Center for Esports Team
Prof. Newton Lee
Executive Director
Newton is an educator, futurist, author, editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Computer Graphics and Games, editor-in-chief of the International Series on Computer Entertainment and Media Technology, and founding president of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Institute for Education, Research, and Scholarships.
Serving as an FBI Ambassador, Newton expounds on social media, campus safety, student mental health, cybersecurity, and counterterrorism as portrayed in the highly acclaimed Total Information Awareness book series published by Springer Nature.
Newton has lectured at California State University Northridge, Emily Carr University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, San Diego State University, San Jose State University, Simon Fraser University, University of Southern California, Vincennes University, and Woodbury University.
He earned a M.S. in Computer Science from Virginia Tech and an honorary doctorate in Computer Science from Vincennes University. He has been honored with a Michigan Leading Edge Technologies Award, two community development awards from the California Junior Chamber of Commerce, and four volunteer project leadership awards from The Walt Disney Company.
⇨ BOOKS
Among his 190+ publications in 3 languages and 5,500+ library holdings worldwide, the Total Information Awareness trilogy books have garnered rave reviews from Newsweek and The Daily Beast, ACM Computing Reviews, AdWeek, and Choice Magazine, among others. Veteran Staff Sergeant Andrew Price of the United States Air Force (USAF) remarked, “I am inspired by the prospect of world peace. I’d fully recommend following the author’s steps, reaching beyond our borders, making friends outside our norm, and helping to foster world peace and a better tomorrow.”
⇨ GAMES
He has co-developed over 100 online games at The Walt Disney Company, and 12 bestselling & award-winning interactive titles including The Lion King Animated Storybook & Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree that were featured in the Billboard Magazine.
⇨ MUSIC
He has executive produced dance-pop songs that have played on American Idol and charted on U.S. Billboard, U.K. Music Week, and U.S. iTunes HOT 100 (Electronic). His latest albums are "Google It (Soundtrack)" and "I Am Not I" for which DJ Robert Scott called "a marvelous pop/dance affair of the highest order!"
Dr. Edward Clift
Director of Strategic Development
Dr. Edward Clift is past president of the world-famous Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara/Ventura, California and was the founding dean of the School of Media, Culture & Design at Woodbury University. He earned his PhD degree in communication from the University of Utah with specialties in mass media and new technology.
Dr. Clift’s guiding passion has always been to find ways to transform students and others seeking to realize their potential as creative individuals. He has substantial international executive business experience and was honored to be a Fellow in the inaugural class of California Connections, a professional development program offered by the Southern California Leadership Network.
His community activities include service as chair of the Burbank Cultural Arts Commission and education director on the board of the Burbank International Film Festival. In addition to publishing articles on the rhetoric of economics, Dr. Clift is the editor of "How Language is Used to Do Business" and co-editor of three books published by University of Chicago Press exploring the intersections of cities, film, and digital media.
Dr. Clift grew up in Washington D.C. and is the nephew of four-time Academy Award Nominee Montgomery Clift.
Katherine Amoukhteh
Director of Student Services
Katherine has had over 20 years in STEM before transitioning to teaching. She was awarded the Teacher of Year in part due to her work as a team manager for the high school esports program. She went on to become the VP of Operations with Esport-Management. She is currently the founder of Esports College and Career Pathways with the mission to provide a safe and supportive environment for gamers to improve. Her most recent work includes projects with Collegiate Combine where gamers have the opportunity to be recruited by a college or university for a substantial scholarship, women in gaming (the Hive), high school & collegiate esports consulting, and launching Esports Playground in Orange County, California.
Wallace Wang
Director of Curriculum and Instruction
Wallace has written over 50 books on computer science, business, and acting. He teaches computer science, iPhone programming, and game design classes at UCSD Extension as well as esports at San Diego State University.
Wallace is also a board member at the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Institute for Education, Research, and Scholarships. He is focusing on using video games to educate students about various topics such as programming, math, science, and business.
