Biography

Kate Edwards is a 27+ year veteran and an outspoken, multiple award-winning advocate of the game industry and the Executive Director of the Global Game Jam, as well as the former Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). She is also a professional geographer and corporate strategist who pioneered and specializes in content culturalization. Following 13 years at Microsoft, she has consulted on many game and non-game projects for BioWare, Ubisoft, LEGO, Google, Amazon, Facebook, and many other companies. She was recently profiled in the December 2018 publication Women in Gaming: 100 Professionals of Play.

Talk

Changing the Public Perception of Games and Game Creators

After 5 years as Executive Director of the IGDA and as an award-winning industry advocate, Kate Edwards has gained a unique perspective on attitudes towards games and game developers. Despite being a massive socio-economic force, games still struggle to gain respect as a creative art form and as leaders in evolving entertainment. Game creators have lost control of the public narrative of their profession and it’s up to them to be their own best advocates. Kate will illustrate the path to advocacy and embolden individuals to act now!

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