved but not necessarily running for the Board, please consider joining us as a volunteer. Building a strong chapter hinges on the efforts of passionate individuals in the game development community, so please don’t hesitate to email us at info@igdachicago.com to let us know how you’re interesting in helping out!

Best Regards,

Your IGDA Chicago Chapter Board of Directors

2018 IGDA Chicago Board Election

The 2018 IGDA Chicago Board Elections will be kicking off shortly with nominations.

Three Chapter Board seats are up for election this year.

Key dates:

November 1 – Nominations Open

November 22 – Nominations Close

November 26 – Polls Open

December 17 – Polls Close

There are only two requirements to serve on the IGDA Chicago Board:

must be a paid member of the IGDA in good standing

must be able to commit to attending regular Board meetings

Please email info@igdachicago.com if you have any questions about the upcoming election or are interested in joining our awesome team of volunteers!

2017 IGDA Chicago Board Election Results

The 2017 IGDA Chicago Board of Directors elections have drawn to a close after the call for nominations.

Two nominations were cast for three open seats on the Board:

Ross Hersemann

I am an attorney, writer, and gamer.

I am the Founder of Loading Law, a Chicago-based law practice, and provide legal counsel to video game developers and entrepreneurs in the tech sector. I am also the Organizer of the Chicago Video Game Law Summit and an Adjunct Professor of Video Game Law at DePaul University. I speak frequently on hot topics in law and technology and my book on Video Game Law will be published in 2018. I also serve as Co-Chair of the CBA YLS Creative Arts Committee, Board President of the VGA Gallery, and for the last two years, as a Board Member of IGDA-Chicago.

I began my term with IGDA-Chicago when I was elected Secretary in 2015. Since that time, I have contributed my devoted service and leadership in support of our Chapter’s goals. I am extremely proud of the Chapter’s accomplishments during my time on the Board, particularly our charitable works and fundraising efforts. By offering educational programming, coordinating business networking opportunities, supporting charitable causes, and advocating social issues and justice, IGDA-Chicago is part of the bedrock of Chicago’s video game community. If re-elected as Vice-Chair, I would remain dedicated to supporting these endeavors and increasing IGDA-Chicago’s role in making the Chicago video game community to incredible reality that it is.

Tom Caprel

When I was young, games were my novels. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been captivated by the stories and lives of my characters. For me, working in games is my deepest passion. I started my term on the IGDA board in early 2017 to fill in for the outgoing Treasurer, and I would like to continue as Treasurer in this dedicated and driven organization. My goal is to bring my experience as a gamer, entrepreneur, and team leader to help IGDA Chicago grow into new projects, new events, and add new members. In the past year alone, we’ve created a fantastic series of events, panels, and lectures designed strengthen connections between Chicago developers with topics ranging from game audio, to game IP law, and social justice. Let’s continue that momentum into 2018!

My background: I received my degree in Vocal Performance from Millikin University in 2011 as an opera singer. Out of college, I began working at a mobile app company where after 5 years I lead the 4 person marketing team. Currently, I work a big data company as their Marketing Manager. My first project in games was a big-data website to analyze in-game markets with the goal helping players get the most out of their playing time. In 2015, I started a dedicated marketing company, Hyperion Marketing, to help small game/software developers share their success to the world. As for other non-for-profit organizations, I have had multiple roles at the Video Game Art (VGA) Gallery including Communications Director & Exhibit Manager since February 2016.

Congratulations to Ross and Tom, who will be appointed to the Board and will officially take office alongside Ali Cedroni and Heather Decker on January 1st, 2018. Following the first Board meeting of the new year, one additional Board seat will be appointed.

We greatly appreciate Brian Eddy’s contributions to the Board these past two years and he will continue to serve on the board until the close of the year on December 31st, 2017.

2017 Elections: Nominations are Open

The 2017 IGDA Chicago Board Elections are just around the corner in December and our local IGDA members will be voting on three available Board seats. These newly elected Board members will join the two standing Board members in volunteering their time and energy to move the chapter forward in the direction they feel most represents the will of the membership and the good of the chapter.

At this time we would like to open the floor to nominations for these three openings on the Board. Please consider your recommendations carefully, as the Directors of the organization are representative of you as the membership.

If you are nominating yourself, please send us a short candidate statement. If you are nominating someone else, please be sure to include complete contact information for your nomination.

There are only two requirements to be on the Board: you must be a paid member of the IGDA and you must be able to commit to attending the board meetings and IGDA Chicago meetings with some regularity. Specifics will be discussed with board members following the election.

Nominations will be accepted until 11:59 PM CST on November 22nd, 2017. After nominations close, we will be sending our local IGDA members additional information about the candidates and voting process.

If you are interested in getting involved but don’t feel a Board position is necessarily for you, please consider joining us as a volunteer. Building a strong chapter hinges on the efforts of passionate individuals in the game development community. Please don’t hesitate to email us (info@www.igdachicago.com) to let us know you’re interesting in helping out!

Best Regards,

Your IGDA Chicago Chapter Board of Directors

2017 IGDA Chicago Board Elections

The 2017 IGDA Chicago Board Elections will be kicking off shortly with nominations. Three Chapter Board seats are up for election this year.

