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 all speakers of our most recent event that took place on 5 June, 2024 at Institut Français Berlin.
Katja Bäuerle is the CEO of Erich Pommer Institut, a provider of professional training for the German and European media industry, based in Potsdam-Babelsberg. In her more than 20 years in the industry, she also worked as Creative Responsibility Manager at German production powerhouse UFA, ran their employee education and learning scheme and produced several long-running daily dramas and prime-time series in Berlin, Cologne and Melbourne. Female Leadership, diversity in the film industry and green production have long been the focus of her work.
Session: GAMING IN BRANDENBURG: EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND BERLIN’S BORDERS
Julianne Becker is Co-Founder Managing and Director of Coconat and initiator of The Rabbit, born in the US lived in Vietnam, lived in Berlin and finally to rural Brandenburg 7 years ago. She is a trained artist, filmmaker, communications expert, creative entrepreneur, & more. She lives the Coconat purpose: Inviting. Inspiring. Inventing sustainable stuff.
Session: GAMING IN BRANDENBURG: EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND BERLIN’S BORDERS
Valentina Birke directs the Indie Arena Booth at Super Crowd Entertainment, spearheading the acclaimed showcase for independent video games. Alongside her leadership at Indie Arena Booth, she actively participates in the gaming industry by serving on the selection committee for the WINGS fund, offering support to gender-marginalized game developers, and contributing to the Gamecity Hamburg Prototype Fund. Furthermore, Valentina holds a position as a member of the board of directors of IGDA (International Game Developers Association). In addition to her industry commitments, she is deeply involved with GAME:IN, a non-profit organization dedicated to combating sexism in the games industry.
Mafalda Duarte is the Studio director and producer at Telescope Game Studios, a multicultural Potsdam-based team, bringing the game Last Whale Singer: Rise of the Leviathan to life.In her previous director/producer role at Nerd Monkeys, she helped launch titles like Out of Line and Short Games Collection into the world.She is not only an ambassador for Women in Games but also works for the organisation as the Ambassador Coordinator, speaks in events around the world and mentors She’s a founder of the Game Dev Lisbon collective and has been organising events such as Game Dev Camp since 2020, among other community projects.
Session: GAMING IN BRANDENBURG: EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND BERLIN’S BORDERS
Simge Erdogan is BD & Partnerships Manager for VAL Esports EMEA at Riot Games. Prior to joining Riot Games in 2022, Simge spent over six years in marketing and esports roles in the esports ecosystem. She began her career at ESL Turkey, where after a 3-year tenure, she gained extensive experience in community management, league ops, live broadcast, and project management. Followed by her role as Esports Manager at Red Bull, establishing gaming and esports efforts in Turkey for the brand, creating the global CS:GO event Red Bull Flick which is loved and played by many around the globe. Her next steps at Publishme Agency and SPORTFIVE led her to work with major brands such as Vodafone, Coca-Cola, ASUS, Gillette, HyperX, Intel and publishers Supercell and Activision Blizzard on many marketing and community projects both local and regional.
Melanie Fussenegger studied media technology and media art with a focus on computer graphics and digital games. She has found her calling in project management and project leadership and has been working in this role at the Digital Games Culture Foundation since 2022. There she set up the “Start-up: Games Entrepreneurs” program funded by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, which supports founders of indie studios in Berlin and Brandenburg with workshops, mentoring and networking. Her passion for digital games as a form of art and expression motivates her to actively shape the future of this medium.
Viktoria Glaeser is a Senior Program Manager at Riot Games with nearly a decade of expertise working in the gaming industry.
Fueled by a passion for excellence in her work, Vik brings together diverse teams to create memorable experiences for players, always with a touch of fun. Notably, she played a pivotal role in the successful launch of VALORANT Esports in EMEA and managed the reconstruction of Riot’s Esports Studio in Berlin, Germany. Currently she’s working on League of Legends Esports in EMEA to create a collaborative and strategically aligned team to deliver the best possible products in the most effective way.
Sarah Gloeckler is Country Lead for DACH at Riot Games. She is leading a team that publishes VALORANT, League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, Wild Rift and Legends of Runeterra for the German speaking markets. With over 10 years of experience in the gaming industry she developed a great sense for player needs and expectations, helping her to find the right channel and strategies to launch and run some of the most successfuly games worldwide.
Ina Goering is Director of Membership & Funding at game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche e.V. and the contact person for all questions relating to games funding and supports the regional representatives of game in their work.During and after her studies at the Film University Babelsberg, Ina worked as a producer, production manager and director in the film, television and animated film industry. She then worked for several years in the media team of the Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg (ILB). Most recently, Ina worked as a consultant in the New Media Funding division of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. She was responsible for the funding programs “Innovative Audiovisual Content” (funding for games, VR and AR projects) and “Location Measures” (events).
Maxi Graeff is the Marketing Lead for @XboxDACH with +15 years experience in the gaming industry. With her background she brings expertise in Public Relations, Marketing, Brand, Social, Events & Partnerships with strong Storytelling as her core skill.
Maxi also initiated the Xbox Mentoring Program that has been active for multiple years to inspire Women to join the industry.
Gabrielė Jurkonytė is a marketing manager at InnoGames with over 5 years of experience in Conversion Rate Optimization. Alongside her professional role, she is a certified Mindfulness teacher and holds a master’s degree in Psychology. Juggling the challenges of modern life Gabrielė is bringing mindfulness into daily business prioritizing not only productivity but also holistic well-being, with a particular focus on the body. She believes that the true measure of success lies in ending a busy workday with sufficient nervous system capacity remaining for pleasure, creativity, and play.
