Meet the voices shaping the future at Womenize!
Our speakers are advocates of diversity, equity, and inclusion, driving meaningful conversations and pushing boundaries in the games industry. Get inspired by their journeys, insights, and expertise as we unite to empower all marginalized voices!
Below you find our speakers for our event that took place on June 4, 2025 at Institut Français Berlin.
SPEAKERS 2025
Alina Cuceu (she/her) is the Senior Talent Acquisition Partner at Kolibri Games. She immensely enjoys being the first point of contact for countless applicants, and relishes any opportunity to help herself and others learn and grow. Her industry events have so far included a collaboration with Rise & Play, and the HIT Games Conference.
Session: Your First Quest: Entering the Gaming Industry with Confidence
Marina Díez (she/they) is a Spanish award-winning game designer, game director, business expert, filmmaker and Forbes Under 30 lister based in Berlin living a semi nomadic life. Marina is also a Game Director for an unannounced game and Principal Game Designer at btf Games for The Berlin Apartment. Previously, she was the Lead Game Designer for the game Dordogne by Un Je Ne Sais Quoi Studios & Umanimation. Marina is also a consultant on emotional game design for indie and AAA companies.
In addition, Marina is joining the venture capitalist field, focusing on seed and early-stage investments. With her unique blend of creativity, strategic thinking, and passion for supporting visionary founders, she is dedicated to helping startups and indie studios navigate their early challenges and scale with purpose. Marina actively seeks out disruptive projects that push boundaries and foster a more inclusive and dynamic future for the gaming industry and beyond. She is involved in many community initiatives and activism. Marina is also a regular speaker at games events such as GDC, EGX, PAX, A MAZE,… In 2023 she also hosted Independent Games Festival at GDC in San Francisco.
Marina is also a film director and her work has been screened and awarded all over the world.
Melanie Fussenegger (she/her) studied media technology and media art with a focus on computer graphics and digital games in Stuttgart and Salzburg. Most recently, she worked as a project manager at the Digital Games Culture Foundation, where she was responsible for organizing a conference on “AI Utopia and Dystopia: How AI and Games Are Shaping Futures” and a regional educational program for founders of indie studios in Berlin and Brandenburg. Before that, she worked as an agile project manager and lecturer, among other things.
She recently ventured into self-employment with her passion project KunstSpiel, a blog about the interplay between traditional art forms and digital games. Her passion for digital games as a form of art and expression motivates her to actively shape the future of this medium.
Session: Off the Beaten Path: Navigating a Nonlinear Journey into the Games Industry
Lukas Galinski (he/him) is leading sustainability and public benefit projects and developments at INSTINCT3. Lukas’ studies in economics and sports economics brought him to his entry into the industry in 2018 at Jung von Matt/Sports in Hamburg. In 2020 and after three years in esports marketing, he joined INSTINCT3 in Berlin-Spandau to set his focus on influencer marketing in the gaming industry. In his current role, he is educating about sustainability issues internally, building partnerships with non-profit organizations and leading public benefit projects.
Outside of his job, Lukas is active as a lecturer for gaming influencer marketing and as a member of D64 e.V. All kind of active sports, occasional PC gaming and board gaming are part of his recreational routine.
Session: Organizational Change For Good: How Business Transformations Can Succeed
Kerr (she/her) is Team Lead Customer Support at Gameforge and has an academic background in communication and journalism, fields that have fueled her passion for storytelling and effective information sharing. With nearly a decade of experience in Gaming Support, she has developed a deep understanding of player needs and industry dynamics. In 2018, she advanced to a leadership role, where she has since guided and supported her team with expertise and dedication.
Outside of work, Kerr is an avid reader who can never resist adding more books to her ever-growing collection. She pursued a degree in psychology but ultimately chose to prioritize her love of tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs), fully immersing herself in the creativity and camaraderie they offer.
Session: Herr Kerr – Why I never correct players about my gender
Ulrike Küchler (she/her) is CEO and Co-Founder of Gamebook Studio, dedicated to making simulation games scalable in and beyond the entertainment industry with season-based content and the award winning Gamebook Platform.
