Creative Studio Faculty

Samara Fantie

Biography

Samara Fantie is a game developer and artist currently based in Vermont. Her robust background in the sciences includes an MA from American University in Mathematics and a BA with distinction from Amherst College in Psychology and Mathematics.

Leveraging a lifelong love of art, games, and interactive narratives, Samara has accumulated over a decade of experience helping people tell their stories. Her portfolio spans a wide array of projects including visual development, comics, 3D modeling, illustration, and many other flavors of game-related art and design. She has collaborated with a diverse range of clients including neuroscientists, indie developers, and Unity, showcasing her versatility and expertise in both technical and artistic domains. Her passion for the craft and innovative adaptability have enabled her to consistently deliver compelling creative solutions that resonate with audiences.

As co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of game studio Glossbird, Samara brings a unique blend of analytical rigor and creative vision to the gaming industry. Prior to teaching at Champlain College, she taught graduate-level courses at American University’s Game Lab for their Master of Arts in Game Design program.

Distinctions & Awards

• a16z TxO f’23 Accelerator Cohort
• PocketGamer- Most Innovative Mobile Game of the Year Finalist
• SmithMicro- The Avatar Challenge Design Contest

Publications & Abstracts

A Burlington Game Developer Hopes to Hit It Big With ‘Fitment’

Professional/ Scholastic Affiliations

https://glossbird.com/

Recommended Reading

Mrs. Davis

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Rachel Hooper

Biography

As a Creative Media Faculty member at Champlain College, Rachel Hooper teaches a range of courses including Human-Centered Design, Creative Media, and Video Game Production. Additionally, she serves as the Project Manager at the Emergent Media Center, where she empowers students to seek patterns, connect dots, and imagine new futures by using data and empathy to uncover and define problems worth solving.

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Max Johnson

Recommended Reading

• The Sound Effects Bible by Ric Viers
• The Foley Grail by Vanessa Theme Ament
• Aaron Marks’ Complete Guide to Game Audio

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Nicholas Kornek

Distinctions & Awards

Innovation Award – MIGF 2015, Official Selection – Alt.Ctrl.GDC 2015, Official Selection – TIFF Nuit Blanche 2015, Finalist Best Interactive Experience – NUMIX 2017

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Felipe Lega

Biography

Felipe Lega is the Director of the Animation Program at Champlain College and holds an MFA in Fine Arts with a focus on 3D Animation and Special Effects from Lynn University, USA. Felipe has designed educational models for Champlain College and has taught several classes for the animation and video game programs. He is also currently advising the projection mapping project at the Emergent Media Center, which is being developed in collaboration with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra.

His teaching methodology is based on motivation, self-realization, and compassion. His work with students always involves mentorship, fostering the development of individuals with strong human and professional capacities. The success of his method is attributed to his faith and motivation in his students and in understanding them as individuals to support them in achieving their desired results.

He was an associate professor at UDEM – Universidad de Monterrey, where he developed and taught several classes in the master’s program in video games and the bachelor’s program in 3D animation and visual effects. He also participated in significant academic projects for this institution, such as the Experience 360 “Lamentos Encontrados” project developed in collaboration with Breda University in the Netherlands. Additionally, he served as an advisor for several award-winning thesis projects and short films.

Felipe was involved for approximately four years in the design, production, and creative direction of animated content for various projection mapping shows across Europe. Notable projects include: the HCA Hans Christian Andersen Festival show in Haderslev, Denmark; the Taastrup Library projection mapping show in Denmark; and the Christmas show at the Vilnius Cathedral in Lithuania, among others.

During his industry experience, Felipe has worked as a visual effects artist and 3D animator in different areas of TV post-production and production, including Hasbro toy commercials for Avengers, Spider-Man, and Transformers. He also created special effects for Latin American international series such as Kdabra, Sikis, and Mentes en Shock, and developed 3D animations for Nat Geo and Discovery Channel.

