Kyra Jade Wills-Umdenstock

​I consider myself a games industry nomad, having been involved in games education, events, QA, sound design, esports, and marketing for 10 years. My favorite gig was being a professional Jackbox Party Pack player for NYXL, and my most notable achievement was getting to pet SonicFox’s dog while working East Coast Throwdown: The Pit. I was honored in 2021 by the Game Awards as a part of Future Class, am also a recipient of the JBL Quantum Grant, AnyKey Changemakers Grant, and Girl Scout Gold Award.

 

I currently serve on the NYC Mayor's Office Digital Games Industry Council – including the Gaming Pathways Education Advisory Board. I recently was on the advisory board for a new museum exhibit for black and latine youth housed at the Harlem School of the Arts. I also contributed to the Voice of Intercollegiate Esports Inclusive Excellence Handbook, a guide for college administration, program managers, and club leaders on DE&I in esports. 

I am a big advocate for video games as art and the next great form of storytelling, which was a much more radical statement when I started my journey. Now, I fight for ethics in higher education and the games industry. I believe that college should be for *everyone* and work to create inclusive, sustainable pipelines into creative tech fields. I spend a lot of time thinking about how we train students, what we owe them, and how we can build programs that prepare people not just for jobs-- but for lives grounded in lifelong learning, emotional intelligence, and agency.