2019 GMG Fellows

Amber Latimer
(Playstation - san mateo, ca)

Amber is an aspiring 3D modeling and visual effects artist from Lithonia, Georgia. She is a rising junior majoring in Anthropology and Film and Media Production at the University of Pittsburgh. Amber enjoys spending much her free time learning about the video game and film-making industries, as well as teaching herself to use industry standard software. Amber has taught herself 3D modeling using programs like Blender, as well as taught herself video editing on Adobe programs. Her favorite game franchises include the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise and the Pokémon franchise. She also loves attending anime conventions and creating costumes of characters from her favorite video game League of Legends. From a young age, Amber was encouraged by her father to continue her passion for video games despite her being one of the only girls in her class that enjoyed them, and it is thanks to his encouragement that she has continued to learn more about the industry she grew up with.

Bridget Goodwine
(xbox - redmond, wa)

Bridget Goodwine is an aspiring programmer and incoming freshman at the University of Notre Dame. She is super excited to be a Girls Make Games fellow because video games combine two of her favorite things: programming and art! In addition, she devotes her free time to reading, painting, and annoying her sisters.

Callie Cannon
(xbox - redmond, wa)

Hi, my name is Callie! I’m a versatile game developer who has experience working in multiple game engines. My specialty lies in technical art (mainly real time VFX and materials) but I also have a lot of experience as a systems designer! I love story-centered games, so I always try to add small stories to give each of my games a life of its own. I’ve loved video games for as long as I can remember, and through this passion I’ve made so many amazing friends and memories. When I first learned about Girls Make Games, I knew it was something I had to be a part of. Growing up I always had a hard time finding other girls who shared my passion, so I’m super excited to be a part of a community that connects girls to other girls who are just like them.

Dustin Pham
(popCap games - seattle, wa)

Hey! My name is Dustin and I'm currently a 3rd year in college. I have been playing video games ever since I was a child and received a gameboy advance. I have a big passion for it and have gone through a wide variety of them from consoles to handhelds to a PC. Some other hobbies of mine include my cat, Lucy Lou, listening to music, and watching anime.

Eilleen Zhang
(playstation - san mateo, ca)

Eilleen started coding in seventh grade with HTML and CSS, and has explored a lot of different types of coding projects since. Her favorite coding activity is going to hackathons on the weekends and meeting new people through 24 hours of nonstop project making. She enjoys playing games such as Stardew Valley, League of Legends, and speed typing games. She is also very passionate about supporting other women in STEM. In her free time, Eilleen likes to journal, listen to music (Billie Eilish, Quinn XCII, Noah Kahan, Khalid), run, and dance. Very excited to meet everyone and make lots of games! Eilleen will be attending Caltech in the fall.

Emily Allred
(playstation - san mateo, ca)

I’m a games artist and current graduate student in the Master’s of Entertainment Arts and Engineering program (MEAE) at the University of Utah. My specialties are concept art and character design. I love visualizing fantastical environments and organisms. Inspiration comes from the very real, very strange world we live in, as well as fellow artists. Weird creatures are my jam.

I owe so much to the educators in my life. Their passion for arts and technology helped drive me to where I am today. As a part of the fellowship, I hope to instill this kind of enthusiasm in a new generation of creators.

Emily Burke
(redstorm - durham, nc)

Emily Burke attends High Point University in High Point, NC, and first heard about Girls Make Games through her school's Game Design & Development Club. She has spends a majority of her time with her Department of English, which has helped foster her love of narrative design and encourages their writers to explore all forms of storytelling. In the future, Emily plans on studying film and writing in graduate school before working to become either a screenwriter, a narrative designer, or both!

Emmy Cao
(popcap games - seattle, wa)

Hiya, I’m Emmy! I'm an upcoming third year student at UCLA studying cognitive science and computing. I’m not sure what I’ll do after graduation yet, but it’ll definitely be in tech and hopefully in the gaming industry.
I grew up in Miyazaki, Japan and later moved to spend most my time in the US in the suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland. I was the head coach of Varsity Overwatch at UCLA Esports during its inaugural year as an officially recognized club sport at UCLA. My earliest memory of video games was playing flash games online with my dad on our tiny Toshiba laptop. I’ve since played video games in both competitive and casual settings. My favorite game will always be tied between Pokemon (Diamond/Pearl, the best generation) and Team Fortress 2! I saved money for and built my first gaming PC when I was 13, and hope to upgrade it in the future. Outside of games I am also passionate about food (who isn’t), design, and all things creative. I’m a huge advocate for both women in tech and in gaming, so I’m really excited to work with GMG!