In 2014, he was awarded the YCE (Young Creative Entrepreneur) Award by the British Council in the Broadcasting category, representing his visual effects studio, Entertainment & Visual Arts, at the Edinburgh International Television Festival.

Distinctions & Awards

Rising Star Award – Champlain College, YCE – Young Creative Entrepreneur Award, 2014 British Council.

Favorite Quote

“Imagination is Everything, It is the preview of life’s coming Attractions.” – Albert Einstein

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Jin Liu

Biography

Jin Liu is a passionate game designer, educator, and digital artist whose work lies at the intersection of game art, interactive installations, and computational creativity. Since 2019, her creations have explored immersive and serious games that challenge perceptions and provoke thought, focusing on themes of identity, self-acceptance, and freedom within digital spaces.

Her recent project, No Purpose Question, a VR serious game, merges Eastern and Western philosophical perspectives to explore the concept of nihilism in a positive light. This innovative experience blends immersive gameplay with philosophical inquiry, inviting players to reflect on the nature of purpose and existence. Jin’s work exemplifies her belief in games as a powerful medium for artistic expression, cultural dialogue, and social change.

Jin’s research delves into the transformative potential of emerging technologies, including blockchain-driven decentralized platforms for creative collaboration. Her vision involves bridging the gap between academia and industry through smart contract-based systems that foster transparency, peer-to-peer learning, and democratized project management. By integrating these principles into her teaching, she aims to create dynamic learning environments that cultivate digital literacy, collaboration, and lifelong learning.

Her teaching philosophy emphasizes hands-on projects, iterative design, and role-playing as game designers to enhance student engagement. At Champlain College, she inspires students to connect theory with practice, preparing them for innovative careers in game development while encouraging them to push the boundaries of what games can achieve in shaping human experience and understanding.

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Joseph Manley

Biography

Joe Manley is an experienced developer, educator, game designer, and artist. After receiving an undergrad and graduate degree in ceramic sculpture from RISD and CU, Boulder respectively, Joe began making games and interactive media in Flash. This interest in making interactive experiences is what drew him to Champlain College. Since 2003, Joe has been an integral part of the Game Studio at Champlain College and taught some of the first game related classes at the school. Joe currently spends most of his making time in either Unity or Unreal but also steps back into the clay studio when given a chance.

CV

View CV

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Kevin Neibert

Biography

Kevin is a Video Game Designer with a unique background and over 12 years of industry experience. He has worked at both indie and AAA sized studios, most recently with Wizards of the Coast and Ubisoft Montreal.

Kevin loves teaching and is eager to share his design know how with the next generation of developers.

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Robin Perlah

Biography

Robin Perlah currently serves as Chair of the Creative Studio (home to Champlain’s creative art and design majors), Program Director for the graphic design (BFA) and interaction design (BS) majors, and is an Associate Professor in the Division of Communications and Creative Media at Champlain College.

In her time at Champlain, Perlah also served as the Academic Director for the Emergent Media Center, where she helped shape the creative vision for the campus-based interactive media studio. Additionally, Robin served as Assistant Dean for the CCM division, interim Program Director for creative media (BFA), and Program Director for the master’s programs in emergent media (MS and MFA). She has taught a wide range of courses in the areas of interaction design, photography, graphic design, and media theory, serving both undergraduate and graduate students. Currently, Robin teaches undergraduate courses in design history as well as photography, image-making, and visual design.

Perlah’s current art practice is based on a persistent interest in the photographic image, both still and moving, as it is transformed by digitality. Her work deals with the ambiguity of memory, the intersection between image capture (both analog and digital) and the methods of processing and presenting images, and how generative art and data mutations can reveal layers of complexity.

Before working at Champlain College, Robin was the co-chair of the Design & Creative Media program at the Center for Technology, Essex, and ran several community art programs to support young people through art-mentoring relationships and other activities. Prior to that, she had a long career as an art teacher and, professional photographer and photo editor, specializing in commercial, portrait, and event photography as well as fine-art printing.

