2010 was a very exciting year at Women in Games International and we have lots of growth and improvement planned for 2011!
WIGI Executive Team WIGI has formalized our Executive Team. WIGI is managed by a team of five people including myself as president and CEO, Krissie Franco—CFO, Asra Rasheed—VP, Amy Allison and Jeannie Novak. The five of us work together to determine the direction of the international organization as well as the Los Angeles chapter.
Belinda Van Sickle—President/CEO I provide overall direction and leadership for the organization as well as serving as the Los Angeles WAM coordinator, organizing Women And Men events in Los Angeles. I also help WIGI chapters with organizing and promoting their own WAM events. I help lead our GDC and E3 programs and provide marketing and promotional materials for all WIGI events and programs.
Krissie Franco—CFO Krissie serves as the organization’s CFO as well as the Chapter Liaison, interfacing with each active WIGI chapter and helping new chapters to start. Krissie has also been instrumental in securing our not for profit status.
Asra Rasheed—VP of Organization Development Asra serves as our business development director, organizing WIGI’s sponsor generating efforts and helping to finance our programs and events. She is also active in organizing our parties at major conferences like GDC and E3.
Amy Allison—Executive Team Amy started the D-L-C program—Drinks-Lectures-Community. The program began in Los Angeles in 2009 and is expanding to San Francisco and beyond in 2011. Amy’s new idea for 2011 is Yes MAMs—WIGI’s meet and greet program. Executive team members will be meeting with representatives of major publishers and developers to learn how WIGI can better serve their employees and the game industry long term.
Jeannie Novak—Executive Team Jeannie is bringing her extensive event coordination and education experience to WIGI’s events and conferences. She is also helping to relaunch the GameMentorOnline program, the only mentorship program available in the video game industry.
WAMs—Women And Men Networking Mixers The Los Angeles chapter just changed its monthly Women and Men networking mixer event in February. We started the monthly mixers in March of 2010 and they have been a great place for industry folks to meet and greet on a regular basis. Our new location has a game demo area and a small arcade for extra fun after work. Come and join us at Busby’s in Santa Monica on the first Monday of the month from 7-9 pm.
The next WAM event in San Francisco is scheduled for February 24th at Jillian’s from 6 to 9 pm.
D-L-Cs—Drinks-Lectures-Community Our fabulous D-L-C program in Los Angeles is expanding to San Francisco and beyond in 2011. The mini-conference panels feature major game industry players talking about hot topics in their areas of expertise. We start the evenings with a moderated panel discussion and move to a nearby restaurant for drinks, appetizers and fellowship.
So far, Los Angeles events have covered topics like In-Game Marketing, Monetization in Social Gaming and How to Move Your Career Ahead (or switch areas) in Gaming. The next Los Angeles event focusing on Developer/Publisher Relations will be announced soon!
The first SF event is planned for summer 2011. We expect to see events in Seattle, Vancouver, Austin and beyond coming soon. If you’d like to be a part of WIGI’s DLC program, let us know!
WIGI Local Chapters Our chapters have been expanding and growing in 2010, with the biggest growth in the San Francisco chapter. Bay area game industry folks have been meeting at WAM events since the fall and we have a dedicated and active team of volunteers. WAM events will continue and we expect to have our first D-L-C in San Francisco this summer.
Our Seattle and Vancouver chapters are actively meeting and we’ve had an annual event at GDC Austin for several years. We want to foster strong growth and community in chapters across the US and throughout the world. We need dedicated volunteers to lead local WIGI chapters. Contact chapters@getwigi.com to get involved!
WIGI Quarterly Newsletter Fall 2010 was the launch date of the first Women in Games International quarterly newsletter. This is the second edition. The newsletter gives info about current WIGI programs and events and offers a forum for articles of interest to game industry folks. Please email info@getwigi.com if you’d like to contribute to the next edition of the newsletter.
We’re also looking for dedicated volunteers to find articles, arrange interviews and create the document three times a year—once before GDC San Francisco, once before E3 and once in the fall. Please contact us if you’d like to be a part of the newsletter team.