speakers

Tyler Hahn is a Library Director in Northwestern Iowa with a diverse background. Having previously served as a college librarian and youth services librarian, he brings a wealth of experience to his current role. Tyler is recognized for his dedication to library services, as the midwest representative for the Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL) as well as the Iowa Governor's STEM Council and being recognized as one of the state's "STEM Gems". His research interests focus on leveraging education technology to enhance library services and emphasizing connected learning and collaboration within the libraries and beyond.

Dr. Victoria Lagrange is an Assistant Professor of Game Narrative and Acting Director of the Center for Interactive Media at Kennesaw State University. She also directs the Game Narrative Lab, where her team designs prosocial games such as Corporation, Inc., winner of an international critical thinking games award. Her research on interactive storytelling and audience engagement has appeared in Behavioral and Brain Sciences and PloS ONE. She is also a co-organizer of Transformer: AI and Games, in collaboration with the Georgia Game Developers Association.

My current work is largely focused on leveraging computational techniques typically used to characterize visual regions of the brain to better understand information processing in higher-order brain areas thought to be critical for executive control. My goal is to develop a biologically-plausible theoretical model that approximates how complex networks of brain regions interact to support cognition. Once we are armed with such an understanding we can devise better strategies to treat and prevent the wide range of psychiatric and neurologic disorders (such as autism, ADHD, and schizophrenia) thought to be the direct result of impaired executive control.

General Manager and Head Coach in the NBA 2K League with eleven years of production experience, Five years of brand activation experience, and several years of social media experience.

Wim Stocks has been a progressive leader, pioneer, and industry authority in gaming, esports, and web3/metaverse businesses since 1990. From 2001 to 2006, Wim was Executive Vice President of the “new” Atari Inc. (a roll-up and amalgam of Hasbro Interactive, Infogrames, and GT Interactive), leading and managing one of the broadest-reaching interactive entertainment publishing networks in the world. In 2006, Wim started an entrepreneurial online gamingpublishing business named Elephant Entertainment, assuming the role of President and COO. In March 2008, the leading games publisher THQ purchased Elephant and Wim assumed the role of EVP and leader of the Online Gaming division and related digital gaming initiatives. In 2010, Wim was recruited to join the executive management team of Virgin Gaming (nowWorldGaming) as Executive Vice President. In this role, Wim helped launch the company and platform in 2010, as well as developed strategic investor, technology, game publisher, retailer, and other brand partnerships. In April 2016, Wim was named CEO of WorldGaming & Collegiate StarLeague, which was acquired by Cineplex in the Fall of 2015, a leading movie theater operator with diversification into gaming, location based entertainment, and other aligned entertainment and digital media businesses. As of July 2020, Wim led the acquisition of Collegiate StarLeague & WorldGaming Network by Playfly Sports, a combined traditional sports, esports, and broadcast management/rights management company, and was responsible as Chairman for leading the esports business, strategy, sponsorship/partnership sales, and cultivation, and other investor and partner relations for the Company. In late 2020, Wim joined the executive management team of Belong Gaming & Vindex (founded in 2019 by esports industry pioneers and leaders Sundance DiGiovanni, Mike Sepso, and Martyn Gibbs), leading allCommercial, Partnerships, Sponsorships, and Business Development initiatives in esports, gaming, web 3 & blockchain gaming, and the emerging metaverse space. Wim currently serves as an Advisor to the Special Olympics International; an Advisor to Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) and Ryerson University’s ‘Future of Sports Lab’; Advisor and part of the ownership group of NYXL, (parent company of the New York Excelsior, the professional NYC-based franchise in the Overwatch League, and the NY Subliners, professional NYC-based franchise in the Call of Duty League); Strategic Advisor to The GG Group (Rivalry,the publicly traded online esports betting platform); Board Member of Gamerji, an online mobileesports platform operated in India; Board Member of Slang Worldwide, a cannabis products company based in Toronto; is a Board Member of National Public Radio’s ‘Marketplace’ programming; and is also a Trustee and on the Board of Directors of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Wim recently joined the faculty of the University of New Haven as an Adjunct Professor of Gaming & Esports in the Pompea School of Business, teaching classes and coursework for ‘Investments in Esports’ (Winter/Spring of 2022). Wim has also served on the boards of Allina/Abbott Northwestern Hospital, the Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute in Minneapolis. Wim is very proud of his two smart, savvy, and accomplished daughters (both attorneys) living in Minneapolis.

I've worked 22 years for in the computer and gaming fields for Dell, Inc and Blizzard in Customer Experience and Operations roles. I owe most of my early career skills to my passion for gaming and working to enable the same opportunities for the youth of today.

After graduated from University in Japan, I have studied Kinesiology in California. Then I have worked as an athletic trainer and physical education teacher at a Japanese high school in New York for about 10 years. I was involved in the launch of NASEF JAPAN and now work as an Esports Scholastic Director. In particular, I am working to connect with high school teachers and expand e-sports in Japan.