Robin is a site evaluator for the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), is part of the volunteer board for PechaKucha Night (PKN) Burlington, and recently rejoined the board of trustees for the Vermont Arts Council as board secretary after finishing her last term as Vice-Chair in 2019. Additionally, she serves as the co-director for the Technology & Design Institute at Governor’s Institutes of Vermont. Robin earned a master of fine arts in emergent media from Champlain College, a bachelor of science in art education from the University of Vermont, and studied commercial and fine art photography at the New England School of Photography.

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John Pile Jr

Biography

John Pile Jr is a Technical Director and Principal Engineering Manager at Schell Games. Previously a full-time professor for Champlain College, John now teaches as an adjunct faculty for the Game Studio.

John has a deep background in digital entertainment, video games, and interactive story-telling experiences for PCs, Mobile, Game Consoles, and specializes in MR / VR / XR. He is the author of “2D Graphics Programming for Games” and has presented at the Game Developer Conference on topics in computer graphics education.

Publications & Abstracts

2D Graphics Programming for Games

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Dana Steinhoff

Biography

Dana Steinhoff is Program Director of Game Business and Publishing, and Game Production Management in the Game Studio at Champlain College. She holds an MFA in Emergent Media from Champlain. Her specialization is in teaching interdisciplinary teams to create interactive digital products while learning about leadership, interactive design, team dynamics, and agile project management methodology.

Steinhoff co-founded and served as the Executive Director of Rad Magpie, a Vermont-based non-profit organization that is doing its part to dismantle the patriarchy and white supremacy in video games by radically empowering underrepresented voices through video game development. Previously, she managed the Exquisite Corpse Company, an avant-garde immersive theater company in NYC. She currently consults on app and video game development projects in the Burlington area, including at Champlain’s own Emergent Media Center.

Steinhoff enjoys renovating her Winooski home and acting, most recently with Vermont Stage. You may be able to catch her performing in her cover band Dana and the Dads (limited engagements).

Distinctions & Awards

Academic Innovation Award 2023, Champlain College: For work completed on Re/Imagining Science DEIBJ Committee

Publications & Abstracts

My reflection on the evolution of Rad Magpie, the nonprofit organization I cofounded to support marginalized video game developers.

Curriculum Vitae

READ MY CV

Favorite Quote

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”

—Anaïs Nin

Recommended Reading

Want to get a heads up on how we build games at Champlain? Read Clinton Keith’s: “Agile Game Development: Build, Play, Repeat”

Jonathan Haidt’s “The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion” is a must-read right now to better understand the massive political divide in this country.

Office Hours

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Craig Winstead

Biography

Dr. Craig Winstead is a highly experienced and accomplished academic leader. His career has been a testament to his versatility, with significant corporate and scholarly contributions. In the corporate world, he honed his skills during his 12-year tenure at Verizon Communications, where he specialized in management. His expertise spanned sales, marketing, training, leadership, quality program management, and project management. In academia, he was a dedicated educator at Saint Leo University for 12 years, serving as a department chair for seven years.

His teaching experience encompasses various higher education levels, including undergraduate, MBA, and DBA programs. Notably, he was pivotal in developing project management, supply chain, and management programs at Saint Leo. He has served as the Dean of the Stiller School of Business at Champlain since 2023.

Dr. Winstead’s research interests focus on ethical decision-making, moral business leadership from an international perspective, technological advancements in higher education, and applying project management principles across various industries. He frequently speaks at academic and industry conferences and has published his work in reputable journals.

Dr. Winstead holds a PhD in Organizational Management from Capella University, an MS in Leadership and Business Ethics from Duquesne University, a master’s certificate from George Washington University, and a BA in Theater Arts from Bowdoin College. Additionally, he holds the highest certification, Project Management Professional (PMP), in his field.

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