Erin Alvarico
(zynga - san francisco, ca)

Hi there! My name is Erin Alvarico, I am 19 years old and a returning double major in computer science and games /merging media at Marist College, NY. I am one of the 2018 finalists for the Change the Game Challenge, hosted by Google Play and Girls Make Games. I am the creator of Symphony, a rhythm-RPG mobile game! Ever since I was a little girl I was infatuated with video games. MMOs, Action, RPGs, Rhythm, I've tried all kinds of genres! I dreamed of creating games people would be inspired by and enjoy. So, I made it my mission to study how to make the very things I love, by teaching myself how to program and illustrate my dreams. Hopefully down the road, I will be in charge of my very own gaming company.

Aside from my extremely ambitious dream, I love to draw and dance! I am a big fan of anime and love to cosplay. One fun fact about me is for my junior (2017) and senior year (2018) of high school I was reigning state champion for JOGA level 6 gymnastics! Lastly, my favorite candy is Airheads Xtremes Sweetly Sour Candy Belts!

Hailey Flores
(popcap games - seattle, wa)

UCSD '21, Blizzard enthusiast, dog petter.

James Nix
(bioware - austin, tx)

Hey there! My name is James and I'm currently a fourth-year student at St. Edward's University, where I'm studying video game development. I also work there as a teaching assistant and a computer lab assistant. I’ve played video games my whole life; in fact, it’s difficult for me to remember a time in my life when video games weren’t important to me. But it wasn’t until I became a teenager that I started to develop a deep love of role-playing games and the compelling and emotional stories they could tell. It was this love for interactive storytelling that pushed me to want to become a game designer myself, and eventually led me to where I am today! I’m so excited to be a part of the Girls Make Games team this summer, and I can’t wait to see what type of games get created!

Janet Doan
(playstation - san mateo, ca)

My name is Janet, and I am a senior animation student at CSULB. I got my first video game, Yoshi's Island, when I was in first grade, and ever since then I have dreamed of developing games! Joining my university’s Video Game Development Association gave me an opportunity to create art and gameplay for games with a large group of students. Currently, I live in Orange County with my family and cats, Lord Truffles and Prince Salai. When I am not busy attending classes or developing games, I like to go hiking, sew stuffed animals, and try new foods and restaurants. I hope that one day, I can join or form a studio and animate for video games and films.

Kait Baird
(nintendo of america - redmond, wa)

Kait is a Character Artist from Portland, OR and is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Art and Animation. She specializes in Character Modelling and Rigging, and is super passionate about developing for indie and mobile games. She loves technical problem-solving, telling stories and bringing characters to life! She hopes to make an impact in the games industry by being true to her interests, and helping others to create stories and worlds that they're passionate about to represent and inspire those who don't see themselves in games.

Keanan Pucci
(google - mountain view, ca)

Keanan Pucci is taking a break from developing virtual reality content in New York with Parallux and the Future Reality Lab to teach the next generation of developers here on the west coast. Born and raised in Connecticut, Keanan is now a senior Game Design major at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Aside from a passion for both playing and designing video games, Keanan loves performing (with his acapella group and in various theatrical settings at NYU), drawing, and animation. Keanan has been an instructor at both game design and theatre camps, and is thrilled to bring his energy, creativity, and skill set to the Girls Make Games experience!

Kelly Ly
(mit - boston, ma)

My name is Kelly Ly, and I am a college freshman majoring in computer science. I am enthusiastic about programming, and I love teaching others how to code. Through beautiful narratives and captivating graphics, I believe that games have the ability to enrich our lives and inspire us to become better people. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, playing violin, traveling to new places, playing tennis, and volunteering. In addition, I am an advocate for sustainability and a mentor for a high school robotics team.

Kristopher Kath
(paypal - san jose, ca)

Hello! My name is Kristopher Kath and I am an 21 y/o game developer coming from California State University, Long Beach. I am studying for a Computer Science Bachelors Degree as well as working as the current treasurer in the video game development club at my school, VGDA. I have been making games for over a year now and playing them for 19 years. I am extremely excited to share my knowledge and to grow from and along with other aspiring game developers. This will be my first summer at Girls Make Games and I hope to make it an impactful one for all the kids I work with!

