Hi! Giselle here (a.k.a giselleium), and I am a software engineer and UI/UX engineer with a background in gameplay systems, UI implementation, and interactive design. My path into games has been shaped by both technical rigor and creative exploration, spanning engineering, design, and community-driven projects. I currently work across game development, tooling, and creative production, and I understand firsthand the challenges developers face at every stage of their careers, from students and juniors to experienced professionals navigating an evolving industry.

My philosophy aligns strongly with IGDA’s mission. I am currently serving on my local board for San Diego, and I am more than thrilled to volunteer every year at GDC with IGDA. I am passionate about building a healthier, more sustainable, and more inclusive game development ecosystem.
I would be honored to contribute my skills, perspective, and energy to supporting the global game development community through IGDA.

If I can help my community grow, then I want to do it!

For the past three years, my primary professional focus has been mentoring indie developers and early-stage studio founders, work I’ve done through the IGDA Indies SIG, the Xsolla Accelerator program, and through Pixel Strategy, the company I co-founded to help new creators navigate the business realities of making games in the current era. I’m running for the IGDA Board because I want to scale that impact beyond individual conversations, to help shape how the organization supports developers industry-wide.

My 20 years in games have given me perspective across the industry, from EA to Riot, from scaling a 20-person startup to 150 at Genvid, my own experiences launching and running a gaming tech company as well as a game studio of my own currently, advising founders on how to navigate the industry, and individual creatives on how to carve out a career in uncertain times. I’ve seen how different parts of the industry function, where they fail developers, and what actually helps people build sustainable careers.

The past two years have been brutal. Mass layoffs, studio closures, a funding environment that’s left even the most talented developers scrambling, and the ever present specter of AI and it’s impact on the creative arts. The IGDA’s mission, to support and empower game developers, has never been more urgent. I believe the organization needs board members who are actively embedded in the struggles facing today’s developers. My current work puts me in direct contact with the people most affected: first-time founders burning through savings, mid-career devs laid off after a decade, teams trying to figure out how to survive without traditional industry backing, and fresh faces out of school looking to make their artistic mark.

I also bring the unglamorous types of experience, such as governance and finance. I’ve served as Board Member and Treasurer for SYN Shop, a Las Vegas nonprofit makerspace, where I’ve learned the practical realities of running a member-driven organization, budgets, volunteer coordination, strategic planning, the work that keeps community organizations functional.

I’m running because I’ve spent years telling developers that the IGDA is worth their time and membership, and I want to help make sure that remains true during the hardest stretch our industry has faced. The developers I mentor deserve an IGDA that fights for them. I’d be honored to help make that happen.

I am passionate about games and community development. Games entertain, educate, challenge us, and change how we think. They also empower people to build careers, express themselves, and shape culture. Communities create the conditions for that to happen by connecting people, sharing knowledge, and supporting one another. For me, IGDA sits at the intersection of those two forces.
I am a US citizen who has lived and worked abroad for more than 30 years with Helsinki, Finland being my home since 2015. I have nearly 20 years of experience across the games industry and additional experience working in civil society organizations. My gaming background spans localization/culturalization, publishing, marketing, but is primarily in production and partner relations. This mix of industry and nonprofit experience has shaped how I approach leadership: pragmatically, inclusively, and with a strong focus on sustainability and capacity building.

Since moving to Finland in 2014, I have been deeply involved in IGDA Finland in multiple leadership roles. As seminar coordinator for the Helsinki Hub, I helped grow events that regularly attracted audiences of 400 or more. As Membership Lead, I ran a focused outreach campaign that resulted in many new companies joining as studio affiliates. IGDA Finland’s structure as a single chapter with multiple hubs across different cities has given me hands-on experience in supporting decentralized volunteer networks, sharing best practices, and empowering local leaders rather than centralizing control.

Beyond Finland, I previously served on the HQ board for four years, and after leaving the board worked as a regional chapter coordinator, supporting chapters and volunteers across Europe, as well as some chapters in Central Asia, and the United States. Much of this work has focused on helping volunteers learn from one another, sharing successful practices, and strengthening connections between chapters so they are not solving the same problems in isolation.

The games industry is currently facing unprecedented challenges, from economic pressures and studio closures to questions around sustainability, inclusion, and the future of work. These challenges directly affect our members and our volunteer leaders. I am seeking to return to the IGDA HQ board to help guide the organization through this period, strengthen support structures for chapters, and ensure that IGDA continues to provide meaningful value to an increasingly global and diverse membership.

If elected, I would focus on improving collaboration and knowledge sharing between chapters, strengthening support for international volunteers, and helping IGDA adapt its programs and communication to meet the realities facing developers today. My goal is to help ensure that IGDA remains a resilient, relevant, collaborative, and supportive organization for game developers around the world.

I’m standing for the IGDA Board because I believe the games industry’s greatest untapped resource is the people we’ve systematically excluded, and that our international professional association must lead with integrity in changing that, especially now.

The IGDA exists to support and connect game developers globally. But true support requires both accountability and sustainability. We must actively dismantle barriers that prevent talented people from thriving in our industry, while strengthening the IGDA itself as an organisation that members choose to invest in. As political climates shift and threaten developers’ rights and mobility worldwide, our international mandate and operational resilience become even more critical.

The IGDA must demonstrate clear member value. I would strengthen professional development resources, expand mentorship networks, and create clear pathways that show how membership directly advances careers, especially for early- and mid-career developers.

Our role is to convene, connect, and catalyse. Rather than reinventing programs, the IGDA should use its convening power to broker partnerships, share best practices, and create replicable frameworks. This multiplies impact without proportionally increasing costs, making membership essential for organisations seeking credible engagement with the developer community.

Operationally, like any membership organisation navigating industry change, we need to modernise our revenue models, diversify income sources beyond dues, and define success in terms of measurable outcomes. This includes sunset policies for underperforming initiatives, stronger governance practices, and better resourcing for staff and chapter leaders.

Our chapters and SIGs are under-leveraged. I would prioritise empowering local leadership with the tools and autonomy needed, while ensuring global coherence. The IGDA should be the connective tissue that enables collaboration across borders, especially when physical mobility is under threat.

We must also lead with authenticity. Members are rightfully sceptical of performative diversity work. The IGDA must show, not just say, what equitable, inclusive leadership looks like, and hold itself accountable to the communities it serves.

As Founder and CEO of Code Coven, I’ve built inclusive programs that have supported over 1,000 marginalized developers globally. We’ve raised over £1 million in sustainable funding, brokered international partnerships, and supported the creation of studios that are still thriving years later. I know what it means to lead with integrity, deliver on mission, and stay accountable to those we serve.

The IGDA must become indispensable. I’d be honoured to help make that real.