Derek Chung
Derek is an easy-going, globe-trotting mental health professional by day and an award-winning game designer by night. He is the mind behind many top-shelf tabletop games, and is frequently found speaking on the importance of accessible mental health all across North America. While he got into game development the usual way—a steady diet of geek media and anime, a hatred of sleep, and way, way too much beer—his background in psychotherapy is what reinforced his love of shared worlds and co-operative storytelling. Seeing and experiencing the similarities between therapy and gaming, Derek now marries the two, and is one of the few pioneers in the young field of therapeutic gaming that attempts to make psychological health more inclusive, available, and most-importantly, fun, for everyone. Derek often speaks (and teaches) about the importance of inclusive game design on podcasts, interviews, and on panels at many conventions across North America.