The games she has been working on include originals and partnerships with global industry leaders such as Hasbro, Skybound Entertainment, and iDreamSky. She builds on an extensive 20+ year background in the creative industries and across media and platforms such as broadcasting, film, music, publishing, and gaming.
Session: Organizational Change For Good: How Business Transformations Can Succeed
Aysuda Kölemen (she/her) (Bard College Berlin) is an academic who received her Ph.D. in political science at the University of Georgia, Athens, USA. Her current research focuses on the combined threat that autocratization and precarious academic employment poses to academic freedom. She also manages a fellowship program for at-risk scholars.
Aysuda Kölemen received her doctorate in political science from the University of Georgia, Athens, USA, in 2010. She worked as a researcher in Turkey until 2017 and currently serves as a project manager for the Threatened Scholars Integration Initiative (TSI) of the Open Society Foundations, an international scholarship program for persecuted academics.
She is a longtime team member of Food for Thought, where she co-writes the stories and educational content for narrative games.
Session: Organizational Change For Good: How Business Transformations Can Succeed
Klemens Reckfort (he/him) is an Indie Game Developer based in Berlin. He worked on games and prototypes with a range from scientific backgrounds to commercial releases such as Sea of Solitude. Currently, Klemens works remotly on an unannounced project at Monokel GmbH, Cologne.
Portfolio
Session: Support your Artistic Voice
Astrid Mie Refstrup (she/her) is Developer Relations & Business Development at Wings, supporting their portfolio studios and looking for new games by female and gender minority leads. Parttime law student. She was previously the CEO and Founder of Triple Topping Games, Advisor to Kowloon Nights, and served on the board of Global Game Jam. Astrid is working dedicated to a more transparent and inclusive games industry.
Michael Liebe (he/him) is CEO & Founder of Booster Space, the company that initiated gamesweekberlin, Womenize! Games and Tech or VR NOW Con. He acts as Outreach Games Europe lead for Kickstarter. During his eight years with Kickstarter, he worked with more than 1.000 projects, with a funding goal success rate of about 90%.
At Booster Space he is responsible for all things consultancy and fundraising. In the times before founding Booster Space he co-initiated the indie games and art festival, A MAZE., the Digital Games Research Centre of the University of Potsdam (DIGAREC) as well as the Computer Games Collection of European Media Studies at the University of Potsdam, the European Masters program, Ludic Interfaces and the games:net berlinbrandenburg.
Until 2012 he was Advisor – New Media at the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and responsible for consulting on public funding and networking in the German capital region. He holds an M.A. in European Media Studies, is an advisor and jury member, and works regularly as a university lecturer. The most recent consultancy clients include TALES of Us (game production), Konzerthausorchester Berlin (Twitch concept), Mimunga (publishing project management).
Session: Make Game and Talk about It. (How a well presented profile leads to success on Kickstarter)
Jacky Martin (she/her) is a multidisciplinary game industry expert and founder of Gentleland®, who has raised over €325,000 in crowdfunding for indie developers in 2024 alone, along with additional funding through grants and publishing deals, combining technical know-how, artistic creation, and strategic guidance
Session: 4 KEYS TO FUNDING – ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO NAVIGATING PUBLISHERS FOR GAME DEVELOPERS
Mickaël Newton (he/him) is a prominent figure in the French video game industry who currently serves as Social Impact Manager at Ubisoft and President of Loisirs Numériques, an association he co-founded in 2010 that organizes charitable gaming events. He is also Vice President of Professional Integration at Afrogameuses, an organization that promotes diversity and inclusion in gaming, and has been a member of Women in Games France since 2017. Via its own endowment fund, M. Newton co-created the BJV Scholarship (Bourse Jeux Vidéo in french) in 2020, which provides financial support and mentoring to underrepresented students pursuing careers in video game development. His commitment to making the gaming industry more inclusive and accessible was recognized when he received the prestigious « Pegases » Award for « Personality of the Year » in 2024.