Key dates:

November 1 – Nominations Open
November 22 – Nominations Close
November 27 – Polls Open
December 11 – Polls Close

There are only two requirements to serve on the IGDA Chicago Board:

• Paid member of the IGDA in good standing

• Able to commit to attending regular Board meetings

Please email info@www.igdachicago.com if you have any questions about the upcoming election or are interested in joining our awesome team of volunteers!

2016 IGDA Chicago Board Election Results

The 2016 IGDA Chicago Board of Directors elections have drawn to a close after the call for nominations.

Two nominations were cast for three open seats on the Board:

Shekhar Dhupelia

Shekhar Dhupelia is the Studio Head for Wargaming.net, for both their Chicago and Baltimore offices. Originally an engineer, Shekhar has worked in games for 15 years, getting his start at Sony back in the PlayStation 2 days, and has worked at several local companies in Engineering and Production roles including Midway, High Voltage, Studio Gigante, WMS / Scientific Games and now Wargaming for the past 3 years working with the World of Tanks team. He has previous experience volunteering for the IGDA Chicago Chapter, and is focused on both growing the Chicago game dev scene while always pushing to improve quality of life for our current and future developers.

Heather M Decker

Chicago has an amazing game development community and my goal is for our local IGDA chapter to continue organizing a variety of monthly events for students and professionals alike so we can continue to connect, learn, and grow together. In the coming term, I will ensure that our chapter embraces opportunities to collaborate with other local groups because with our powers combined we can do even more awesome things! Additionally, I’ll be encouraging more individuals from within our fantastic community to get involved through volunteering to support and drive IGDA Chicago activities. Our community is powered by the efforts of many outstanding folks who donate their time to make great things happen in and around Chicago. Since I first became involved with IGDA Chicago in 2011, we’ve done some pretty awesome things. I’m excited to see what we come up with next!

Congratulations to Shekhar and Heather, who will be appointed to the Board and will officially take office alongside Brian Eddy and Ross Hersemann on January 1st, 2017. Following the first Board meeting of the new year, one additional Board seat will be appointed.

We greatly appreciate Eric Shofe and Patrick McCarron’s contributions to the Board these past two years. Eric and Patrick will continue to serve on the board until the close of the year on December 31st, 2016.

2016 Elections: Nominations are Open

The 2016 IGDA Chicago Board Elections are just around the corner in December and our local IGDA members will be voting on three available Board seats. These newly elected Board members will join the two standing Board members in volunteering their time and energy to move the chapter forward in the direction they feel most represents the will of the membership and the good of the chapter.

At this time we would like to open the floor to nominations for these three openings on the Board. Please consider your recommendations carefully, as the Directors of the organization are representative of you as the membership.

If you are nominating yourself, please send us a short candidate statement. If you are nominating someone else, please be sure to include complete contact information for your nomination.

There are only two requirements to be on the Board: you must be a paid member of the IGDA in good standing and you must be able to commit to attending meetings with some regularity. Specifics will be discussed with board members following the election.

Nominations will be accepted until 11:59 PM CST on November 22th, 2016. After nominations close, we will be sending our local IGDA members additional information about the candidates and voting process.

If you are interested in getting involved but don’t feel a Board position is necessarily for you, please consider joining us as a volunteer. Building a strong chapter hinges on the efforts of passionate individuals in the game development community. Please don’t hesitate to email us (info at igdachicago dot com) to let us know you’re interesting in helping out!

Best Regards,

Your IGDA Chicago Chapter Board of Directors

2016 IGDA Chicago Elections

The 2016 IGDA Chicago Board Elections will be kicking off next month with nominations. Three Chapter Board seats are up for election this year.

Key dates:

November 1st – Nominations Open

November 22 – Nominations Close

November 25 – Polls Open

December 9th – Polls Close

There are only two requirements to serve on the IGDA Chicago Board: you must be a paid member of the IGDA in good standing and be able to commit to attending regular meetings.

Please email info@www.igdachicago.com if you have any questions about the upcoming election or are interested in joining our awesome crew of volunteers.

2015 IGDA Chicago Board Election Results

The 2015 IGDA Chicago Board of Directors elections have drawn to a close. A special thanks goes out to this year’s candidates who stepped up to run: Brian Eddy, Ross Hersemann, and Kevin Treski.

We appreciate the local IGDA members who took time to review the candidates and cast their votes.

Voting concluded on December 14th, 2015, and the newly elected Directors will officially take office on January 1st, 2016.

The elected directors are (listed alphabetically by last name):

Brian Eddy

Ross Hersemann

Congratulations to Ross and Brian, who will be joining Heather M Decker, Patrick McCarron, and Eric Shofe on the chapter Board.

We greatly appreciate Neal Sales-Griffin and Sheri Rubin’s contributions to the Board these past two years. Neal and Sheri will continue to serve on the board until the close of the year on December 31st, 2015.

Thank you to Tristin Hightower, Global Director of Operations for the IGDA, who assisted us with election correspondence and tallied the voting results.

IGDA Chicago Board of Director Elections – 2015 Candidates

Nominations for the 2015 IGDA Chicago Board Elections have closed and elections are about to begin.

We have 3 nominees running for 2 available seats on the Board of Directors. We have provided their candidate statements below so you may review who has stepped up to run.