Lauren Choi
(playstation - san mateo - ca)

Lauren is an incoming freshman studying Computer Science and Visual Art at Brown University. She's a GMG 2018 alum (Mountain View Team Ancients represent!), a previous finalist for Google Play's Change the Game Design Challenge, and a 2019 ESA Scholar. Lauren joined GMG to pass on her love of game development to younger girls, and she's super excited to learn from the next generation of gamemakers. She hopes to pursue a career in game development — specifically, software engineering, technical art, or game design. When she’s not lounging at coffee shops, you can find Lauren hiking, baking cookies, and jamming out to The Lumineers.

Lisa Waranowitz
(nintendo of america - redmond, wa)

Hi, I'm Lisa! I'm majoring in Computer Science and Software Engineering and minoring in Mathematics at the University of Washington Bothell. My interests include computer programming, game development, math, cryptography, and pretty much anything intellectually stimulating. I’m a self-taught digital artist, so I like drawing. I also like writing stories, composing music, spending time with friends, and of course playing video games. During my childhood, I grew up playing Minecraft and Animal Crossing all day long; but my favorite game of all time is Tetris. Personality-wise, I’m a very approachable and fun team player! I enjoy both learning and teaching, and I love getting to know people and helping them succeed.

Lydia Granholm
(redstorm - durham, nc)

Lydia is a recent graduate of William Peace University who majored in Simulation and Game Design and minored in Theatre. She loves game design because it combines many forms of art, which she has always loved, and technology which she was inspired to pursue by several excellent teachers. While in school she worked in the game design lab and as a peer tutor for other game design students. She has also worked as a camp counselor and orientation leader. Her plans for the future include making games independently with friends she met in school and teaching because she loves seeing people excited to learn.

Madison Denbrock
(mit - boston, ma)

Madison is a game dev specializing in game audio and is a recent grad from Berklee College of Music. Born and raised in Arizona, she now resides in Massachusetts and is an active member in the Boston game dev scene. She has noticed on GMG's website that it's important to state the love for cats ...She too loves cats.

Mariana Escobedo
(xbox - redmond, wa)

Hello! My name is Mariana Escobedo and I am studying Computer Science at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. I grew up playing several video games. Some of my favorites include: the MOTHER Series, Darkstalkers, Katamari, and Resident Evil!

I am thrilled to be playing a part in using my skills and learnings to teach young girls how to make video games. I think this will hold a very significant and positive role in shaping the gaming community of the future!

Mathurah Ravigulan
(xbox - redmond, wa)

Mathurah Ravigulan is a coder, designer, and aspiring entrepreneur from Toronto, ON. She is an ambassador for Canada Learning Code and instructs workshops, does speaking engagements in front of thousands, and is helping with their content development strategy for their Teens Learning Code program. She co-founded and is the Chief Product Officer of myCryptoHippo, a cryptocurrency market simulator meant to make blockchain education more accessible to youth. Mathurah has done product design, web-development, and always passionate about learning about new things in tech! She is a Generation Google Scholar and attending the University of Waterloo next year for Systems Design Engineering.

Mike Zhang
(redstorm - durham, nc)

Hello, my name is Mike Zhang, a college student majoring in game design. From playing ping-pong with my father to playing video games with friends, games have been a big part of my life, socially and leisurely. To me, games are a medium with endless possibilities where design, music, storytelling, and art come together to bring people together through a shared experience. This delight from games led me to pursue a career in a game development. When I’m not designing games, I’m in my comfy chair with my dog and reading a book. I look forward to working with these girls as a camp counselor and hopefully inspire them to create games with their own distinct creative voices.

Olutayo Falase
(nintendo of america - redmond, wa)

Tayo is a programmer by profession and crafter in her spare time. She enjoys making of all forms, from drawing, to knitting, to sewing. Tayo holds a BS in CS from MIT and an MS in Human-Centered Design from Stanford University.

Sam Arpon
(xbox - redmond, wa)

Sam is a big nerd who is ridiculously ecstatic over being a counselor for Girls Make Games this summer. Currently a senior at California State University Long Beach, she is pursuing a BA in business and regularly makes games with the campus’ game dev club every semester. She has been collaborating with her teams for over two years and had received the Officer’s Choice award for a game she was the Lead Artist for. When she’s not working on her next game, she spends her free time playing Dungeons and Dragons, cosplaying wizards and going bananas over any number of dnd podcasts. If you ask, she will absolutely show you a picture of her dog.

