After self-producing and licensing board games, Mary turned her passion for invention into DiscoverGames.com, the world’s largest co-op of board game inventors. In 2003, Mary launched the Chicago Toy & Game Fair (ChiTAG) with a plan to create the largest American celebration of toys and games. In 2008 she introduced the Toy and Game Inventor’s Conference (T&GCon) to help new inventors connect with industry experts, and the Toy & Game Inventor of the Year Awards (TAGIE Awards) to honor and celebrate toy and game inventors. Mary serves on TIA’s Associate Membership and PlayCon/ToyCon Committees, is a Selection Committee Member at National Toy Hall of Fame. She writes a weekly blog for Global Toy News, and is active in social media promoting the importance of play and toy/game inventors. Mary received a BBA from the University of Notre Dame and a MBA from Loyola University. She is active in local politics having served on City Council, Parks Board, Sculpture Committee, Zoning Board and Plan Commission. She is a past United Way Board Member

From 2008 to 2010, Nate Scheidler was the organizer of the Chicago Board Games Meetup, one of the largest groups of board game players in the world, with over 1300 members and 30 events on the calendar every month at its peak. In addition to helping promote the Chicago Toy & Game Group to the community at large, and connects with community leaders around the globe. He led the development of the new ChiTAG website and still serves as part of the web development team.Nate has a broad background in training, customer service, process improvement and Information Technology, and has worked with Fortune 500 companies around the world in his previous career with IOCOM. He wears a lot of hats for Chicago Toy & Game, including some very large ones reserved for the exhibit hall floor at ChiTAG Fair.

Anna Van Slee is Director of our toy-inspired fashion show, PlayCHIC. She is co-founder of Other Door entertainment – a unique invention company focused on native multi-platform brand and product development. Anna has played in all realms of the toy and game industry, including producing traditional visual merchandising collateral; writing and directing animated entertainment; launching social, mobile and digital branded experiences; designing and developing products; and building brands. She has worked with hit global brands such as Transformers, Happy Meal, My Little Pony, Moshi Monsters – and more. On weekends, Anna enjoys eating steak tacos loaded with onion and cilantro, while reading sci-fi novels.

Anita joined the Chicago Toy & Game Group in 2004 and has been having fun ever since. As Director of Operations she manages the logistics of all the events and activities within the Group. Her favorite childhood memories are of playing with traditional toys and games with her family and friends. She believes that having those memories is key to a successful and happy adulthood. Anita is most proud of her work when she sees kids at ChiTAG, who often don’t know each other, come together to help each other learn about and play with a newly invented toy or game. Anita studied French and was an exchange student in Japan. One of her ChiTAG goals is to bring in traditional toys and games from all over the world to help people learn about other cultures through the magic of play. Anita’s biggest personal goal is to one day meet Kermit the Frog.

Mary Kay steers the marketing ship for the Chicago Toy & Game Group. She’s responsible for the development, creation and implementation of marketing and sponsorship programs, including strategic planning, advertising, business development and social media marketing strategies. A former manager at AT&T, Mary Kay went from telecom to toyland as the founder and president of Kubit2me, Inc. A licensed game inventor and manufacturer, Mary Kay has over 25 years’ experience in project management, strategic product development, manufacturing, and B2B / B2C sales and marketing. She believes we should do what we love and love what we do. Every day.

Patrick Matthews is one of the publishers of the Games for Educators website and newsletter, and works as its editor and webmaster. He’s also the president of Live Oak Games, and the designer of several award winning games. When Pat’s not designing, reviewing, or playing games, you can find him on the swingset out back, playing with his two kids. He writes a newspaper column called DaddyTales about his (mis)adventures with the little guys.

MJ Tam is the Editor of Chicagonista.com, an online magazine for active Chicago families, and co-host of the live online show, Chicagonista LIVE. MJ is also the Lead Blogger of TheChicagoMoms.com, a collaborative blog written by the top local mom bloggers. Blogging since 1999, MJ is featured as one of 125 women you need to know in CRAVE Chicago’s book, The Urban Girl’s Manifesto. Follow MJ’s tweets at http://twitter.com/mjtam.

Michelle is a Live Wire! An urban mom of three boys, she is Editor of our newsletters and blogs and is our Inventor Relations Liaison. She is co-founder of Flying Pig Games LLC, creators of award-winning Jukem Football card game, founder of Cincinnati Game & Toy Industry Professionals group, and the Cincinnati Children’s Toy Examiner. Michelle is also an independent marketing consultant providing contract services, executive coaching and strategic direction that helps businesses leverage and integrate new media into their overall marketing objectives. She’s in her sweet spot when she is working with companies focused on women and family-oriented products and services.