Our Team

Katie is responsible for overseeing all that the Institute is and does. She is an active game designer and, as one of the Institute’s founders, a pioneer in applying game design principles to challenges outside the field of commercial game development. Katie is a Professor in the School of Computing and Digital Media at DePaul University. She lectures widely and writes extensively on game design, design education and gamer culture. She has co-authored or edited several books, including Rules of Play, a textbook on game design, The Game Design Reader and The Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning. Also, Katie was co-lead designer on Gamestar Mechanic, an award-winning online game with built-in game design curriculum. She has been involved in the design of slow games, online games, mobile games and big games in the commercial and independent games sectors around the world.

Brian is responsible for structuring operations in support of the Institute’s vision, mission, values and work, and for the cultivation of key strategic relationships. As a futurist and management consultant, for over fifteen years, Brian has helped top organizations identify emerging opportunities, develop new visions and realize new possibilities within existing structures. Organizations Brian has worked with include Unilever, PepsiCo, Philips, Fidelity Investments, Johnson & Johnson, Vanity Fair, Deepak Chopra and The Grace Foundation. Brian is a skilled facilitator specializing in the design and start-up of organizations in the social development sector. He has taught at The College of William and Mary and the University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop and is a partner at the future forecasting firm, Popular Operations. 

Alice is responsible for maintaining the efficient operation of the Institute's offices, coordinating the Human Resources function and managing select projects. She brings to the Institute experience in project management, operations and human resources with various organizations, including Newsweek, IDEO and Miami Ad School. A graduate of Barnard College, Alice is a passionate proponent of women's education and educational equity. Her academic work focused on language-based educational access in New York City public schools.

Michael is responsible for co-designing and implementing digital media-focused curricula for in-school and after-school contexts. Michael brings with him extensive experience as a professional videographer, documentarian and video editor and also as an artist. He has served the Marlborough Gallery as Lead Preparator and worked at the United Nations International School as s Media Specialist. Currently Michael is pursuing a Media Studies Masters at the New School with a focus on videography, documentary, editing and media literacy.

Dan is responsible for captaining communications and media relations at the Institute in order to activate and grow support for the Institute's vision, values and activities. A graduate of Syracuse University, Dan brings with him many years' experience as a writer, editor and digital content strategist. Previously, Dan was a Managing Editor and Consultant at the trends and innovation agency PSFK. He has worked with a wide range of clients including Apple, Target, CNN, Time, Google, Yotel, Jaunted and BMW. 

Bob is responsible for contributing to Institute projects requiring user experience design in order to ensure the best possible design outcome. His also responsible for applying user experience design principles to the experience of being a member of the Institute team in order to facilitate more effective cross-office information flow, collaboration and maximum creativity. Bob brings with him over ten years experience at the intersection of experience, interaction and visual design. Through his work at several interactive agencies in New York―including his own―Bob has served a broad range of clients, such as JPMorgan, the Wall Street Journal, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Council for Interior Design Accreditation and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Criswell is responsible for the Institute's design practice and for overseeing the quality of its creative outputs. He brings to the Institute experience in the commercial and cultural sectors. At the innovation consultancy Fahrenheit 212, Criswell developed and designed new commercial products for companies like Samsung, Charles Schwab, Lowes and Outback. At Metropolis magazine, for over a decade, Criswell served as Creative Director. He also worked at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Other design clients include The New York Times, Rhode Island School of Design, the Council for Interior Design Accreditation, Harter and PwC. Criswell’s work has been featured in AIGA365, Print Regional Design Annual, Art Directors Club and the Gold Case awards. His work has been nominated for the Society of Publication Designers’ magazine of the year award and the American Society of Magazine Editors’ award for general excellence. Criswell serves on the board of directors of the Society of Publication Designers.

Claudio is responsible for leading the design and successful implementation of game-based learning materials and experiences. Born in Italy, Claudio has led or participated in many projects at the intersection of digital technology, creativity and communication around the world. In 2008 he presented the soundFishing project at the Mobile Music Workshop in Vienna, and in 2009 he implemented the StopStockouts mobile advocacy campaign in Zambia as an Open Society Institute Fellow. Claudio teaches in the Design and Technology program at Parsons The New School for Design.

Don is responsible for refining and implementing curricula in the Institute's after-school pilot programs with a focus on art, design and electronics. Don brings with him a wide range of experiences as an educator and artist. He serves as the Director of Playpower, a non-profit organization that brings low-cost learning games to developing countries, and he is a recent teaching resident at Eyebeam Art+ Technology Center's Digital Day Camp. Don is an adjunct professor of multimedia and programming at Borough of Manhattan Community College and City University of New York and is a graduate of New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program.

