About

Paul is relentlessly dedicated to all things at the crossroads of games, education, technology and societal impact. At Serious Play, Paul sets the overall direction and goals of the conference by coordinating speakers, curating the conference agenda, and overseeing all logistical aspects to ensure a seamless experience for participants. In addition to leading Serious Play, Paul is the CEO and cofounder of Gold Bug Interactive and a lecturer at the University of Toronto. He’s an experienced game designer who writes for a variety of publications about progressive and innovative education models, and his research explores how commercial video games can be leveraged for teaching and learning. He has worked closely with a number of UN agencies, some of the world’s largest studios, and diverse international governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Elisa is a veteran serious game designer and media producer who believes that games can make the world a better place. Elisa is the CEO and cofounder of Gold Bug Interactive and, as the Associate Director of Serious Play, she works closely with Paul to ensure that experience design, content curation, and technology integration are all aligned with our conference’s mission and reflective of our community. She has an MA from the Institute of Education at UCL, UK. With more than two dozen games shipped, Elisa has developed a digital game to encourage reforestation in Afghanistan, a VR experience that draws attention to the plight of waste pickers in Mexico, and a game to prevent violence, Chuka: Break the Silence, developed for the Education for Justice initiative of the UNODC, among many others.

Shawn is a three-time Serious Play veteran with a Ph.D. from Northwestern University whose career includes roles as an academic historian, educator, game designer, project manager at Gold Bug Interactive, and CTO at a Miami-based arts residency program. He has contributed to the award-winning serious games Attentat 1942 and Svoboda 1945, which have been showcased at dozens of games conferences and festivals, including Games for Change and A MAZE. As Chief Technology Officer, Shawn is responsible for overseeing the technological direction and strategy of Serious Play. He specializes in strategic planning, organizational systems architecture, AI implementations, and digital integrations. In this role, he leads the development and implementation of solutions that support the organization’s goals and enhance operational efficiency. In addition to his work with Serious Play, he also leverages his diverse repertoire as a consultant.

Esperanza holds a Communications degree and has over 16 years of experience in teaching and curriculum development across diverse international settings including South Korea, the Philippines, Chile, Germany, and Canada. Her Canadian work has notably focused on monocultural programs: a translation program for Korean students, a movement-based English course for children of Yezidi refugees, and an immersion program for students from UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico). As Director of Partnerships and Communications, she utilizes her passion for people to cultivate meaningful stakeholder relationships and ensure partnerships align with our goals, always with the aim to build a strong and lasting community. Esperanza is in charge of identifying and pursuing opportunities for collaboration, whether it be sponsorships, strategic partnerships, or media relations to enhance Serious Play’s visibility and impact.

With over 10 years experience in digital games and media production, Diana is the swiss army knife that does it all. Previously at Gargamel Studios and now at Serious Play and Gold Bug Interactive, Diana manages all aspects of production, including personnel, timing, programming, migrations, databases, and resources. She oversees management, promotion and testing, and spearheads dissemination, communication and events planning. She is passionate about the intersections of technology and education, and has significant experience coordinating diverse ventures and events with schools and educational institutions.

Recently graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a master’s degree in Entertainment Technology, Ariel is a digital producer with a background in user experience and a passion for educational and transformational games. She has extensive experience working on educational mobile games, VR/AR games, and interactive multimedia installations. Her VR educational game project, Pittsburgh Glass Center: Virtual Glass Blowing, won the gold award at the 2023 International Serious Play Awards. She is excited to return as an Exhibits and Arcade Coordinator for the 2024 International Serious Play and to explore the innovative projects and ideas that participants will bring to the event.

Edgar is the web wizard behind our site. He’s a seasoned web developer and interface designer who has created countless interactive websites, applications, and game components. He is passionate about interface design, optimizing functionality and aesthetics. Edgar conjures HTML sites with Bootstrap and an encyclopedic knowledge of CSS, including LESS, STYLUS and SASS preprocessors.