If you are a paid IGDA member, please watch your inbox for voting instructions.

2015 Candidates

Brian Eddy

I have been making games professionally for over 30 years from Commodore Vic-20 and C-64, to programming and designing pinball machines, redemption machines, arcade video machine, console games from the PS2 to Xbox360 era, PCs and most recently free to play games on Facebook and mobile/tablet devices.  I have held most major rolls on a game development team from lead designer, programmer, art director, audio direction and production along with deep involvement in marketing and business side. All this gives me a wide range of knowledge and experience to share on how to make a wide variety of games.

Why IGDA Board?

1. I have years of experience in making video games and now want to help others do the same thing. I have lots of lessons learned along the way and I would like to share that knowledge with others in the gaming world to help them achieve their goals.

2. I enjoy working with all types of people and backgrounds who share a common interest and passion in making games. I love the variety and creativity that comes from a diverse group of people with a passion to create!

3. I’ve been making games specifically in Chicago for over 25 years. I want the gaming community to not only survive in Chicago but continue to grow! The IGDA has the ability to support existing developers but also to inspire and bring in new developers coming from school or hobbyist with a passion to make their own game.

4. I believe in the IGDA and its ability to help those in the gaming industry. I like that they are advocates for quality of life. That they are supporters of diversity because anyone can make a great game. They are an advocate for games as an art form which I very much believe in. The IGDA help people who are unfamiliar with the business and legal matter associated with games by having seminar to help people. And finally they help students in many way through helping set curriculums to awarding scholarships to grow our next generation of game developers.

5. As a youth looking to make games I would have LOVED to have had a group dedicated to the creation of games. This would have been invaluable to be as someone just starting out trying to makes games. Now that this organization exists I would like to help it thrive and continue to provide that outlet and the ability to meet up with other likeminded people to hone their craft in a fun environment.

Thank you for your consideration.

Ross A. Hersemann

My name is Ross A. Hersemann and I would like to submit myself for consideration for the open Board position with the Chicago Chapter of the IGDA. I would like to take this opportunity to share both my reasons for pursuing this position, and my relevant experience. I want to thank you in advance for your consideration.

I am an attorney currently practicing in Chicago. I am a solo practitioner, and I limit my law practice to developing technology and business matters, specifically video games. I have helped several local indie game developers incorporate their studios as businesses, filed their copyrights and trademarks, and reviewed and drafted their business contracts. I typically offer special rates for indie game developers, because I am a diehard gamer myself and I want to support their unique development.

While still in law school I founded the Video Game Law Society and organized the Chicago Video Game Law Summit. The Summit offered 5 academic panels on all aspects of video game law, including independent game development. Our speakers were lawyers, industry professionals, and game developers. I organized the entire event from start to finish and would bring that same level of organization to my work with the IGDA.

In addition to CVGLS, I am committed to industry education in other ways. I run a video game law blawg at www.loadinglaw.com, where I write articles devoted to legal developments in the video game industry. My work with Loading Law has led to many speaking events at conventions where I give presentations to developers and artists. I have spoken at IndyPopCon, Wizard World, the Ohio Game Dev Expo, EPXCon, and most recently ValorCon. I also gave a talk for the IGDA at DePaul several months ago.

I also currently serve as the President of the Board of the Video Game Art Gallery here in Chicago. I have presided over every board meeting since my induction, and I was the co-organizer of the HARDCORE/Casual event at Emporium this summer. We raised funds for local video game artists, and bestowed an award to one who had made great strides in legitimizing video games as an art form.

On the whole, I am dedicated to the Chicago indie video game community. I have attended nearly every Industry Night, Indie City Games Meetup, and event organized by the IGDA, Chicago Gaming Union, the Voxelles, and of course, innumerable legal seminars on technology. I want to bring my experience, organizational skills, and leadership to the IGDA. I want to facilitate collaboration with other Chicago game groups, promote educational programming, and provide networking opportunities for everyone in Chicago involved in games.

I look forward to hearing from you, and thank you for your consideration.

Kevin Treski

Last year I moved back to Chicago after working at Sony Electronics for the last eight years. Most recently I was the Strategy Manager for Corporate Business Development utilizing research and analysis to build business and product plans and roadmaps. Since I’ve been back in Chicago I’ve created two organizations around gaming. Chicago Gaming Union is a monthly outreach group which shows off indie games (many made in Chicago) at a bar to get people excited about new games and advocate for the developers. Play On Chicago is a 501(c)(3) organization that advocates for the revenue and job growth of local video game developers through research and co-marketing. I have also build the most complete map of Chicago’s video game development landscape as well as was selected as a volunteer for Bit Bash. No matter if I am selected as a board member or not, you can always count on me to act as a signal boost to any actives you need help promoting.

You can see more at:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevintreski

https://twitter.com/Khathis

http://www.playonchicago.org/

https://www.facebook.com/kevin.treski

http://digiture.tumblr.com/

Thank you for your time and best of luck!

2015 IGDA Chicago Board Elections

The 2015 IGDA Chicago Board Elections are just around the corner in December and our local IGDA members will be voting on two available Board seats. These newly elected Board members will join the three standing Board members in volunteering their time and energy to move the chapter forward in the direction they feel most represents the will of the membership and the good of the chapter.

