Episodes
Playing by the Rules: How Legal Expertise Shapes Esports Success
Today’s guest is Justin Jacobson, Esq., an entertainment, esports, and video game attorney from New York City. We take a dive deep into the world of esports, its legal intricacies, and the business side of gaming. Key points: Justin's professional …
Crafting Success: The Evolution of a Gaming Visionary
Today’s guest is Amila Pathirana. He is the Co-Founder and CEO at GamerTech™ and Founder at The Gaming Insider. Key Points: Esports in Sri Lanka: Amila overviews the esports scene, its decade-long presence, and the challenges faced. Amila's Gaming Or...
Breaking Boundaries and Fostering Inclusivity in Esports
Today we are speaking with Fernando Pereira. He is the President at GROW UP / CEO at XTEND3D / Founder at GIRLGAMER Festival. In this episode of the Gamers Change Lives podcast, host Tom Leonard interviews Fernando Pereira, an event …
Closing the College-to-Career Gap: College Esports’ Impact
Donna “BasicTaq” Walters I am Tom Leonard, the host of the Gamers Change Lives Podcast where we talk about how esports can create jobs anywhere in the world. Play Games. Create Jobs. Change Lives. In Season 1 we talked about …
Building Long-term Partnerships: Strategies and Perspectives
Today’s guest is Nimish Raut, Global Head Esports : Partnerships & Special Projects at NODWIN Gaming in India. Our discussion included: Nimish highlights the importance of long-term thinking in the esports industry, emphasizing future growth and ...
Using Tech to Level Up Esports, Education, and Equity
Today’s guest is Today’s guest is Danielle Rourke, Chief Technology and Innovation Strategist at Dell Technologies. In the Gamers Change Lives podcast, host Tom Leonard and Danielle Rourke, Chief Technology and Innovation Strategist for Higher Educat...
Startups, AI, and Health Data Integration into Gaming
Today’s guest is Today’s guest is Hendrikje Wagner, Founder HypeRate.io. Welcome to The Gamers Change Lives Podcast, where Tom Leonard explores the integration of health data in gaming with Hendrikje Wagner from Hype Rate. They discuss Hype Rate's in...
Beyond Sponsorship: Strategies for Non-Profit Esports Funding
Today’s guest is Eliot J. Oreskovic. He is the Executive Co-Director of the United States Esports Association and an esports consultant. In this episode of The Gamers Change Lives Podcast, Tom Leonard interviews Elliot Oreskovic, the executive co-dir...
Empowering Youth: Esports’ Impact on STEM Education
Today’s guest is Jadesola Adedeji Co-Founder of STEM METS in Lagos, Nigeria, who prides herself on being a life-long learner. In this episode of "The Gamers Change Lives Podcast," Jadesola Adedeji, co-founder of STEM-METS, discusses her journey and t...
Art Direction, AI, and Diversity in Games: A Game Developer’s Insights
Today’s guest is Inka McAtee from Germany. She founded KnotHorn Studio where she works as CEO and Art Director for the independent company. Since October 2021, INKA has been the Project Lead of Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports Germany. In this podcast …
Esports and Games in Puerto Rico & the Power of Mythology
Today’s guest is Shirley McPhaul from Puerto Rico. She is a speaker, researcher & educator in Web3 & Video Games. In this podcast conversation, host Tom Leonard speaks with Shirley McPhaul about the growth of the esports industry in Puerto …
How Simple Solutions Can Create Job Opportunities
In this podcast conversation, Tom Leonard interviews Amir Satvat, the head of Global Startup Operations at AWS, covering topics related to e-sports, gaming, community building, and content creation on LinkedIn. Amir shares his passion for gaming, par...
Training for an Esports Future
Today’s guests are Nik Turner - consultant and lecturer in Esports & Education at Queen Mary’s College in the UK – and the founders of CTRL Esports: COO George Lewin, CMO Harry Lunn, CDO Ben Gregg, and CEO William Holman. …
Unconventional Journeys and the Power of Determination
Today’s guest is Chris Tran, a SEA Esports and Gaming Expert with experience working at the top levels of one of the largest gaming esports organizations: RIOT Games. In this podcast conversation, Tom Leonard interviews Chris Tran, an expert in …
Bridging the Gap Between Esports and Non-Profits
Today’s guest is Marc Almanzor, Senior Manager of Gift Processing at MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES (MSF). Marc is the owner of Make Gaming About Fundraising. He is also a broadcaster on Twitch.TV. In this podcast conversation, Tom Leonard interviews Marc ...
The Playbook for Running a Winning Esports Organization
Grant Rousseau, the Global Director of Esports and European Director of Operations for Team Falcons, the biggest esports organization in the Middle East, recently appeared on the Gamer’s Change Lives podcast with host Tom Leonard. During the conversa...
The Role of International Esports Organizations
Today’s guest is Boban Totovski, the Secretary General of the International Esports Federation. Our conversation includes talking about the role of International Organizations such as the International Esports Federation. How do they: Encourage devel...
Transforming Education Through Esports
In today’s episode we talk with Gerald Solomon, the Executive Director of the North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF) and founder of the Orange County High School Esports League. Gerald shares how he was inspired to use esports as a …
Esports and the Law
Welcome to Season 3 of the Gamers Change Lives Podcast: Building a Business, Esports 101. In Season One we talked about jobs. In Season Two we talked about sources of funding for esports ‘Follow the Money’. And now in Season …
Leading a Strong Esports Team: Lessons from West Point
This podcast is an not a government production. The views expressed do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Military Academy, United States Army, Department of Defense or the US Government. Today’s guest is Victor Castro, …
Season 3 Introduction: Building a Thriving Esports Business
Welcome to Season 3 of the Gamers Change Lives Podcast: Building a Business, Esports 101. In Season One we talked about jobs. In Season Two we talked about sources of funding for esports ‘Follow the Money’. And now in Season …
Bonus Episode! Team Ghana Goes to Bali
We have five guests today: Kwesi Hayford President of the Esports Association, Ghana with the team he took to the IESF World Championship in Bali in December 2022: Emmanuel Manu-Gyamfi (NELLmvp), Edmond Addo Mensah (shyBOY), Daniel Sungna Iddi (SPAMA...
Divergent Thinking, Eliminating Judgement, and the Value of a Bad Idea
Our guest today on the podcast is Jeremy Utley, the Director of Executive Education at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. The Stanford d.school. Our discussion included: Jeremy talks about ideas. Where they come from, and how to …
Going Global: Navigating Media Strategies and Attending International…
Our guest today on the podcast is Ronny Lusigi, the CEO of IndexG Esports in Nairobi, Kenya. Plus for the first time our podcast Executive Producer, Reginald Nsowah, is joining the conversation from Ghana. Our discussion included: Ronny’s talks about...