I’m the inaugural Director of Games and Interactive at FTI, an award-winning game designer, social media researcher and an Adjunct Research Fellow at the School of Media, Culture and Creative Arts at Curtin University.

My area of practice is phygital (where the digital meets the physical) and experimental games and playful experiences, especially for education and changemaking.

In 2007, I co-founded Atmosphere Industries, an international award-winning non-profit which creates experimental and pervasive games. That same year, I co-created Western Australia’s first pervasive game, Ghost Town, which took players around the city in a story-driven, smartphone enabled puzzle hunt. More recently, I co-lead an action research project with Ryerson University’s Experiential Design and Gaming Environments Lab (Canada), funded by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, to co-develop a privacy literacy game with children aged 8-10.

I also have a strong research and teaching background which both informs and draws on my creative practice. I’ve been researching the internet and social media since 2003 and was co-author on the first scholarly definition and examination of “friending” on social networks. I am currently a Research Associate at Curtin University’s Centre for Sport and Recreation Research, where I’m researching the use of games and art for wellness.

I’ve taught at a university level both online and in the classroom for over 5 years, including as a Lecturer in Internet Studies at Curtin University (Australia), Open Universities Australia and the CFC Media Lab (Canada).

I’ve been an invited speaker at numerous industry and academic conferences, including a TEDxPerth and SXSW Interactive and have appeared on MTV, NPR, the ABC and in ELLE magazine. I’ve published in First Monday, The Globe & Mail (Canada) and in the MacArthur Foundation book series on Digital Media and Learning.

I’m actively involved in my community and sit on the board of directors of Living Smart, a non-profit which has a long track record of facilitating community-supported sustainable living.

I hold a PhD from Curtin University and am Professional Member of the Institute for Learning Professionals.