Session: Challenging Tokenism in Gaming: The BJV Scholarship and Afrogameuses Initiatives
Fernanda Pagani (she/her) is Co-founder and CEO of Games Ground Berlin, a gaming industry festival and conference where she is committed to curate impactful B2B programs featuring diverse speakers, perspectives, and initiatives. She recently joined SpielFabrique as a Project Manager, supporting cross-industry programs that aim to bridge the gap between video games and sectors like music, film, and book publishing, while also contributing to community engagement strategies. Fernanda is also the Co-founder and CEO of Beat Em Hub, an initiative fostering inclusive gaming culture through events across Berlin and Germany. With over four years of experience as a freelance video game localization expert (ENG–ITA), she has worked on a range of titles from indie to AAA games, such as Black Myth: Wukong and Frostpunk 2.
Session: Organizational Change For Good: How Business Transformations Can Succeed
Charlese Saballe (she/her, they/them) is a UX & Player Researcher at Metacore, a mobile game studio with offices in Helsinki and Berlin. In her role, she leads UX and player research to shape better gaming experiences. Originally from the Philippines, Charlese has an educational background in Statistics and Business IT (Digital Service Design), and deep expertise in data analytics and quantitative user research. Prior to joining Metacore and the games industry, Charlese worked at Zalando, where she honed her analytical skills in a fast-paced e-commerce environment.
Beyond her professional work, Charlese is passionate about advocating for diversity, equality, and inclusion. She’s been actively involved in groups championing women’s rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, and migrant and racial justice. When she’s not crunching numbers or analyzing user behavior, you’ll find her exploring new restaurants, cooking up something delicious, binge-watching movies and TV series, experimenting with crafts, or enjoying a good board or card game.
Session: Career Pivots and Cultural Shifts: A migrant’s journey into tech & games
Nainy Sahani (she/her) is Marketing Director at Tales of Us. She’s a multidisciplinary leader committed to content innovation and creative application for emerging tech. Based in Berlin, she has reshaped creative strategies and digital transformation for organisations such as BBC Worldwide, Discovery Networks, Star, H&M, WPP and more. As an influential speaker and advisor, she advocates for sustainable practices and gender parity in tech, crafting a future where creativity and impact seamlessly connect.
Elisabeth Secker (she/her) has been Managing Director of the Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body (USK) since January 2018. As part of her work, she is involved as a member of the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) board for age ratings for online games and apps. Previously, she was deputy head of youth media protection at “die medienanstalten,” the umbrella organization of Berlin’s 14 state media authorities.
Elisabeth Secker is also active as a member of the advisory board of the Digital Games Culture Foundation and on the Safer Advisory Board of an international games platform.
Session: Balancing Act: Navigating Parenthood in the Gaming Industry
Kristina Straßburger is a criminologist with the mission to prevent sexual harrassment in the workplace. As an expert with a scientific background and practical experience in a counseling center for victims of sexualized violence, she offers tailor-made, helpful training and lectures, both online and offline. Starting from the summer of 2021, she has been actively engaged in valuable educational and prevention work (in German) on instagram, under the handle kriminologin.kristina.
Session: 5 Things You Absolutely Need to Know About Workplace Sexual Harassment
Sena Tabak (she/her) is Software Developer at InnoGames. Since 2010, she has been immersed in the games industry as a frontend developer, crafting experiences across mobile, web, and desktop platforms. This journey has equipped her with proficiency in various coding languages and game engines, with her current expertise centered on Haxe, a versatile cross-platform language.
In 2016, her life expanded beyond code when she became a mother. Now balancing a demanding tech career with raising two children, she is continuously learning the nuanced language of parenthood alongside programming languages.
Her passion for technology extends to exploring AI as a development assistant, constantly seeking ways to enhance her workflow. This interest in nurturing tech skills led her to create a venture teaching young children logic and programming fundamentals.