Session: MINDFULNESS BREAK
Fernanda Lange Boettcher works at the Department Media, ICT of the Brandenburg Economic Development Agency since 2008. In previous years, she has been Head of the Training Department of the Center for Audiovisual Development of the Catalan Institute for Cultural Industries (ICEC) in Barcelona and before that, she coordinated EU funded programs such as European Films Crossing Borders or Sources 2. Prior to that, she worked for more than 10 years at the coordination of the Berlin Film Festival.
Session: GAMING IN BRANDENBURG: EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND BERLIN’S BORDERS
Frederico Machado de Campos is working as Talent Acquisition Manager at YAGER for the past two years. Renowned for his ability to uncover hidden talent and connect with candidates on a profound level, his mission at YAGER is on identifying and recruiting the best talent to drive their projects forward. Fre has been an important instrument to help YAGER not only continue to build work class teams but also make sure “belonging” is key for the company’s success. Fre is passionate about building new relationships and is continuously developing his coaching and strategy skills to become the ultimate recruitment partner. Can’t let out that his is an avid gamer and integrates gaming into his lifestyle, demonstrating his dedication to the industry he loves. He doesn’t merely find time for gaming; he makes time for it, underscoring his belief that games are an essential part of his identity.
Session: SUCCESS FACTOR CONFIDENCE – From Self-Awareness to a Growth Mindset
Richarrie Mosca Klumpp has been with YAGER for over 12 years. As Senior People & Culture Manager in the company she focuses on Learning & Development, making sure that people know how to keep on growing and learning. While people across all industries at times often come and go, for various reasons, she tries to proactively work against that in her role at YAGER. She has supported several occasions where an intern or junior is rising up the ranks to fulfill a key role in leading positions later down the line. Richarrie is very passionate about learning, an essential part in their company’s values. She finds a lot of passion and motivation in her work, where she is surrounded by so many talented developers. In total she has been working in the HR world for more than 15 years. Before joining the games industry she worked in the Airline and Tourism industry. Richarrie is a certified Coach (Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching) and volunteers also as grief counselor.
Session: SUCCESS FACTOR CONFIDENCE – From Self-Awareness to a Growth Mindset
JustBecci is a young woman from Austria with a wide range of interests who entertains her community with her Viennese charm when it comes to gaming and lifestyle.She started her Twitch channel in 2012 and has been “just a girl playing games” ever since.In addition to her streaming career, she is also a moderator, speaker and lecturer. With a degree in media and event management and training as a speaker, she has established herself in the industry. Her projects include stage shows and web videos, in collaboration with well-known partners such as A1 eSports and Red Bull.Most recently, she was nominated for Player of the Year at the German Computer Game Awards.
Session: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY: DISCOVERING MY VOICE IN THE GAMING WORLD
Sofia Saa is Head of the Office for cinema, audiovisual, video games and digital creation at Institut français Deutschland. She is committed to supporting and promoting the visibility of women, particularly in the video game and XR industries. The WOMEN MAKING GAMES program, created in 2023 and set for a second edition in 2024, is one such example.
Almut Schwacke has been roaming the world of interactive sound since 2006. With a Tonmeisterdiploma from the renowned Berlin University of the Arts under her belt, a big collection of Foleyprops and an infinite fascination for auditory subtleties she loves developing sonic identities forvideo games, wearing all the hats from Sound Designer to Foley Artist to Voice Actor toComposer in the process. Her works include Anno 1800, Through the Darkest of Times, YouSuck At Parking, NUTS and Pizza Possum.Audio is truly the greatest playground for her – diverse, interesting and a new challenge each time.
Session: WHY YOUR GAME SOUNDS MEDIOCRE
Kristina Strassburger is a criminologist with a mission: to prevent sexualized violence in two crucial areas: among children and in the workplace. As an expert with a scientific background and practical experience in a counseling center for victims of sexualized violence and the economy, 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.
Sophie Vo is a Game Executive with over 15 years of experience working at Gameloft, Wooga, Rovio, Voodoo, and PlayStation —building studio and people’s departments, guiding teams through change, launching games, and running Live Ops on $300M+ lifetime IPs. Currently CEO and co-founder of a new AAA game studio in Vietnam, Kylan. In 2021, she founded Rise and Play: a network and knowledge-sharing platform for the conscious leaders of the gaming industry who advocate for a human-centric approach to game development and teams.
Jenni Wergin is the Creative Producer at Headup, advocating for player experience and game vision to help teams create better products. Previously, she worked as a Product Manager for Thunderful Publishing and was involved in releasing award-winning titles like Viewfinder, LEGO® Bricktales, and Planet of Lana. Before her role in publishing, Jenni worked as a funding manager at Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and was the project manager for Womenize! Games and Tech. She has also participated in various game-related juries, including the Indie Arena Booth and the German Computer Game Awards.
Session: WORKSHOP: PARTNERING UP WITH A PUBLISHER – The Dragon in Front of the Gate Problem
Serenad Yilmaz is Founder and the Creative Director of Food for Thought (@fft.collective), was once chased by a rhino and has a weak spot for platform shoes.She caught the game bug in the early 2000s, started designing games in Flash, one of them was published online and got played by 11.000.000 people. She worked in the creative industries as a graphic and UI designer for over ten years, half of it being in the game industry. Although she got kicked out of an exchange studentship for wearing short shorts, she still got lots of higher education, such as an MA in Gender Studies and another in Science and Technology Studies.
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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Registration: HRB 154151
Amtsgericht Charlottenburg