So a bit of a cross post from my other blog, but I wanted everyone to know about this. Below is the candidate statement that I have submitted to IGDA National, thanks to everyone who helped me refine and edit this down to a strong and pointed statement.
I believe the IGDA can be a catalyst for change in the way our industry is viewed and the way we, as game developers, view our passion and our livelihood; but our biggest problem is lack of excitement and engagement in our members. We, the members, are the heart of the organization and the best way to help and engage members is by empowering our SIGs and Chapters. As Chair of the Chapter in Philadelphia, I was able to help raise the excitement in the community by engaging with developers and discovering their needs. This excitement resulted in industry-relevant meetings and grew the Chapter by more than 50% in less than one year. If elected to the IGDA Board of Directors, I have seven main tasks that I would like to work on.
- East Coast IGDA Conference: the West coast has its own IGDA conference and it is time one on the East coast is organized by the Chapters in the region.
- Webinars: they were incredibly valuable; I would love to bring these back.
- Increase value to members: I want to make the current benefits more visible to members. There are a lot of great benefits that most members don’t take advantage of. I want to increase the value of membership so people feel they NEED to be a member. We can accomplish this by finding out what members need and providing it by partnering with organizations that will fulfill those needs and more.
- Fix the website: I will help elevate the website to the same standards the rest of world holds their industry organizations to.
- Regional Super Volunteer: Chapter leaders currently only have Gordon and each other to go to for advice and solutions; there should be a volunteer whose sole purpose is to support Chapter leaders. These volunteers would be assigned to 3-6 Chapters and would support the leaders in any way needed, as well as escalating problems to the board.
- Empower the Chapters: By helping Chapter leaders find sponsorships, connecting leaders with other Chapter leaders, helping Chapters formalize, removing obstacles for international Chapters formalization, and helping Chapters develop and present powerful and useful content to their members.
- Empower the SIGs: By increasing the visibility of the SIGs and their work, encouraging the SIGs to publish periodic white papers and articles; finding space for SIG meetings at conferences, and helping SIG leaders wherever else needed.
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