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Announcing New Leadership
Welcome new G4C President Susanna Pollack!
A few words from Asi and Susanna
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Dear friends of Games for Change,
 I feel really lucky to have been part of this community since 2004. First as a game developer, and in the last 5 years as the President of Games for Change.
During that time, I saw this community grow and thrive, with new people joining the conversation and creating better and higher-quality games. With great success stories, as well as spectacular failures. I feel it’s time to clear the way for new ideas and new leadership that will take this movement and sector to the next phase.
One of the things I am most proud of is our partnerships: the White House and the U.S. and NYC Departments of Education; the Half the Sky Movement project with Nicholas Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn, and the talent at Show of Force; and community leaders such as Globaloria, the Cooney Center, E-Line Media and the members of the Industry Circle. Our unique partnership with the Tribeca Film Festival, through the leadership of co-founders Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, helped bring the conversation around games to the national and global spotlight.
This growth had its pains, mainly the question of sustainability, something every small to mid-sized nonprofit struggles with. In the last couple of years, we were able to answer that challenge successfully, but I wasn’t there alone. I’d like to thank the board of Games for Change, under the fierce leadership of Ken Weber from Zynga.org, who has been the #1 supporter of this sector. The other person to thank is Susanna Pollack, who worked by my side tirelessly on partnerships and development. And of course the staff at Games for Change that really CARES: Emily, Hsing, Meghan, Sara, Tania, Raanan, Kevin, and many great interns and volunteers.
It’s a farewell note, but not 100%. G4C offered me the opportunity to join its board and continue my involvement with its important work. I can’t wait for the great things to come!
Sincerely,
Asi Burak
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Dear friends of Games for Change,
 I am deeply honored and humbled to have been appointed by the Games for Change Board as G4C’s new President.
Having worked with Asi as VP of Partnerships over the last two years, one thing I have learned is that he is a very difficult act to follow! Asi has been a tremendous force in building the G4C community as well as the overall organization, and I have learned a great deal from him. So thank you, Asi, for welcoming me into the G4C family and for supporting me through our time together.
I came into this space from a very different path than many of you, and I thought it might be helpful to hear from me a little about my journey and why am so happy to be in this current role. I worked for 13 years in traditional media as an executive with BBC Worldwide, where I helped hundreds of BBC and indie docs, drama and youth programs get produced, financed, and marketed to U.S. audiences. Over the years, my work spanned into interactive media and cross-platform content. I immediately fell in love with the potential that new forms of digital media offered, not just for expressive exploration but also the ways to reach people through different engagement experiences.
I left the BBC in 2011 to consult with organizations that embraced this digital world and eventually made my way to G4C in 2013. My promise to you as President is that I will continue my effort in supporting content creators — in this case, game makers — and other stakeholders in the G4C community in the creation, funding and marketing of the amazing work that is emerging.
I think you will see that though our upcoming events, growing Lab Services work and more recent educational programs, we are finding ways to bring more voices to the table, funders into the sector and opportunities for game makers to have their work discovered. I welcome feedback and ideas on how we can continue to grow and strengthen the organization.
Sincerely,
Susanna Pollack
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