Sanjay Unni
(popcap games - seattle, wa)

My name is Sanjay Unni and I'm a junior studying Informatics at the University of Washington in Seattle. On campus, I work with a data science club called Dubstech as an event coordinator. I help plan coding workshops, informational seminars, panel talks with industry professionals, and more. I also work as an editor and writer for their two data science blogs, drafting articles about interesting tech topics and publishing them on Medium. Outside of campus, I like to hike and sail (two things I didn't get to do much of before I moved up here from Texas) as well as play video games with my friends.

Savannah Smith
(bioware - austin, tx)

Hello! My name is Savannah. I recently graduated from St. Edward's University with a major in Video Game Development and a minor in Art. I spent over two years as a Resident Assistant in addition to working as a Teaching Assistant in the game development program. When I was 6 years old, my mom bought me Final Fantasy X on the PS2 and I remember being so mesmerized by the art, characters, and story. It's my favorite video game to this day! The art of Final Fantasy is what inspired me to dream about being a game developer, and I held onto that dream through my entire childhood. I'm so excited to get to know the dreams of all the campers this summer and see how we can help make those a reality. I can't wait to bring my knowledge and skills to the Girls Make Games Summer Camp and make this an unforgettable experience!

Shruthi Jaganathan
(paypal - san jose, ca)

Shruthi Jaganathan is a rising freshman at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign studying Mathematics and Computer Science. She participated in her school FIRST Robotics program through all four years of high school, not only participating at both the FTC and FRC levels, but also mentored middle school teams at the FLL level. She actively participates in efforts to increase the number of girls in STEM and wants to use GMG to encourage girls to follow their passions from a young age.

Sophie Andersen
(google - mountain view, ca)

Sophie Andersen is passionate about gaming because it combines her interests in programming, art, music and storytelling. Sophie is grateful to the women at Girls Make Games, Girls Who Code, and Girls Teaching Girls to Code at Stanford who have shared their knowledge and enthusiasm for technology and she looks forward to the opportunity to teach younger girls how to make video games. In her free time Sophie plays water polo, sings in an all female choir, and draws.

Stephanie Kim
(zynga - san francisco, ca)

Stephanie Kim is a recent graduate from New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, and an incoming first-year at The University of Chicago. A huge "gamer girl" in her childhood, Stephanie has a fervent adoration for computer science, coding, flying, Grey's Anatomy, excellent literature, and iced lattes! She aspires to become a pilot or a cybersecurity officer in the U.S. Air Force.

Sukeerth Vegaraju
(xbox - redmond, wa)
(nintendo of america - redmond, wa)
(popcap games - seattle, wa)

I've been developing games for a few years, and, as President of the Game Development Club at UW, I have been able to teach many people how to get started with the process. I have taught people from all walks of life; musicians, artists, programmers, and writers; and I feel confident in my ability to distill game development into an enjoyable experience. Whether you have coding experience or not, the beauty of game development lies in the fact that there's something for everyone to do! At GMG, I look forward to experiencing everyone's creativity, and I hope to incite their passion towards game development!

Taylor Timinskas
(redstorm - durham, nc)

My name is Taylor and I’m from Raleigh, North Carolina. I am currently a business student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an entrepreneurial focus. I find that I am most interested in tech-driven industries when it comes to innovation and this includes computer science. By spending a lot of my time with digital marketing campaigns, I have grown to appreciate the amazing programmers that I work closely with. Outside of my studies and work, I spend my time volunteering at local animal shelters and educating my peers on dog maltreatment. Some may say I’m a little dog obsessed.

Vera Limani
(zynga - san francisco, ca)

Hi! I'm Vera and I'm currently a senior at NYU studying Game Design, Computer Science, and Math; I'm also a returning GMG counselor! I'm a proud New Yorker born and raised in Brooklyn, but I fell in love with the West Coast last summer when I went to San Francisco for the first time in my life and can't wait to spend another rad July with GMG. I love programming, art, and comedy, so I try to make games that reflect my skills in those areas. Some of my favorite games are Soccer, Crash Bandicoot, Dragon Age, Pokemon, and Tetris!

Wendy Beumel
(xbox - redmond, wa)

Wendy graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2018 with a bachelor’s in Digital Media: Game Design. She currently resides in Orlando, where she is a programmer for an indie development studio called 302 Interactive. Wendy has been playing video games for most of her life. At 12 years old she realized games were her passion, and made it a goal to work in the games industry. Some of her favorite games are Animal Crossing, The Sims, Pokemon, and just about any rhythm game out there. Outside of games and game development, her hobbies include cooking, watching anime, and studying Japanese.