NASAGA - Games and Simulations

2007 Conference

Keynote Speakers

Each year the NASAGA Conference recruits speakers to address the range of concerns game designers face. Speakers this year include professionals, authors and gurus in the game and simulation industry.
Year after year, attendees remark about how approachable the NASAGA Conference speakers are, and how inspiring—and comforting—it is to know even top game designers and training professionals have some of the same concerns and struggles a less-experienced designers might face. Conference attendees have an opportunity to meet many speakers face-to-face during dinners and other networking events.
Yael Schy
Yael Schy, MSW is a dynamic speaker, trainer, facilitator, coach, and organization consultant known for her creative approach to organizational learning and development. Ms. Schy has a Master’s Degree in Social Work with an emphasis in Community Organization, graduate certifications in Organizational Psychology and Training/Human Resource Development, a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Theater Arts, and is a Certified Somatic Coach. She is principal of Dramatic Strides® Consulting, specializing in leadership development, teambuilding, communication skills, strategic planning, and creative decision-making techniques that help people and organizations move forward by leaps and bounds. Ms. Schy also serves as a faculty member at City College of San Francisco Contract Education, Sacramento State College of Continuing Education, and the American Management Association.
Yael has over 20 years of experience as a manager, and has spent more than 30 years as a performer and teacher in theater and dance. She brings a unique perspective by incorporating her improvisational theater and dance experience into active communication skills training and teambuilding in the workplace.
Bernie DeKoven
On Bernie’s website he starts his bio from second grade…One day, when I was in second grade, I remember thinking to myself: "this could be a lot more fun, Bernard." I mean, really. I remember thinking how even workbooks used to be more fun than having to sit here, at my desk, still, silent, with all these kids around me, listening, when we could be mucking about with some marvelously educational materials, inventing physics. And I'm pretty sure it was then that I began to devote myself to the pursuit of what I have decided to call "the Playful Path." Because the very next thing I remember was me, Bernard, joking. toying. playing, talking a lot. Even sitting in the hall, waiting to see the principal, I was always on the alert, always looking to make it fun, for me, for anyone I could get to play with. He went on to pursue a lifetime of the playful path. Please go to his web site to find out about the games that he has invented and the books he has written and the workshops he has held. He is a master and there is too much to tell to fit in a short bio.
Sivasailam Thiagarajan
Dr. Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan is the Resident Mad Scientist at The Thiagi Group, an organization with the mission of helping people improve their performance effectively and enjoyably.
Thiagi's long-term clients include AT&T, Arthur Andersen, Bank of Montreal, Cadence Design Systems, Chevron, IBM, Intel, Intelsat, United Airlines, and Liberty Mutual.
Thiagi has published 40 books, 120 games and simulations, and more than 200 articles. He wrote the definitive chapters on simulations and games for ISPI's Handbook of Human Performance Technology, ASTD's Training & Development Handbook, and the American Management Association's Human Resources Management and Development Handbook.
Thiagi has made hundreds of presentations and keynote speeches at professional conferences. At ISPI, Thiagi holds the "records" for making the most presentations, conducting the most preconference workshops, and being invited to make the most Encore presentations. Thiagi is also a regular presenter at Lakewood's TRAINING Conferences and the annual conferences of American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) and North American Simulation and Gaming Association (NASAGA).
Thiagi has been the president of the North American Simulation and Gaming Associating (NASAGA), International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI), and Association for Special Education Technology (ASET). He has received 17 different awards and Presidential Citations from ISPI, including the society's highest award, Honorary Life Member. He also received an Honorary Life Member award from NASAGA as well as its highest award, Ifill-Raynolds Award.

For more information on the Keynotes, please email Dave Matte.

For more information on NASAGA 2007, please call 404-966-2372 or email Deborah Thomas.