At this time we would like to open the floor to nominations for these two openings on the Board.  Please consider your recommendations carefully, as the Directors of the organization are representative of you as the membership.

If you are nominating yourself, please send us a short candidate statement. If you are nominating someone else, please be sure to include complete contact information for your nomination.

There are only two requirements to be on the Board: you must be a paid member of the IGDA and you must be able to commit to attending the board meetings and IGDA Chicago meetings with some regularity. Specifics will be discussed with board members following the election.

Nominations will be accepted until 11:59 PM CST on November 23th, 2015. After nominations close, we will be sending our local IGDA members additional information about the candidates and voting process.

If you are interested in getting involved but don’t feel a Board position is necessarily for you, please consider joining us as a volunteer. Building a strong chapter hinges on the efforts of passionate individuals in the game development community. Please don’t hesitate to email us to let us know you’re interesting in helping out!

Best Regards,

Your IGDA Chicago Chapter Board of Directors

2013 IGDA Chicago Board Election Results

The 2013 IGDA Chicago Board of Director elections have drawn to a close. Voting concluded on December 9th, 2013, and the newly elected officers will take office on January 1st, 2014. The elected officers are (listed alphabetically by last name):

Heather M Decker-Davis
Patrick McCarron
Sheri Rubin
Neal Sales-Griffin
Eric Shofe

Congratulations to our new Board of Director members!

Now that elections are over, the new board of directors will work together to appoint a chair and officers in the coming weeks. Thank you to Tristin Hightower, who ran the polls and verified the results.

If you have any questions for the new board of directors please send them to info@www.igdachicago.com.

IGDA Chicago Board of Director Elections – 2013 Candidates

Nominations for the 2013 IGDA Chicago Board Elections have closed and elections are about to begin.

We have 5 nominees running for 5 available seats on the Board of Directors. We have provided their candidate statements below so you may review who has stepped up to run.

If you are a paid IGDA member, please watch your inbox for voting instructions.

2013 Candidates

Heather M Decker-Davis

Candidate Statement

Chicago has a fantastic and diverse game development community and my goal is to keep bringing all of us together for great events so we can continue to grow and thrive as colleagues and friends. Inevitably, we will end up showing the entire country that the Midwest is a powerful force of creativity and determination. We can do so many great things as a united force!

In the coming term, I aspire to see IGDA Chicago continue to collaborate with other local dev groups to bring the community both education and entertainment. I aim to gather our studios together once again, get everyone’s input, and plan more great things for the community, as well as build up a volunteer base of amazingly talented people who can work together to make big things happen. Last but not least, I want to enrich the next generation of game developers, because the future of Chicago is what we shape it to be.

We’ve had a tremendous past couple of years after rebooting the chapter and I will strive to keep pushing to make each coming year even better.

I greatly appreciate your consideration. Please be sure to read up on all of our candidates and vote so you can help shape your chapter leadership!

Biography

Heather M Decker-Davis served as Secretary on the IGDA Chicago Board from 2011-2013 and is the Senior Technical Artist at Zynga’s Chicago location, previously known as Spooky Cool Labs. As a two-time IGDA Scholar alumni, she is now on the IGDA Scholarship Committee and continues to volunteer with the IGDA in general.

Patrick McCarron

As long as I could remember I’ve always shared my love for games with others. Growing up in Chicago during the evolution of the game industry in the 1990s I was always proud to learn that games developed in Chicago were making a mark and transforming gaming before our eyes.

With the rise of the Internet also happening at the same time, I found myself wanting to share not only my love for these games with others, but also help players get better at them. I started writing “FAQ” strategy guides for what were typically games being developed in Chicago since I usually had early access to them at local arcades. This led to me learning how to program and building online fan communities for these games, some of which I am still actively running now almost 20 years later.

With these skills that I continued to develop, I decided to go into software product development. I eventually fell into game development by creating one of the first native iPhone OS games before there was even an official platform to do so. Since then I have been working on creating both entertainment and non-entertainment “apps” for Apple’s ever growing and changing iOS platform.

Not long after, I started to get involved with the local Apple development community that was already in place. In doing so I saw a need to not only grow our local game development community but speak to how great and talented it is. There is a wealth of great talent in this city, and it pains me when people don’t realize that their favorite game is actually made down the street from their house. So I started to get involved with our local IGDA Chicago chapter by first attending events by volunteering to help where and when I could.

It was just a few short months ago that the board invited me to join and help out more directly. So far I’ve helped run and organize both fun and educational events that will help showcase the greatness that is the Chicago game development community.

Having experience in both creating games and creating and managing communities, I feel I can help to grow the Chicago chapter of the IGDA if I were to be elected for a full term. I think our chapter has the potential to do great things if we take what we did in 2013 and improve it even further in 2014. I hope to be elected to be a part of that effort.

