I co-founded the Game Changer Chicago Design Lab with Melissa Gilliam (Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pediatrics, University of Chicago). In 2011-2012, this transdisciplinary collaboration took the form of a series of new media projects about sexual and reproductive health. In early 2013, we established the Lab, bringing on full-time game design staff, graduate and undergraduate student fellows, and high school youth from the South Side of Chicago. Together, we create digital stories and games about health and social justice issues. We have developed or are in the process of designing a number of projects, including an interactive narrative about teen decision-making and sexual health (Cache), an alternate reality game about economic and health disparities in America (Stork), two transmedia stories with mini-games about sexual assault (Lucidity and Bystander), a card game about Sexually Transmitted Infections (InFection Four), a computer game about decision-making and empathy in high school (A Day in the Life), a board game suite about Chicago-specific social issues (Hexacago), and two citywide games about youth civic engagement and collaboration (The Source and S.E.E.D.). The Lab fosters research across the humanities, arts, social sciences, and public health that includes work on digital media and learning, emerging cultural and narrative genres, and the social and emotional health of youth.

Our 2015 year-end review of Ci3 and the Game Changer Chicago Design Lab.

Our 2016 year-end review of Ci3 and the Game Changer Chicago Design Lab.