When she can carve out personal time, she loses herself in creating puzzles and devouring fantasy and science fiction novels — mental escapes that fuel her creativity both as a developer and as a parent.
Session: Balancing Act: Navigating Parenthood in the Gaming Industry
Kathy Tafel (she/her) is Technical Director at Tales of Us. She brings experience in different disciplines — management, engineering, marketing, editorial — and different industries — music, social, games, operating systems — from the Bay Area to Brooklyn to Berlin. A bit of an eclectic polymath, with an emphasis in the intersection of liberal arts with technology, this quest for what makes us human. What is culture? What is progress? What do we get from the previous generation and give to the next? What do we leave behind as not useful?
Miles Tost is Level Design Lead at CD PROJEKT RED bringing more than a decade of craft and curiosity to a 14-person-strong Level Design team building The Witcher 4. Since joining CDPR in 2013 he has shaped hallmark open worlds – from the natural landscapes and fantasy dungeons in The Witcher 3 to Night City’s back alleys in Cyberpunk 2077 and its 2023 expansion Phantom Liberty. Miles loves sharing hands-on lessons for making better levels and open worlds in games.
Session: Balancing Act: Navigating Parenthood in the Gaming Industry
Luise Emilie Tschersich (she/her) better known as Mile, started her career as a caster in 2022 and since then she has become a fixture in the Prime League 1st division – League of Legends fans know her for sure! From the Prime League Cup 2024 and 2025, to the Equal Esports Cup 2024 and 2025, the NNO Cup and UKEL and EMEA Masters (English) – she’s been everywhere and there’s more to come!
But her talents also lie in other areas. Luise Emilie is also an actress & content creator. She is currently starring as Anastasia Sadowski in the successful ZDF series ‘Blutige Anfänger’. In addition to a scholarship, she has already been nominated twice for the Grimme Prize and received the award for best young actress at the Immenhof Film Awards in 2024.
Session: Being a Woman in Esports – Between Performance, Personality and Psychological Pressure
Dani Valkova (she/her) is Founder of GOGIA, and she is building the future of audio-driven gaming, creating AI-powered experiences to help people enter flow states, regulate emotions, and optimize focus. Her work is built on 60+ global projects across AR, VR, and AI, including work with Google, Meta and Netflix; pushing the boundaries of gaming and immersive technology.
Session: The Secret Power of Game Music: What Every Creator Should Know
Lauren Wade (she/her) is the Head of Player Communications at Kolibri Games, with her teams covering support & community plus localization & communication. With just over a decade in the gaming industry, Lauren has also participated in numerous conferences and events. Speaking engagements and moderator duties have included high-level company Q&As, D&I and playtesting events, and the Game Quality Forum.
Session: Your First Quest: Entering the Gaming Industry with Confidence
Jenni Wergin (she/her) is Creative Producer. As a Creative Producer, Jenni advocates player experience and game vision to help teams create better products with their key audience in mind. Previously, she worked for Headup and as a Product Manager for Thunderful Publishing, where she was involved in releasing award-winning titles like Viewfinder, LEGO® Bricktales and Planet of Lana.
Session: Support your Artistic Voice
Bibbi Wikman (she/her) is Founder of PlayCap, an international investment network of around 200 experienced women from the games industry. PlayCap members invest through equity and project funding while also offering strategic expertise to support early-stage game studios and game tech companies. She is also Head of Publishing at Aurora Punks, a boutique co-dev and publishing studio based in Stockholm.
Session: Pitch Perfect: Securing investment for your game
ABOUT THE ORGANIZER
We come from Kreuzberg, Berlin, and develop brands, curate programs and execute them on-site. It’s like thinking with a thousand heads and speaking with a thousand mouths. Online networks, start-ups, developers, politics, media and cultural leaders come and listen. We are experts for Kickstarter. We do love this shit.
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Publisher / Herausgeber:
Booster Space Events & Consulting GmbH
V.i.S.d.P.: Michael Liebe, CEO
Oranienstr. 37
10999 Berlin
Registration: HRB 154151
Amtsgericht Charlottenburg