Thanks again for your consideration.
Patrick McCarron

Sheri Rubin

Candidate Statement:
Over the last three years – when the reboot really kicked into full speed – I’ve really seen this chapter grow and succeed. We’ve engaged the community at all levels. We’re starting to build up a good volunteer base, we’re hosting events for all types of interests, partnering with other dev groups, and we’re starting to really gain some momentum especially with the two most recent additions to the current board: Patrick and Eric. Along with those two additions and my original cohorts Heather and Neal I think we’ve done a great job at pulling together some amazing events this year. I would like you to consider supporting my nomination for the IGDA Chicago Board of Directors so that I can help ensure we can continue transitioning into a stable, solid, successful chapter. I think we’re on our way there and I think I can help do that when combining my love of the industry, my love of Chicago, and my love for this Chapter. I hope you’ll honor me with another chance to serve our chapter and I also hope you’ll join us along for the ride – 2014 and 2015 are going to be amazing!Biography:
Sheri Rubin is the founder and CEO of Design Direct Deliver (DDD). With her zealous attention to detail and a passion for improving customer experiences, she is responsible for creating many of the services DDD offers. Prior to starting the company, she was Producer and Corporate Communications Director for High Voltage Software, Inc. Sheri got her start in the game industry over 15 years ago and has more than 30 game credits under her belt. She is an avid philanthropist and fierce advocate for the betterment of the video game industry, dedicating much of her free time to volunteer organizations including the Red Cross, Women in Games International (WIGI), and the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). Sheri received her B.S. summa cum laude in Business Administration and serves on the boards for Global Game Jam, IGDA, IGDA Chicago, and Rival Games Oy.

Volunteer Contributions/Credits:
General:
Lifetime Member & Volunteer from 1999-Present
IGDA Annual Report 2005: Member Highlight (One of only three volunteers highlighted that year)
Board of Directors:
Board Member (2012-Present)
Secretary (2012-Present)
Chapters:
IGDA Chicago (Member & Volunteer from 2000-Present): Executive Advisory Board (2004-2005), Board of Directors, Treasurer (2011-Present), Interim Chair (2013-Present)
IGDA Orange County (Member & Volunteer from 2009-Present): Board of Directors, Treasurer (2009-2010)
SIGs:
Quality Assurance SIG (Member & Volunteer from 2004-Present): Founder, Chair (2004-2011), Chair Emeritus (2011-Present)
Sexuality In Games SIG (Member & Volunteer from 2004-Present): Founder, Leadership Council Member (2004-2005)
Women In Games SIG (Member & Volunteer from 1999-Present): Steering Committee Member (2010), Advisory Board Member (2009-2010, 2012-Present)
Member & Volunteer for: Casual Games SIG, Diversity SIG, Game Accessibility SIG, Game Design SIG, Human Resources SIG, Localization SIG, Quality of Life SIG, Production SIG, Programmers SIG, and Writing SIG (2001-Present)
Member of over a dozen other SIGs (2002-Present)
Committees and Task Forces:
IGDA Marketing and Communications Committee Member & Volunteer (2010-Present), Chair (2012-Present)
IGDA Chapter Committee Member & Volunteer (2010-2011)
IGDA SIG Committee Member & Volunteer (2010-2011)
IGDA Voter Guidance Task Force Member & Volunteer (2009-Present)
IGDA Programs and Memberships Committee Member & Volunteer (2007-2010)
Events:
IGDA Scholars Volunteer: Mentor (2005-2006, 2010, 2013), Judge (2007-2009, 2012-Present), Coordinator (2011), Committee Member (2012-Present)
Global Game Jam Volunteer: Global Play Party Coordinator (2011), Chicago Site – Mentor & Judge (2012-Present)
IGDA Chicago Game Jam Volunteer: Organizer (2011), Mentor (2013)
IGDA GDC Volunteer: Planning Committee (2011-2012)
IGDA Summit Volunteer: Planning Committee (2011-2012)

Neal Sales-Griffin

One day I got tired of being merely a consumer of video games and other technology and wanted to get involved in developing software myself. In my journey to learn I ended up discovering I wasn’t the only one that had that problem, so I started a school called The Starter League to help solve it for myself and others. My goal is to take an entrepreneurial approach to software development by building web applications that are designed as games.

In the past I’ve helped start some companies, and I’ve worked at a couple venture capital investment firms where I did research on the video-gaming industry and analyzed technology and for-profit education start-ups. I convinced one of those companies to send me to the GDC a few years and after getting to know the awesome guys at Tap.me as well as connecting with Josh Tsui of Robomodo, I wanted to find ways to help galvanize the Chicago game development community.

I crashed an IGDA member meeting with the Board of Directors in San Francisco, and asked them why there wasn’t much activity in Chicago. They said they didn’t know but wanted to talk further. So I followed up and discovered that things had been dormant for quite some time! Instead of sitting back and complaining or dissing the chapter’s inactivity, I decided to take matters into my own hands by getting involved. In doing so I helped re-establish the IGDA Chicago Chapter back in 2010 with the help of Sheri Rubin and Josh Tsui.

It was a tough road at first, no one really knew who I was (or cared much about IGDA/ Chicago for that matter), but I persisted and kept trying to make connections in order to seize an opportunity to start helping Chicago become a vibrant community again. In doing so I met Jay Margalus and Heather Decker-Davis, two amazingly committed people.