Dane Henderson
Director of Esports Events and Marketing
Dane Henderson has three decades of experience in the gaming industry including Westwood Studios, Sony Computer Entertainment, and Midway Games. He is a Program Director at San Diego State University’s Global Campus, helping create the university’s online esports curriculum designed to teach high school students, college students, and adults the business, competition, and programming side of the video game industry.
Previously, Dane was a project and events manager at MLG Preliminaries at Gamers Universe. He ran his own gaming tournaments at Dave & Busters and GameStop, among others. He also organized charity events at The Autism Tree Project, which helps autistic kids learn to get along with others while playing video games.
Dane is also a board member at the Institute for Education, Research, and Scholarships, a nonprofit public charity organization dedicated to changing the world for the better through education, research, and scholarships.
Mark Carvalho
Director of Global Development
Mark is an environmental futurist with 20+ years of experience in applying life science and chemistry to improve indoor air quality, health, and wellness. Mark is passionate about education that can change lives, and he helps expand its reach with governments and universities globally.
Mark is also a board member at the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Institute for Education, Research, and Scholarships.
John Chia
Director of Education Investment
John is the cofounder of Education Investment Fund. He is also the principal and decision maker of several investment consortia and matching fund groups worldwide. He sees education as the major development opportunity and the utmost importance in the lives of young people.
James "Bonzai" Caruso
Director of Audio Engineering
James “Bonzai” Caruso is a six-time Grammy-winning recording and mix engineer, producer, arranger, and songwriter, with over three decades of experience working with high profile recording artists.
He started his career as a teenager, attending the world-renowned Institute of Audio Research in Greenwich Village. His work can be heard on Chronixx “Chronology” album, Alicia Keys, Protoje, Mariah Carey, Gwen Stefani, Missy Elliot, Erykah Badu, Bette Midler, Lenny Kravitz, Cher, and many others.
Chris Davis
Director of Innovation
Chris is an FPV Drone expert known in the community as DZ or DZDOESIT. He started his career in the U.S. Navy as an IT running a radio shack of over 20 people handling all ship to ship and ship to shore communications. With a B.S. in CIS, his goal is to use drones and tech to improve future generations. He has designed, manufactured, sold, and supported FPV drones worldwide over the past several years.
Marcela Melnic
Director of Communications and Career Services
With a B.B.A. in Marketing and Logistics from the University of Moldova, Marcela has helped hundreds of students find internship, traineeship, and jobs at Fortune 500 companies as well as new startups. She is also a communication manager at the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Institute for Education, Research, and Scholarships.
Eric Constein
Director of Broadcast and Streaming
Eric Constein, aka "CODannouncerGUY" has been in the industry of Esports for over 15 years. His educational background consists of Broadcast Journalism at Temple University. He got his start, commentating for Call of Duty and Halo tournaments, before starting his streamer personality on Twitch and YouTube. Eric has been heavily involved in the influence of Esports and Education, working with RediNation. Most recent works include writing curriculum for San Diego States' global campus, for Intro to Esports, and Intro to Streaming.
Sam Diamond
Esports Head Coach
Sam Diamond started his journey into the gaming space through casual Team Fortress 2 tournaments in 2011. Starting in 2013, he played as a semi-pro gamer in Splash Damage’s Dirty Bomb. He continued to play semi-professionally with a variety of teams and games for the next several years. In 2016, Sam transitioned to coaching professionally and managing teams. He continued for several more years to coach and support up-and-coming talent for several minor and pro league teams in Overwatch. Sam is now working with high schools, colleges, and esports teams to build a more holistic and sustainable path into the professional gaming scene.
Tellypuu "Blue" Quisquis
Native American Advisor
Blue has 20+ years of experience working with tribal governments and business executives in the field of education, technology, entertainment, food, Indian gaming, and economic development.
Blue has advised commissioners, CEOs, at-risk youth, incarcerated youth and adults, politicians, law enforcement personnel, representatives of U.S. and foreign governments, military, mothers, daughters, teachers, and tribes. Blue is responsible for advising state lawmakers and tribal governments in Utah, Kansas, Arizona, California, and Canada on economic opportunities.