Patricia Vance

Patricia E. Vance is the president of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). In her position, she leads the teams responsible for assigning age and content ratings to video games and apps, enforcing marketing guidelines adopted by the video game industry, and operating ESRB Privacy Certified, an FTC-approved COPPA Safe Harbor Privacy seal certification program.

Pat also serves as founding chairperson of the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC), a non-profit organization that operates a ground- breaking global rating and age classification system for digitally delivered games and apps, and is a long-standing member of the Board of Directors for the Family Online Safety Institute, and the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.

Prior to joining the ESRB in 2002, Pat spent 18 years at Disney/ABC, with responsibility for the development of a broad range of new media and market initiatives, including the establishment of two video game joint ventures (Creative Wonders; OT Sports) and management oversight of ABC.com, ABCNews.com, Oscar.com and Oprah.com in her capacity as Senior Vice President, General Manager of the ABC Internet Group.

Pat holds a B.A. in International Relations/Russian from Washington University in St. Louis, is the mother of two daughters.

Laila Shabir

Laila Shabir is the founder and CEO of Girls Make Games. A Pakistani immigrant raised in the United Arab Emirates, Laila attended MIT and pursued finance at BlackRock followed by economic research at The Brookings Institution.

Laila eventually found her passion in video games while watching her husband play Halo competitively. By seeing the skills he acquired through playing, she realized that a connection between education and video games needed to be formed.

In 2014, GamesIndustry.biz named Laila the Games Industry Person of the Year, and in 2018, she received the Visionary Award from the ESA Foundation. In 2021, Laila was also featured on Variety’s Top 500 Entertainment Business Leaders list. A game developer and proud gamer herself, Laila has set a personal goal to teach one million girls how to make games through her work.

Elizabeth Del Valle

Elizabeth Del Valle is a dynamic leader at YouTube, where she drives Creator Marketing Programs, Events & Experiences that drive advocacy with content creators.

Elizabeth is native from the Dominican Republic and is deeply committed to advancing underrepresented communities, particularly in the media, tech and gaming industries. She has appeared on panels about women who are breaking barriers in the gaming industry, inspiring future generations to pursue careers in STEM.

In eight years at Google, she leads marketing initiatives that are both inclusive and impactful. Before Google, Elizabeth worked at Sony Computer Entertainment of America, following a Master’s of Science in Business Administration from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester and a Bachelor’s degree in international business from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).

In acknowledgment of her outstanding contributions to the marketing field, Elizabeth has received notable recognition. Her achievements include the prestigious Special Award for Outstanding Contribution to Marketing from the Women in Marketing Association in 2020, and her inclusion in the esteemed San Francisco Business Journal’s 40 under 40 Class of 2021. Most recently, Elizabeth was recognized by Ad Age as one of its Leading Women for 2023.

Beyond her professional achievements, Elizabeth actively serves on the boards of the Rochester Museum of Science, the RIT Alumni Association, and Raidiant.gg, a women in gaming and esports media platform.

Lela McNeil: Angelic Lela

Lela McNeil is a popular Twitch affiliate streamer, content creator, cosplayer, model, and advocate based in Texas. Online, she can often be seen streaming games like Shinobi Striker and other PVP fighters/RPG games under the name Angelic Lela.

Lela is also an ambassador for the*gamehers and a stream team member and Social Media Director for The Athena Alliance CLT, two prominent and important women in gaming organizations that empower and advocate for women gamers. As a cosplayer, McNeil travels to conventions across the United States and promotes diversity and inclusion in cosplay.

In McNeil’s words, “I believe in supporting and empowering all women and making a safe place where they can connect and grow in the industry. I love being involved with the public and communities with the idea of bringing everyone together. I am an advocate for and promote mental health and practice self-love, care, and personal growth in my streams for my community.”

Frances Jensen

Frances Jensen is a video game lawyer. She is counsel in the Interactive Entertainment Group at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz. The majority of her legal practice is working with clients who make video games, but she also works with media companies in technology, advertising, and entertainment.

Frances regularly supports video game companies with a wide range of transactional matters such as drafting contracts for financing, development, publishing, and distribution, as well as advising on first party platform requirements, IP licensing, and rights clearance. She often helps game developers and publishers at the beginning of a game’s life cycle during pre-development to negotiate financing and publishing contracts, throughout development with clearance, licensing, and compliance, and up to and after launch with distribution and co-promotion agreements.

Before joining Frankfurt Kurnit, Frances was in-house counsel at Activision Publishing supporting the business teams working on Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, and Guitar Hero games. Her first games industry job before she became a lawyer was working as a QA tester for Guitar Hero: World Tour.