In the past year, I’ve been really involved in running my school, and while I’ve served on the board still, my commitment pales in comparison to Sheri’s, Patrick’s, Eric’s and Heather’s. My goal for this next year is to continue offering my company’s resources and facilities to host IGDA Chicago events, and to stay active in supporting the programming and events our team comes up with and puts on. I really enjoyed hosting game tournaments for Super Smash Brothers and Injustice this year, I’m already thinking about the next game tournament I’d like to host.

I would love to continue serving the Chicago community through the events, workshops, game jams, and parties that we have been successfully planning and implementing over the past year.

Eric Shofe

Candidate Statement:

Over the past couple of years, I’ve gotten to know quite a few of our members here in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. I’m continually amazed at the pool of talent and skill in this city. With each interaction and every event I attend, my conviction to help unite this amazing group of people grows stronger.

I believe it’s critical to form an alliance amongst ourselves and really bring it, as far as supporting each other goes. I have some solid plans to enrich the lives of our members and I’m excited to see how we will implement them in the future. Things like a device library/exchange for our mobile developers, a more active presence on the IGDA Chicago jobs board from local studios and continuing to improve the value of our monthly events for our membership, are on my to do list for the new year.

It takes time, commitment, knowledge, creativity and passion to make games and I plan to continue to employ those same things in my time spent volunteering with IGDA Chicago. From game jams to developer panels, product demos to social events, look for many more great things in the future from IGDA Chicago.

Thank you for your support!

Eric Shofe

2013 IGDA Chicago Board Elections

It’s been an exciting past two years for the IGDA Chicago Chapter and we thank you all for your support! The 2013 IGDA Chicago Board Elections will be coming up in December and our local members will be voting on five available Board seats. The newly elected Board will volunteer their time and energy to move the chapter forward in the direction they feel most represents the will of the membership and the good of the chapter.

At this time we would like to open the floor to nominations for seats on the Board.  Please consider your recommendations carefully, as the Directors of the organization are representative of you as the membership.

If you are nominating yourself, please send a short candidate statement to info@www.igdachicago.com that we can post for the membership. If you are nominating someone else, please be sure to include complete contact information for your nomination.

There are only two requirements to be on the Board: you must be a paid member of the IGDA and you must be able to commit to attending the board meetings and IGDA Chicago meetings with some regularity (details will be discussed with board members after elections).

Nominations will be accepted until 11:59 PM central time on November 22nd, 2013. After nominations close, we will be sending our local IGDA members additional information about the candidates and voting process.

If you are interested in getting involved but don’t have enough time to commit to a Board position, please consider signing on as a volunteer. Building a strong chapter takes many hands. Simply email info@igdachicago.org to let us know you’d like to help!

Best Regards,

Your IGDA Chicago Chapter Board of Directors

The New IGDA Chicago Board

(originally posted on Built in Chicago)

Today, after an official election and a lot of work, IGDA Chicago can proudly announce its official formalization with elected board positions. There’s a story behind this, though; it didn’t happen overnight.

A little over 2 years ago the dream of a new IGDA Chicago began with Neal Sales-Griffin. After Neal: Heather Decker-Davis, Jay Margalus, Sheri Rubin, and now Christian Arca. Here we are.

The IGDA Chicago board is comprised of entrepreneurs, developers, teachers, industry professionals, and combinations of all of the above. People passionate about Chicago, about games, and about the individuals at the intersect of both of those communities. An organization as diverse as the group it represents.

After over a year of successful events — from the Chicago Games Showcase to guest speakers Eugene Jarvis and Ian Schreiber — our organization of game industry professionals is moving further forward.

What’s next?

Amongst the next six months: game jams and showcases, convention panels, post-mortems, and local meetups. Additionally, new events and initiatives to take the organizaiton further than last year. Most importantly, though, an organizational promise to further strengthen the benefits behind being a supporting member of our great institution.

So on behalf of the incoming IGDA Chicago board: Thank You, and we look forward to serving you in 2012.

Jay Margalus – Chair
Heather Decker-Davis – Secretary
Sheri Rubin – Treasurer
Neal Sales-Griffin – Media Director
Christian Arca – Business Development

IGDA Chicago Board of Director Elections – 2011 Candidates

Hi All,

Elections for the IGDA Chicago Board of Directors are about to get underway (December 12th). We have 7 nominees running for 5 seats. We present to you the candidates for the IGDA Chicago BoD below so you can review who it is that has stepped up and is asking for your vote to let them help run IGDA Chicago.

If you are a paid IGDA core member please keep an eye on your inboxes tomorrow for your link to vote.

Stay awesome!
Sheri

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(The following are presented in alphabetical order by last name.)

Christian Arca:

For the past 4 years the one constant in my life has been the game industry. I began at Agora Games in Troy, NY where I worked with amazing people in a small team. As time passed Agora grew and so did the industry. Soon enough I wasn’t just working with the small team at Agora but also much larger teams on AAA titles such as Guitar Hero and Call of Duty. After Agora I was offered an amazing opportunity at an exciting time in the game industry and ended up here in Chicago as the studio director for Toy Studio – our focus in social and mobile titles. I’m not recounting my experience to convince you to vote for me but rather to give you context to what experiences I might have encountered so you can leave the convincing to yourself.

