[game_edu] igda education sig chair nomination - suzanne freyjadis

[drew davidson]

I would like to nominate Suzanne Freyjadis for the position of Chair of the IGDA Education SIG.

I believe Suzanne is uniquely qualified to step into the position and build on the past successes of the previous chair, while also helping the community shape the Education SIG in new and exciting directions.


Suzanne has a Masters degree from the University of Texas at Austin in Women’s and Gender Studies where her focus was on the video game industry, particularly the role of women and girls as consumers of video games.




Suzanne’s statement of qualifications is below:


I have experience with curriculum development in two capacities, prior to graduate school I worked for a curriculum company and also worked for a non-profit and developed curriculum as a board member for a girls empowerment program in California. A majority of my career has been with non-profit organizations in community building and program development roles.


More recently, I have been the Director of the Game Education Summit for the past two years, which has grown continually under my leadership. I have also spoken at conferences and written for academic journals on women and video games as well as game education.


I’m interested in being the Chair of the Education SIG because I am completely committed to building collaboration and community within the Game Education space. I found that while I was working on my thesis I noticed a lack of community surrounding other academics studying video games on campus. As a result of this I work hard to create a sense of community at the Game Education Summit through networking at the conference and creating a friendly space. I have a good working relationship with a large population of academics who work in the game education field as speakers and attendees of the Game Education Summit and authors at the Game Education Network and as colleagues on panels.


I think it is really important for conversations to happen in this space throughout the year. When working with academics in the game education space I have found that there is a real need and desire for community. I think that the Edu SIG has done a great job of outreach to the game education programs and I think now is the time to take it to the next step of creating an even stronger community. Personally, I get really excited when I hear about what someone is researching or a new class that has been created and I think it is important to share this information within our community.


I would like to see more conversations happening on the Education SIG list and I would also like to introduce some more gatherings for academics in local spaces. I know that most academics don’t often attend local IGDA meetings and I think that there is a definite need for outreach to bring the educators and game industry together in more informal settings.


Given my experience in coordinating large and complex conferences, programs and community outreach initiatives I would like to use those skills to help make the revision of the IGDA Curriculum as inclusive as possible. I know that a lot of voices were heard during the initial development of the curriculum and I would like to continue that tradition.  I think that including academics from a wide range and types of schools will help to make the curriculum as robust as possible and I think that it is important for the IGDA Curriculum to remain a cornerstone for game development programs.


I have been talking with academics all over the world and I would like to add even more value to the Education SIG as a resource for administrators and academics involved in game education. I would like to see more resources directly available on the IGDA website and I would like to have the Edu SIG page be a source of information for academics that draws them to the site on a regular basis.


As a person with extensive community development experience, a graduate degree in game studies and a love for curriculum development I think that I would be an ideal Chair for the IGDA Education SIG.


 
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