Reducing Harm by Building Resilience

Named as a MIT Technology Review 35 Under 35 Innovator, Dr. John E. Muñoz (he/him) is a distinguished researcher with a robust background in biofeedback, emotion regulation training, and the development of digital therapeutic interventions, creating adaptive biofeedback applications for de-escalation training and mental wellbeing in first responders and veterans. He is currently a University of Waterloo Adjunct Professor and through his company Body Interface Labs creates adaptive biofeedback applications for de-escalation training and mental wellbeing in first responders and veterans. He has previously collaborated with the NASA Langley Research Center and the Max Planck Institute.

Nicholas Fortugno (he/him) is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playmatics, a company that creates highly-engaging games, media, and user experiences. Playmatics has created a variety of digital and real-world experiences for organizations including Pro Publica, Red Bull, AMC (such as the CableFAX award winning Breaking Bad: The Interrogation), Disney, American Museum of Natural History, the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the Red Cross/Red Crescent. For the past twenty years, Fortugno has been a designer, writer and project manager on dozens of commercial and serious games, and served as lead designer on the downloadable blockbuster Diner Dash and the award-winning serious game Ayiti: The Cost of Life. Nick is a Lead Artist on the Frankenstein A.I. project (featured at the Sundance New Frontier Festival in 2018), and has worked extensively on interactive narrative projects in a variety of formats. Nick has taught game design and interactive narrative design for 20 years at institutions such as Columbia University and the Parsons School of Design, and has participated in the construction of game design and immersive storytelling curriculum.

Dominik Saur (he/him) is a Game and Software Architect who has worked for over +10 years across platforms including mobile, web and VR for Futureverse, Innogames and Gbanga. He is skilled in Unity3D, Unreal Engine 4, JavaScript, ActionScript3 and Azure Functions. Career highlights include developing the localization system for the FIFA AI League and developing the standalone desktop games for the World Nature Forum. He has also worked as a Wellbeing Advisor for SkillsVR and has a deep interest in the holistic wellbeing space.

Philippa (she/her) is a Lecturer at Massey University with a background as an educational game Learning Designer for Scarlet City Studios and SkillsVR for several years, honing skills in iterative design and cross-sector collaboration. Philippa holds a Master of Educational Leadership (first class honours) and is now a PhD candidate. In her work, Philippa aims to create empowering, accessible, educational experiences, drawing empathetic understanding from her own lived experiences as someone with dyslexia.

Jame (he/him) is a seasoned Senior Unity Developer with a strong proficiency in Unity, C#, networking, and automation. Throughout his career, he has played pivotal roles in developing a variety of innovative and engaging games and platforms for clients including FIFA and Remotely. Jame has created biofeedback software to support University of Auckland research. Jame's personal passion lies in creating games that contribute positively to society, particularly in the realm of harm reduction.

Leigh (Ngāti Rangitihi) (she/her) has worked on a range of projects including web series, short films, music videos, documentaries and feature films for Māori Television, The New Zealand Film Commission, TVNZ, Te Māngai Pāho and more. She is a Board Member for Day One Hāpai te Haeata, a filmmaking initiative that supports young filmmakers in Aotearoa. Having grown up immersed in her culture, Leigh’s role as Cultural Advisor is to ensure production follows tikanga.

Originally from Brazil, Tai (she/her) has a diverse background working in the entertainment industry as a Cultural Programme team member at Opus Entretenimento, negotiating and organising multi-city tours for concerts, plays, and family entertainment, and working in hospitality here in New Zealand before retraining as a Full Stack Developer with Mission Ready HQ in 2024 and joining Manana.

Hailing from New Zealand, Kate has worked across the Pacific region running cross-sector partnership programmes, working in the corporate and political sectors. Career highlights include Kate founding a business and development consultancy in Malawi, while also helping to establish an entrepreneurship accelerator and impact investment fund. More recently, Kate spent three years as head of Corporate Social Innovation at Nesta where she was responsible for leading programmes with the private sector for social change and building cross-sector partnerships, before becoming the Head of the Innovation Centre for the United Nations Development Programme, based in Bangkok. Kate currently works for Deloitte.

Anja is a Clinical Psychologist with +13 years of experience working as a Senior Clinical Psychologist for the Department of Corrections and a Psychology Manager for Serco, where she provided psychological principles and knowledge that can be applied to effective, safe and humane practice within a high security remand prison. Previous to this she was a Clinical Psychologist at the Mason Clinic’s Regional Forensic Psychiatry Services. She is a specialist in helping people process their emotions in a healthy way in order to reduce violence and anger.

Originally qualified as a psychologist, Dr Grace Walker is an accomplished Data Scientist and Research Director for Think Analytic. Inspired by her lived experience growing up in a gang environment, Dr Walker revisits narratives about minority and indigenous groups through producing astute, evidence-based data that more accurately reflects lived realities in order to create impactful, meaningful change in communities.