To put it briefly I think we are still a rather immature industry – I’m not the only one to think so (Mike Capp’s of Epic calls the game industry shockingly immature – http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114594-Epic-Boss-Games-Business-is-Shockingly-Immature). We’re quick to throw each other under the bus and the illusion of secrecy we attempt to maintain between each other is nothing short of comical. Why shouldn’t we share with each other, help each other, give each other “new life”? For the past couple of months I’ve talked with developers at other Chicago game studios. Our meetings have been brief but they were always honest and true. From those few meetings not only have I been inspired but have gained a vast amount of knowledge and perception that has ultimately helped not only myself but others whom I share my new found knowledge with and ultimately, everyone at Toy Studio.

Being a close community is a broad concept. What could come of it? The answer is anything. By connecting with each other, using each other as collaborative resources we can work to improve our own studios, titles, quality of life, geographical incentives, and ultimately our industry. My goal for the IGDA of Chicago is to connect our community so that we may benefit from each other. Once we are a connected community, I want to listen. As Ernest Hemingway said, “I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.” I do hope I receive the opportunity to listen from each and every one of you.

Heather M Decker-Davis:

We all share a passion for game development, so uniting as a community makes perfect sense. Together, we’re able to do so much more to support the growth and influence of Chicago game development, as well as provide opportunities for enrichment to our local developers.

There are many facets of game development in Chicago and our local chapter would benefit from leadership with the dedication to listen closely and seek feedback in the interest of most effectively responding to the needs of our diverse community.

Over this past year, collaborating with my fellow organizers to revitalize the chapter has been an absolute pleasure and I’d very much appreciate the opportunity to continue to serve you as a board member of the IGDA Chicago chapter. Thank you so much for your consideration!

Please be sure to read up on all of our candidates and vote so you can help shape your chapter leadership!

Biography:
Heather M Decker-Davis is a regular writer for #AltDevBlogADay, adjunct faculty at Clinton Community College, and MFA candidate at Savannah College of Art and Design. She is proud to have been chosen as an IGDA Scholar in 2011 and continues to strive to contribute to the development community and education.

Volunteer Credits:

• One of the organizers behind the 2011 reboot of the IGDA Chicago chapter

• IGDA Perspectives: layout for the events section of the print newsletter and curating the events listing for the online edition

• Co-chair of the Education Track for the 2011 AltDev Conference (#AltDevConf)

• Graphic Arts Technology Program Advisory Committee Member for Clinton Community College

Jason Hrynko:

My personal philosophy, priorities, and goals are taking the new generation of game developers forward by carrying on the rich tradition of the Chicago game development community while upholding the core values established by the IGDA. This will be done by further establishing IGDA Chicago through connecting with local colleges and the unsung developers of the community at large.  Also, hopefully, getting regular postmortem presentations out of already established studios.  I’d like to convince AcTiVision Blizzard, Microsoft Studios, EA (yes again) or Ubisoft, Nintendo, or Sony to open up a AAA development studio downtown. In addition to or as another option I’d like to also be the catalyst for opening on my own AAA development and entertainment studio as well.

The key here is being able to showcase that while the Chicago game development scene is small (29 studios by my count only 6 of which are AAA and one of those 6 is all the way down in Urbana-Champaign) there’s enormous potential for the world class city. Just think of the legacy from Bally’s Midway to Chicago Coin and Bungie. Also the birthplace of Freeway from legendary designer David Crane to Eugene Jarvis and Ed Boon who call Chicago home and head up their own studios. For that matter maybe even getting Alex Seropian to, “come home” from Disney would be incredible to head up another AAA studio.

I believe the IGDA Chicago is poised to show the world that like California, Washington state, and Texas; Illinois to is great place to define the future of entertainment.

Personally, I started as a tester almost five years ago with AcTiVision on Spider-Man 3. After the hard work of two failed attempts at going independent my passion burns more then ever to hit my stride in this business. I am in a unique position to be the one to represent, “The Player” on the Board of Directors. I’ve been playing since 1985 with my Father’s Intellivision. However with the introduction on the Nintendo Entertainment System the Big N took hold and still holds a special place in my heart to this day. I am a new spirit with an old soul. I would be honored to have the privilege in serving the IGDA Chicago in the years to come by making the Chicago game development community more accessible and attractive currently and for the generations to come. Thank You!

Jay Margalus:

Since writing about yourself is awkward, I’m going to tell you why Jay should be on the board for the Chicago IGDA.

Jay is one of the most sincere and talented people I’ve ever met. His enthusiasm is infectious and he inspires me to believe that we can achieve greater things in our community. He’s always willing to put in the time that no one else seems to have. His efforts have helped to unify our community though organizing and supporting events across the multiple developer groups here in Chicago. He is already involved in creating a community that makes people proud to be in Chicago.

He makes games and he cares about games. I think that’s really important too.

I’m Ryan Wiemeyer and if Jay Margalus doesn’t make it on the board of the Chicago IGDA, we’re doing it wrong.

About Me (Jay):
I co-own, develop at, and do marketing/business development for a Chicago independent games studio called Lunar Giant.  I also own a web development studio, co-founded Chicago’s first suburban hackerspace Workshop 88, and have enjoyed being part of the IGDA Chicago reboot from the beginning, along with Neal Sales-Griffin and Heather Decker-Davis.