Nancy is responsible for design and execution around select informal learning programs at the Institute, with a focus on adult learning. Nancy brings with her many years experience as a social practitioner and as a designer. Her practice has spanned the commercial and cultural sectors and included brand and identity, publication, exhibition, fashion, interactive, editorial and strategic applications. She has worked with a broad range of clients, including Gap Inc, Bruce Mau Design, RGA Interactive and Metropolis Magazine. Her work has been featured in the Cooper-Hewitt Design Triennial, AIGA and Print magazine awards and San Jose Art & Technology Biennials. Nancy is a visiting critic at New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program and Adjunct Professor at Pratt's Graduate Visual Communications program.

Daniel is responsible for developing curriculum according to the Institute’s unique game-based integrated learning model, with a focus on math and technology. He brings with him over seven years’ experience teaching and creating math curricula and programs in New York City. He has worked at the Saint Thomas Choir School, the Calhoun School and GoProjectNYC. And he has studied various forms of meditative athletics and martial arts, as well as Mridangam playing in Southern India, which continue to influence his pedagogy. Currently Daniel is studying technology and education at Teachers College Columbia University.

Shula is responsible for designing and supporting the successful implementation of game-like learning materials and activities. In addition to her experience as a game designer, Shula has many years of experience in education and psychology and has worked on numerous projects at the intersection of design, technology, education and play. She recently finished a year-long project in which she researched and designed effective communication design techniques around middle school anti-bullying efforts.

Rebecca is responsible for overseeing the implementation and ongoing refinement of the Institute’s unique game-based integrated learning model, with a focus on developing multi-dimensional teachers who make important contributions to the learning community. Rebecca brings to the Institute over ten years’ experience in New York City public schools, as a teacher and staff developer. She has also served as literacy coach at East Side Middle School and as a professional development facilitator for the Holocaust Educators Network and the Folger Shakespeare Library. Rebecca is a regular presenter at national conferences and has taught at Hunter College. Her research interests center on professional development and school reform. She holds a PhD in Urban Education from the Graduate Center at the City University of New York.

Arana is responsible for the continued evolution and refinement of the first instance of the Quest learning model and, in collaboration with the Principal, overseeing and guiding the school's activities and aspirations day-to-day. Arana brings to the Institute over ten years’ experience in education, as a teacher, technologist, curriculum developer and school leader. She collaborated on the development of new curriculum for The School at Columbia University, where she served as a founding faculty member. And she served as Lead Educational Technologist at the Ross School and the Ross Global Academy Charter School. Arana is a regular presenter at national conferences. Currently she is pursuing her masters in school leadership from Bank Street.

Eliza is responsible for the long-term advancement of the game-like integrated learning model pioneered by the Institute—its continued evolution in existing learning contexts and its expansion and adaptation in new contexts, such as the upper schools at Quest to Learn and CICS ChicagoQuest. Eliza comes to the Institute with over 13 years of experience in education, as a high school science teacher, teacher educator, educational consultant and researcher in New York, Massachusetts and California. She presents at national conferences regularly and was an adjunct professor at Hunter College. Eliza’s research interests are teacher education, professional development and the use of scientific inquiry in classrooms. She holds a PhD in Curriculum and Teacher Education from Stanford University School of Education.

Greg is responsible for acting as game design lead on key Institute projects. He has served as lead game designer in a wide array of studio settings and on many different kinds of projects, including web-based MMOs, hit casual games and alternate reality games. Greg was Senior Game Designer at Gamelab, an independent game design studio that produced casual games and web-based games like Gamestar Mechanic. And he co-founded the game design studio Gigantic Mechanic to explore the interaction of mobile games and the real world. Currently Greg serves as Director of the Come Out & Play Festival, an annual gathering around street games in New York City. He teaches game design and development at New York University and is the author of Casual Game Design: Designing Play for the Gamer in All of Us.

Brendon is responsible for designing and supporting the successful implementation of game-based learning materials and activities. Brendon brings to the Institute several years’ experience designing and developing online learning tools and experiences, independently and at the e-learning firm, Kognito. He is currently engaged in the movement to popularize Chamball, a new sport described as “dodgeball meets martial arts,” and in the design of Brothers in Farms, a strategy game to teach kids sustainable farming techniques.

Zeke is responsible for supporting the Game Design and Curriculum team as an intern. He is a game designer and a recent graduate from NYU Game Center, where he focused on social game development. He takes great joy in playing games and even greater joy in creating those experiences for others, and is very excited to be part of the Institute of Play team.

Nicole is responsible for supporting the Game Design and Curriculum team as an intern. She recently graduated from Cornell University and is now a first year student in the MFA Design and Technology program at Parsons. She has become increasingly interested in game design and education, especially pushing towards non-traditional ways of learning and interacting.  Her current research includes looking at games as cultural/historical artifacts that reflect social conditions, and using this to inform the present design of critical games. She is very passionate about games and education, and is excited to be part of the team at the Institute of Play.