
Director of User Engagement at Gazillion Entertainment
San Francisco Bay Area

Director of User Engagement at Gazillion Entertainment
San Francisco Bay Area
My goal is to create safe, entertaining environments for youth, both online and in the real world, where they can build self esteem, enjoy their limitless imagination, gain empowerment, and enjoy childhood.
* Panel Moderator, "Virtual Worlds", YPulse Tween Mashup 2007
* Speaker, "Edutainment in Virtual Worlds", ADEC Conference, June 2008
* Panelist, "It's the Activity, Stupid!", Engage! Expo March, 2009
* Speaker, "The Future of Virtual Worlds", Annual Kid Power Conference, June 2009
I am a published Author with 15+ years working with children of all ages, and 10 years participating in social networking communities. I have extensive knowledge of online media, social networking, and pop culture. My expertise is in youth media, especially in the 8 - 14 age groups.
Virtual worlds, online communities, web evangelism, brand evangelism, online safety, youth user experience, brand perspective, creative writing, education, and extensive experience with youth in various platforms.
(Privately Held; Entertainment industry)
May 2009 — Present (7 months)
Safety Initiatives, Community Management, and Policies for youth virtual worlds & MMORPGs
(Privately Held; Online Media industry)
2006 — Present (3 years )
Izzy Neis: Online Communities, Entertainment, Kid Empowerment, and Media Safety... the blog.
(Online Media industry)
November 2007 — May 2009 (1 year 7 months)
As the first hired employee, I was vital voice in the creation, build, and operation of ActionAllStars.com, which included user engagement, safety & legal, community management & administration, and customer service management & administration.
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Online Media industry)
June 2007 — October 2007 (5 months)
Moderated ABC Family, Greek Rush forums
Moderated Disney Family forums
Moderated Delta Airline's Delta Challenge site and forums
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Entertainment industry)
June 2005 — October 2007 (2 years 5 months)
Created a safe online community for a branded entertainment property
Moderated online forums and blogs
Trained and Managed team of screeners/Moderators
Managed safe User Generated Content (UGC) and practices
Developed strategy for UGC integration into offline media (books, tv)
Created a strategy to build a Virtual World based on clever gaming
Developed web strategy (viral content) for new properties
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Writing and Editing industry)
June 2005 — June 2007 (2 years 1 month)
Co-Creator/Writer on "Kinetics", a preschool book series (Harcourt)
Copy Editor for various websites
Online Content Manager
Masters , Teaching and Practice of Creative Writing , 2002 — 2004
BS , Elementary Education, Creative Writing , 1997 — 2002
I am passionate about the interaction between inspiration & empowerment, and how online media can bring new fantastical experiences and improve imagination and ability. I love writing, traveling, backpacking, children's literature, soccer, football, pop culture, folklore, and volunteer work. My goals for the future include: publishing a YA novel, traveling more often, and becoming more involved with the intersection of multimedia (online to television and books), beyond just brand awareness, for youth.
Millikin University Greek Goddess Award (Positive Role Model) 2002
Captain's Club (Millikin Athletics) 2000, 2001
Most Committed: Varsity Soccer at Millikin University 1998, 1999, 2000
Varsity Captain 1999, 2000
Best Offensiver Player: Varsity Soccer at Millikin University 1998