Fostered an inclusive gaming community
Responsibilities:
- Stakeholder Management
- Leadership
- Documentation
- Scheduling
- Facilitation
- Problem Solving
- Conflict Management
- Static Sites
- Swift
- Publish
Outcomes:
I recruited and managed a team of volunteers to organize events at local gaming shops in San Francisco. I built documentation for future volunteers, and crafted policies for crisis management.
Building an inclusive gaming community
I fostered a local gaming community in San Francisco by building events and finding new venues for public, free tabletop games through the Organized Play Foundation, a global organization. I cold-called game store owners to pitch them on running game nights at their locations. Before the pandemic we were operating games at 5 locations in San Francisco, helping support local small businesses as part of a vibrant community.
I trained a team of volunteers to organize weekly public events at various locations, cultivating mutually beneficial relationships with venue owners, and creating resources to ensure successful events. Through the course of my time as a volunteer, I managed conflict in a way that educated community members and built a community that is welcoming to new players, especially those in the LGBTQ+ communities.
As a component of this project I worked with fellow volunteers and built a website for our group, using Publish, a static site generator for Swift developers. I also built a collaborative documentation website using MkDocs to help onboard new players and skill them up during the pandemic.
Finally, I codified my knowledge by collaborating with other volunteers and authoring a handbook for managing and building communities, running events, avoiding/identifying points for escalation, and conflict resolution tools and tactics.
Handoff to the Next Generation
After years of running 5 stores in the San Francisco bay Area, I decided it was time to step down. I trained my replacement and helped transition them into the role. They are doing things their own way but with a foundation of knowledge I provided; the community is thriving.