Sheri Rubin:

Nurturing a vibrant developer community can directly benefit each of us. It’s vital to have a strong network of peers to rely on, especially during these tough economic times. That is why it’s in our best interest to bring together our collective knowledge and experience to help make game development a better place for all of us. In Chicago, we have a lot of history and influence to the medium, and I want to see our Chapter become even more influential once again. I want to help make game development a better atmosphere for everyone involved and would very much appreciate the opportunity to do so as a board member of the Chicago Chapter of the IGDA. With dedicated leadership, I strongly believe that we can grow this Chapter into something we can be immensely proud of. Thank you so much for your consideration.

Biography:
Sheri Rubin is founder and CEO of Design Direct Deliver, a company that strives to improve the customer experience and provides independent contract and consulting services to businesses primarily within the video game industry. She got her start in the industry over a decade ago, has been an active part of the IGDA since 1999 (and is a lifetime member), and has appeared on G4TV twice. Though she has more than thirty game credits under her belt, Sheri’s proudest moment came from showing her father her name on the Golden Tee machine in a Chicago pizzeria. www.designdirectdeliver.com.

Sheri’s volunteer contributions:

• Former Executive Board Member/Current Organizer, Chicago Chapter

• Former IGDA Orange County Chapter Board of Directors (moved to Chicago)

• Member, Chapter Committee

• Chair, Quality Assurance SIG

• Advisory Board Member, Women in Games SIG

• Member, SIGs Committee

• Founder and Former Leadership Council Member, Sexuality In Games SIG

• Participant in over twenty other SIGs

• Member, Marketing and Communications Committee

• Member, Voter Guidance Task Force

• Volunteer, Global Game Jam Team

Neal Sales-Griffin:

I’m Neal, I believe video games will be the future of our education system.

One day I got tired of being merely a consumer of video games and other technology and wanted to get involved in developing software myself. In my journey to learn I ended up discovering I wasn’t the only one that had that problem, so I started a school called Code Academy to help solve it for myself and others. My goal is to take an entrepreneurial approach to software development by building web applications that are designed as games.

In the past I’ve helped start some companies, and I’ve worked at a couple venture capital investment firms where I did research on the video-gaming industry and analyzed technology and for-profit education start-ups. I convinced one of those companies to send me to the GDC last year and after getting to know the awesome guys at Tap.me as well as connecting with Josh Tsui of Robomodo, I wanted to find ways to help galvanize the Chicago game development community.

I crashed an IGDA member meeting with the Board of Directors last year in San Francisco, and asked them why there wasn’t much activity in Chicago. They said they didn’t know but wanted to talk further. So I followed up and discovered that things had been dormant for quite some time! Instead of sitting back and complaining or dissing the chapter’s inactivity, I decided to take matters into my own hands by getting involved. In doing so I helped re-establish the IGDA Chicago Chapter last summer with the help of Tom Dowd, Sheri Rubin, and Josh Tsui.

It was a tough road at first, no one really knew who I was (or cared much about IGDA/ Chicago for that matter), but I persisted and kept trying to make connections in order to seize an opportunity to start helping Chicago become a vibrant community again. In doing so I met Jay Margalus and Heather Decker-Davis, two amazingly committed people. I would love to continue serving the Chicago community through the events, workshops, game jams, and parties that we have been successfully planning and implementing over the past year.

Simply put, all I really want is to keep working with these awesome people. would you kindly vote for me to continue doing so?

Jared Steffes:

Hello!

My name is Jared Steffes and I currently work as a co-founder of Tap.Me. Tap.Me started as a mobile game studio and just about a year ago became a venture capital backed mobile in-game advertising start-up based downtown Chicago.

I attended DePaul University’s College of Commerce and helped create DePaul’s Video Game Degree program while being the first president and co-founder of DeFrag, which continues to be DePaul’s largest student organization.

Video game work experiences include work for EA Chicago, training video games for Rush University and the Department of Defense, game proposals, Technology Consulting, and Video Game Consulting.

My Goals for IGDA Chicago:
The video game industry has changed and has not stopped mutating. Mobile and social platforms have created a serious outlet for creativity and spawned thousands of new game development studios. Big studios are now developing for these new platforms because console gaming is no longer the only viable platform to support a studio. The rise of “freemium” games and hobbyist freely giving away fun content has created new difficulties for studios.

Right now is the best opportunity for anyone to get into game development and the goals I have in mind are pretty straightforward to support game development of all shapes and sizes. I want to make sure people have the best resources and knowledge to succeed in today’s climate whether you are an Indie or AAA studio.

My Philosophy:
Communication and a sense of community are a large factor to creating a healthy advantage for the Chicago area. It is difficult to share information and consistently get together in person because our geographical area is so large, but the technology is available to make a studio in Champaign capable of sharing professional knowledge with a studio in Chicago in a secure and digital format.

Professionals need to have access to professional type events, Indies to Indies, students to students, and there needs to be mixed level events to create community and growth. People willing to share their experience need to be able to feel comfortable sharing with their peers.

When someone moves to Chicago and searches the Internet for video game industry in Chicago, I want to make sure they have a powerful resource and comfort because of IGDA Chicago. Let’s share our triumphs because making games is a passion. We are all rock stars!