Announcing Our WonderCon 2023 Panel: How to Crack the Career Code for Mixed Reality, Gaming, and Tech – Sunday March 26 2023 - 4:00pm

WonderCon 2023 is right around the corner! I am thrilled to be moderating an educational panel featuring a fantastic group of eclectic artists representing the comic, television, film, cartoon, and gaming worlds.

A big thank you to Eddie, Tommy, Laura, Adam, Michelle, Amy, and the entire Educational Team at WonderCon! For decades they have been a force to be reckoned with for their passion to curate wonderful sessions into the WonderCon education program. And always thank you to Clydene Nee and Edmund Cronin for bringing me into this great event years ago.

If you are attending WonderCon 2023 in Anaheim, please let me know. I’d love to see you there and have you attend our talk on:

Sunday, March 26^th, 4:00-5:00 pm, Room 211

How to Crack the Career Code for Mixed Reality, Gaming and Tech

The great pause, reset, and resignation has changed our lives and industries, leaving many of us asking where are we now and where can we go with our careers. Many are asking, how do I start or re-start a career in the gaming, VR, MR, tech, or comic industries?

Panelists with a variety of backgrounds will share their stories of working on comics, films, games, mixed reality, virtual reality, technology, and accessibility - highlighting their career paths, and how they started and have traversed the past few years. The group will give their thoughts on current commentary on our industry's state of the union. They will also talk about their breakthroughs, reflections, and how everyone can continue to help each other ignite more conversations about these topics for all who create in our industry.

The panel will be moderated by Heather Cook, Lead, Community Success, Microsoft. She will host panelists: Daniel Ice, Technologist and CTO, iAsia Brown, Producer, Xbox Game Studio, Microsoft, Kristin Nobles, Chief Creative Officer and Founder, B Noble Media Group, and Maria Ramos, Executive Producer & Head of Studio, Google. Excited for these award-winning authors, creators, voiceover artists and technologists to bring their inspiring stories to this panel.

Panelist Bios

iAsia Brown also known as “The Tech Picasso” is an eccentrically prodigious humanist, she is a globally recognized Storyteller, commissioned artist, and host of the upcoming "The Butterfly Revolutions " Podcast all while enjoying her day job as a Data & AI Specialist at Microsoft.  Always investing in human capital, “People First,” she has the unique ability to advance people by helping them to understand their value and apply it to their lives.

Having grown up in the concrete jungle of Queens, New York, and traveling the world selflessly serving both in the United States Air Force and Marine Corps, she developed an intellectual acuity that allows her to relate, assess, adapt, and conquer anything she applies herself to. She is an “ARTIST” of many mediums. Self-proclaimed, “Coolest Nerd You’ll Ever Meet”.   Her approachability, ambition, accountability, and integrity have allowed her to advance in the Tech World full throttle.

iAsia speaks at conferences worldwide about her experiences with PTSD, Anxiety, Diversity Equity & Inclusion all while on roller-skates, she loves to bring people along and devotes a lot of her time to helping veterans and transitioning service members career switch into tech. iAsia is already a global influencer having tapped into her multipotentiality and it can only be assumed that anything she touches will be taken to the next level, with all that she knows she is nothing without family, her wife & child, and of course her sister circle group chat.

Connect with iAsia: Twitter

Kristin Nobles is an artist, activist, creative finance, and Chief Creative Officer of B Noble Media Group. B Noble Media Group is a fully integrated social impact entertainment company that turns marketing dollars into social impact for a financial return. She also founded www.sicktitties.com after discovering she was sick from breast implant illness as well as co-host of a podcast on iHeart Radio on the issue called Close to the Chest with Kristin and Christine.

Over the past twenty years, Kristin has worked to start one of the first internet broadcasting companies and worked with companies like ESPN and Newsweek on the digitization of content. Kristin started painting portraits of people that inspired her in a format that was black and white acrylic with gold accents, and she now has a large collection that will see a gallery show this year.

Kristin has been an executive producer on many films, games, and television shows including the films: I am Gitmo, Creating Woodstock and more to announce this year.

Connect with Kristin: Sick Titties Website Sick Titties Instagram Instagram LinkedIn

Maria Ramos is a creative executive with over 15 years of experience in film, commercials, and award shows. She is currently the Head of Studio at Google, where she oversees the development and production of original content for Google's video platforms.

Ramos began her career as a production assistant on feature films and commercials. She quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a production manager and then a producer. In 2008, she was hired by Google to help launch Google Cloud Developer YouTube's content program.

In her role as Head of Studio, Ramos is responsible for overseeing the development and production of original content for Google's video platforms. She works with a team of creative professionals to develop ideas, produce content, and distribute it to audiences around the world.

Ramos is passionate about creating content that is both entertaining and educational. She believes that video can be a powerful tool for learning and for making a positive impact on the world. She is also a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in the media industry.

In her free time, Ramos enjoys traveling, creating miniatures, and spending time with her family.

Connect with Maria: LinkedIn

Daniel Ice has spent 20 years in Technology, 12 years e-commerce, 5 years crypto, and 11 years as a CTO/Vice President of Engineering. He built an ICO Platform that raised $200 million for 12 clients and distributed $2 Billion in assets. Daniel is a frequent conference speaker, judge of hackathons, and appeared as a judge on CNBC Crypto's Whale Tank. He has 25+ due diligence projects, including $1.3B bid to purchase Magento from eBay. Daniel is a Co-founder of venture-backed startups with a recent exit with Violet Grey being sold to Farfetch. He has also successfully launched over 25+ e-commerce stores, 10+ blockchain tokens. Daniel’s background in leadership has been with technical teams focused on mentorship, goal setting, and personal development.

Connect with Daniel: Twitter

Moderator

Heather Cook currently serves as Principal PM Manager and Lead for Dynamics 365 and Power Platform Community Success Engineering Team at Microsoft. She leads a team of community program managers whose charter is engagement, evangelism, and growth by building strategy, programs, and connections for our community members with Microsoft. Heather is a former Microsoft MVP for Office Apps and Services. Over the past twenty years, Heather has led marketing for Global Cloud Providers and ran a software business. She owns and founded a marketing/brand/wellness consultancy, Creative Maven where she has produced thousands of events, campaigns, and experiences in the high-tech and entertainment industries. Heather is also the host of the Mavens Do It Better Podcast, which features interviews with extraordinary everyday experts who light a spark in our world. She lives in Marina del Rey, California, and has extensively traveled the world both for pleasure and by speaking about Power Platform, Office 365, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Workplace Culture, Community and Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging. Heather is a published playwright and graduate of the University of Washington School of Drama, Seattle WA.

Connect with Heather: Twitter LinkedIn Instagram