I am new to the world of freelance and so, right now my academic work is the highlight of this page.

My training comes from both academic study and practice. I completed an undergraduate and masters degree in anthropology both focusing on gaming communities and I am currently a PhD Candidate finishing up my dissertation, also in anthropology.

My undergraduate and masters projects focused on live action roleplay, specifically studying larp organizations such as Minds Eye Theater and One World by Night in the Midwest, USA.

In my first and second studies, I focused how mechanics both in the rpg and safety/boundary mechanics employed by the groups impacted immersion and community cohesion, how relationships outside of the game impacted game play and vice versa, and how these communities were able to maintain membership over decades.

In my third study, which produced my master’s thesis, I focused on power structures players navigated as they played the game, including the the designers, orgs themselves, the story leaders, and the community organizers, as well as the ways in which games kept themselves safe from or fell prey to both player and institutional toxicity. What happens when a community is wounded?

My final study focused on the migration of ttrpgs, larps, cons, and play communities into digital space during the pandemic lockdowns. This study ran from January 2020 to August 2021. This is the basis for the dissertation I am currently working on.

I am currently working as the Mechanics Lead for the rpg Confluence, under Publishing Goblin Inc. This entails writing the mechanics and playtesting the game with a team.

More generally I have been playing ttprgs for 15 years, GMing for 13 years, and actively volunteering for playtesting for the last 5 years. I am deeply integrated into the communities I study, with a wide network of both players and designers.

All of this combined makes me the ideal candidate for both play community-based studies and useful for any of your playtesting needs.

For a copy of my current CV download here.