Team

Renee leads Stumbling Cat, an indie studio based in Seattle, and is a multi-disciplinary leader with expertise in business operations, software engineering, and creative direction. Previously, she was the General Manager of Phoenix Lab - Vancouver and the Executive Director of the IGDA. She is a passionate advocate and connector for developers and diversity in the game industry. She is also the Chair of the IGDA Alumni Board, consults for numerous organizations, and is outspoken about initiatives to increase diversity both within the game industry and gaming overall to help the game industry grow and improve for everyone.

An artist and illustrator living in the UK, Jake graduated from Leeds College of Art with a BA(Hons) in Digital Film, Games & Animation. Since then he has worked as freelancer, creating book covers, trading card illustrations, concept art, and more. He is a long time gamer with an enthusiasm for the creative aspects of game development. He has a penchant for landscape and environment design and welcomes any opportunity to help bring a fictional world to life.

Zak Whaley is a seasoned technology leader and the Engineering Director at PlayEveryWare, a co-development studio which supports titles like Among Us and Fall Guys and partners like Epic Games and Riot Games. He previously helped build an XR platform team at Magic Leap and is known for his stewardship leadership style. Zak also chairs the Engineering SIG of the IGDA, providing support to engineers from various disciplines. He is a passionate technologist committed to developing best practices and tools for teams using cutting-edge technology.