IGM Industrial Advisory Board

Sela Davis is 1/2 of Studio Lakes BV in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She has worked in publishing, mobile game development, and platform services in various parts of her career at Xbox, WG Cells (Wargaming), Vreal, and Wizards of the Coast. She is best known for her work on achievements for the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One. While she specializes in building, deploying, and debugging game technologies, she is also deeply passionate about helping people of underrepresented genders enter the game industry, and spent several years helping to manage the IGDA Foundation Velocity scholarship. When she isn't working with games, she is a shown metal artist, former keytarist for The Last Book Club, solo percussive acoustic guitarist, and makes shiny things.

Rebecca Vessal is a game programmer with over a decade of industry experience. A 2014 graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Game Design and Development program, Rebecca has spent the past seven years at Double Fine Productions, specializing in gameplay and game AI programming.

Before joining Double Fine, she worked on a variety of mobile games and applications, building a strong foundation in both technical and creative aspects of game development. Throughout her career, Rebecca has combined her programming expertise with a deep passion for interactive design, contributing to projects that bring humor, personality, and heart to the gaming experience.

Eric Decker is a Senior Software Engineering Manager at Squarespace, where he leads multiple product and platform teams within the Websites organization. His teams focus on enhancing the core editing experience of Squarespace’s website builder, delivering major projects such as Fluid Engine, which redefined the platform’s layout and design capabilities. They have also pioneered the integration of generative AI-powered features into the CMS and developed advanced animation and interaction tools that empower users to create more dynamic and expressive websites.

Before joining Squarespace, Eric spent over 11 years at Firstborn, a renowned New York digital agency, where he rose from Flash Developer to Vice President of Technology. There, he led engineering teams on award-winning digital projects spanning websites, mobile applications, and games for clients including Pepsi, Supercell, Riot Games, Beats by Dre, and Sony PlayStation. Eric has also shared his expertise as a speaker at industry conferences such as FITC Toronto and OFFF Paris.

An alumnus of the Rochester Institute of Technology, Eric holds a BFA in New Media Design & Imaging. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, daughter, and a lively collection of cats. Outside of work, he enjoys cooking, running, and exploring all things sci-fi.

Rohit “Ro” Crasta is a veteran game designer and developer with over a decade of experience in casual and mobile games. A 2013 graduate of RIT’s Game Design and Development program, Ro began his career in community and event organizing for game developers before moving into hands-on design roles, contributing to titles like Marvel Puzzle Quest and other Facebook and mobile games.

He went on to become Lead Puzzle Designer at Funkatron, where he helped develop Cascade for Big Fish Games and built a thriving internship program that drew many talented students from RIT. Over the years, Ro expanded his expertise across mobile, casino, and iGaming projects, serving as a Technical Director at GameCo and later as Lead Designer at PeopleFun, where he led design for the hit word game Wordscapes.

Ro currently serves as a Lead Game Designer at The New York Times, working on an upcoming unannounced project. Specializing in puzzle and word game design, he combines creative vision with technical insight and enjoys mentoring aspiring developers—often sharing lessons learned from both his successes and missteps along the way.

Claude Jerome is a Principal Gameplay Designer at Team LFG, a newly formed Sony Interactive Entertainment studio. With a career focused on action game design, Claude has contributed to several major AAA titles, including Destiny during his time at Bungie and Concord at Firewall Studios.

A graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Game Design and Development program, Claude began his career working on children’s and educational games before transitioning into large-scale action titles. His background in programming and his multidisciplinary approach to design have been central to his success in creating engaging gameplay systems and player experiences.

Claude is passionate about mentoring the next generation of game developers and sharing insights from his journey across both indie and AAA development.

Jin Jin Heipler (they/them) is a graduate of the New Media Interactive Development program in 2021. After graduating, Jin Jin worked for 10 months at Booz Allen Hamilton as a Junior Front-End Developer, working on projects for both the Air Force and the National Science Foundation. They then went on to become a Front-End Engineer at LinkSquares, which is where they currently work, and often take on the role of FE lead on a multitude of projects to improve the entire contract lifecycle management process for legal teams. In addition to their full-time job, they are also a CrossFit coach and train athletes at two different gyms.

From his days as an RIT Student Ambassador and a founding member of BrickHack, Carl Domingo has always put education first. His time at Unity and Amazon Web Services enabled him to teach millions of people around the world about game development through content such as Create with Code. Currently at Genies, he is helping to power the future of digital identities and experiences with Genies' avatar technology to make developers' lives easier and empower players to have a persistent identity across any game or experience.

Rob Echter is a Rochester, New York native who found his way into the video game industry after starting his career in national and international recruitment. After moving to Washington, D.C., he joined ZeniMax (the parent company of Bethesda) as a senior recruiter—a role that let him blend his recruiting expertise with his lifelong love of games like Doom and Commander Keen. Over 12 years at Bethesda, Rob built college hiring programs, forged strong ties with RIT’s School of Interactive Games and Media, and helped grow the company through mergers and acquisitions.

Later, as a business development lead, he guided major studio deals, including the successful transition of most of Tango Gameworks’ staff to Krafton following a studio closure—one of his proudest achievements.

After more than a decade with Bethesda, Rob concluded his tenure in 2024 and now continues to share his industry experience and commitment to positivity with the next generation of game developers.