About Us

President, Board of Directors

In a career spanning a period of immense change in global society, Jon has worked with young, creative student leaders in schools across the country teaching English, entrepreneurship, history, game design, Latin and philosophy. Jon has hired and helped develop the professional talents of highly talented educators who have gone on to develop innovative programs in their schools. His book on gamified instruction, Level Up Your Classroom, was published in 2016.

Vice President, Board of Directors

Mr. Adamo has worked in both the public and private sector helping people better understand behavior. Most of his time has been spent in education, working as a behavior specialist teaching behavioral aides and administrators to set up their students for success. Mr. Adamo is a big believer in approaching with a question and not judgement. You can find him teaching classes during his day job and running fun and educational RPGs for children and adults alike in his off time.

Treasurer, Board of Directors

Secretary, Board of Directors

Gregory believes in the impact of collaboration on creativity and that tabletop games allow us to shape stories together. He founded Electi Studio to build a better creative process that makes legendary games. You can find him neck-deep in InDesign and Photoshop designing books nd websites or whatever else he thinks is rad.

Board Member

Founder, Executive Director

Whether as a teacher in the classroom, an athletics coach, a summer camp director, or as the lead Educator-Gamemaster for The Game Academy, for more than two decades Bert has harnessed his passion for education to guide students toward their best selves. With a Bachelor's degree in English Literature and a Teaching Credential from Sonoma State University, Bert brings his knowledge of child development and education, as well as his deep understanding of storytelling to bear when working with the diverse population of students who attend The Game Academy's programs. Additionally, Bert's 30+ years of experience as a Gamemaster and player of RPGs help him excel in designing and implementing interactive storytelling games that educate, engage and inspire.

Board Member

Award-winning teacher and designer Kathleen Mercury, M.A.T., M.E.T., has been pushing the boundaries of using design thinking to merge game design and instruction from elementary to collegiate levels for over 20 years. Kathleen is a published tabletop game designer (Greece Lightning 2021) with more titles upcoming. She shares all of her game design teaching resources at www.kathleenmercury.com for free, and is a frequent collaborator with education and game industry professionals to create innovative experiences and instruction, with past clients including Riot Games, Catan Studio, and Guardian Adventures.

Board Member

Fiona Rene is a TV/Film actor who originated in the theatre, more specifically, interactive theatre. After many years directing interactive theatre performances and teaching her "Method for Being" workshops all over the world, Fiona realised the potential of what interactive storytelling and RPG's can do for so many. Fiona joined the Board of the Game Academy in 2019 and is honored to be a part of the work TGA does.

Founder, Executive Director

Whether as a teacher in the classroom, an athletics coach, a summer camp director, or as the lead Educator-Gamemaster for The Game Academy, for more than two decades Bert has harnessed his passion for education to guide students toward their best selves. With a Bachelor's degree in English Literature and a Teaching Credential from Sonoma State University, Bert brings his knowledge of child development and education, as well as his deep understanding of storytelling to bear when working with the diverse population of students who attend The Game Academy's programs. Additionally, Bert's 30+ years of experience as a Gamemaster and player of RPGs help him excel in designing and implementing interactive storytelling games that educate, engage and inspire.

Deputy Executive Director

Previously the Director of an afterschool program focused on improving the academics of low-income students, and the Director of a multi-award winning, nationally-recognized anti-poverty program that touched the lives of more than 17,000 low-income Californians, Sean’s background is in philosophy and ethics.

Sean began playing TTRPGs at a young age and immediately fell in love with them; the collaborative storytelling, the complex problem-solving, overcoming challenges with epic stakes, and the growth that comes from finding your own voice in a scene—everything about it. Sean’s primary gaming system is Pathfinder 2, but he also loves a good indie RPG!

When not edu-gaming with TGA, Sean develops his own games and gaming supplements, plays several instruments, cooks/bakes, and keeps a large garden.

Educator, Gamemaster

Adamo has worked in both the public and private sector helping people better understand behavior. Most of his time has been spent in education, working as a behavior specialist teaching behavioral aides and administrators to set up their students for success. Mr. Adamo is a big believer in approaching with a question and not judgement. You can find him teaching classes during his day job and running fun and educational RPGs for children and adults alike in his off time.

Bryan believes in the shared storytelling medium of role-playing games. He loves seeing characters develop and worlds come alive through a collective narrative. The unpredictable nature of the craft draws him in and shows up in his games. Even he, as the gamemaster, doesn’t know where it’s all going to end when a game begins.