Katie Salen Tekinbaş is a Professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of California at Irvine, a member of the Connected Learning Lab, and Chief Designer and co-founder of Connected Camps. Her work focuses on meeting kids where they are at in order to design engaging, play-based experiences that transform youth futures. She is leading Raising Good Gamers, a new initiative in partnership with Games for Change. Her current research focuses on the integration of social emotional learning into online learning experiences for youth as a way to build social competence, amplify youth voice, and diversify participation. She is founding Executive Director of Institute of Play, a founding member of the Connected Learning Research Network, and led the design of Quest to Learn, an innovative New York City public school. Her books include Affinity Online: How Connection and Shared Interest Fuel Learning, Rules of Play, and The Game Design Reader.