The Power of Play
“Play is a human need.” Click here to hear Cynthia Williams, President, #wizardsofthecoast & @Hasbro Gaming, and Philip Courtney, CEO, Urban Arts, discuss the #educational benefits of #play—in school, in college and in career. On the EdUp podcast www.edupexperience.com/PhilipAndCynthia
Cynthia Williams is President of Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro Gaming. Cynthia leads strategy and drives global growth for the world’s leading portfolio of games including MAGIC: THE GATHERING, MONOPOLY, SCRABBLE, and DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. The team is focused on engaging new and existing players by offering both physical and digital experiences of the IP, including digital apps and games built within the team or by licensing to world class partners.
Cynthia has a deep understanding of technology and e-commerce, along with cloud and console-based gaming, with expertise in scaling businesses to drive profitable growth. She previously served as General Manager and Vice President, Gaming Ecosystem Commercial Team at Microsoft, notably driving the expansion of Xbox Gaming and the acceleration of game-creator growth. Prior to joining Microsoft, Ms. Williams spent more than a decade at Amazon, where she led the global growth of their e-commerce direct-to-consumer business, Fulfillment by Amazon.
Philip Courtney has led Urban Arts since 2003. Six years ago Philip transformed Urban Arts into an arts and technology organization teaching underrepresented students digital game design through computer science, coding, animation, music, and storytelling. With this new focus, Urban Arts has seen unprecedented growth in its student outcomes and has attracted powerful new partnerships with leading corporations and government agencies. Philip is an experienced and compelling public speaker and has presented on the topics of Arts Education, Game Design, Educational Equity, Innovation, Program Development, and Public/Private Partnerships. Philip has presented nationally at TEDx, SXSW, Game Developers Conference, Games for Change, EDGames Expo, and Beyond School Hours. Additionally, Philip has been interviewed by the NYTimes, Forbes, and Education Week, and appeared on camera with NBC, CBS, NY1, Ronan Farrow, KTLA, and AOL Live to name a few. Philip is a member of NYC’s Mayors Industry Council for Digital Games, The Made In NY Animation Project Industry Council, The Advisory Board of The Westchester Flames soccer club, and a founding Board member of Young Presidents’ organization Atlantic 13 Chapter. Connect here.