We are Game Design and Art Collaboration (GDA)! Founded in January 2015 by a small group of UC Santa Cruz students, our mission is to promote the collaborative work of artists, musicians, programmers, and game designers, with an emphasis on networking and skill-sharing. That involves a few programs:
Mock Studio: Students pitch and then develop game(s) that we work on as a community. The Mock Studio is great for learning about the process and production of game-making from start to finish. As a nice bonus, students who work on these games have something to add to their resume at the end of the school year!
Workshops: We run a variety of workshops and game jams, separate from Mock Studio, to build game development skills.
2024-25 GDA Officers
GDA’s officers work through the year (yes, even when school isn’t in session) to keep the lights on for new and returning members. Our team this year:
Jonah Ryan (he/him)
President
Ivy Dudzik (she/her)
Vice President, Mock Studio Coordinator
Alex Medina (she/her)
Vice President, Design Officer
Dylan Mahler (any/all)
Shadow Officer
John Sai (he/him)
Treasurer
Emily Tran (they/them)
Events Coordinator
Kim Wu (she/her)
Webmaster
Savannah Burch
Art Officer
Ethan Yoshino (he/him)
Design Officer
Production Officer
Evan Lake (he/they)
Programming Officer
Gabe Ahrens (he/him)
Sound Officer
Joe Gibson (he/they)
Writing Officer
Juliana Luu (she/her)
Community Manager
Saira Hamid (she/any)
Outreach Officer
Sammy Chang (she/they)
Mock Studio Coordinator
Mandy Xie (she/they)
Art Officer
Ronan Tsoi (he/him)
Production Officer
Garrett Blake (he/him)
Programming Officer
Sam Spivey (he/they)
Sound Officer
Parker Ehlers (he/him)
Writing Officer
Previous Officers
Alyssa: 2014-17 President
Andrew Dunne: 2020-22 Vice President, 2020-23 Art Officer, 2022-23 Writing Officer
Annalivia Martin Straw: 2022-23 Vice President/Outreach Officer
Annie Zhang: 2021-23 Art Officer, 2022-23 Vice President
Athena Patronas: 2023-24 Art Officer
Aubrey Issacman: 2017-18 Outreach
Autumn Moulios: 2021-23 Sound Officer
Calex Raffield: 2022-23 Programming Officer
Cameron Beattie: 2021-22 Design Officer
Celine Lafosse: 2023-24 Writing Officer
Charles Miller: 2019-20 Production Lead/Archivist/Outreach Coordinator
Christopher Paz: 2017-18 Outreach
Dallas Truong: 2020-21 Production Officer/Outreach Coordinator/Event Coordinator
Daniel C: Webmaster
Edmond Le: 2017-18 Treasurer
Enrico Widodo: 2020-21 Sound Officer
Eric Long: 2020-21 Production Officer/Outreach Coordinator/Event Coordinator, 2021-22 President
Eric Mitchell: 2018-19 Archivist/Webmaster
Fernando Zamora: 2017-18 Sound Lead
Gian Paredes: 2017-18 Outreach, 2018-19 Art Lead/Treasurer
Gigi Bachtel: 2019-20 Design Lead
Gloria Chim: 2023-24 Vice President/Art Officer
Herman Wu: 2020-21 Art Officer
Holly Cheng: 2019-21 Art Lead/Officer
Ian Rapoport: 2017-18 Event Coordinator
Jane Grantham: 2023-24 Vice President/Production Officer
Jessica Yoon: 2023-24 Design Officer
Jeven Zarate-McCoy: 2019-20 Vice President/Writing Lead, 2020-21 President/Writing Officer
Jon Alancantara: 2017-18 Archivist
Joshua Augenstein: 2021-22 Programming Officer
Justin Hammer: 2019-21 Treasurer, 2020-21 Archivist
Kyle Oppenheim: 2017-18 Vice President
Liam Dugard: 2017-18 Event Coordinator, 2018-19 President
Linda Nguyen: 2017-18 Art Lead
Madeleine Glenn: 2018-21 Sound Lead/Officer
Molly Thompson: 2020-22 Writing Officer
Muhammad Al-Suwaidi: 2018-19 Art Lead
Naman Bushan: 2021-22 Logistics Officer/Treasurer
Neo Zhang: 2022-23 Design Officer
Nicholas Ho: 2017-18 Event Coordinator
Nicholas Schetman: 2023-24 Treasurer
Nicole Maines: 2017-18 President
Nik Thomas: 2021-23 Design Officer
Niko Sanchez: 2020-21 Design Officer/Community Manager
Parmpreet Gill: 2021-23 Sound Officer, 2022-23 Vice President
Ricky Chavez: 2020-21 Design Officer
Robert Newlin: 2021-22 Mock Studio Coordinator, 2022-23 President
Rohan Venkatapuram: 2023-24 Webmaster
Ryan McCarty: 2022-23 Writing Officer
Ryoma Marta-Sugawara: 2020-21 Webmaster, 2021-22 Vice President/Production Officer
Seiji Emery: 2019-20 Programming Lead
Seren Becker: 2023-24 Writing Officer
Sophie Martin: 2022-23 Community Manager
Stevie Rodriguez: 2020-22 Writing Officer
Tatiana Lucero: 2023-24 Mock Studio Coordinator
Thomas Applewhite: 2019-20 Webmaster, 2020-21 Programming Officer
Tiana Chamsi: 2023-24 President
Tori Moore: 2023-24 Design Officer
Tyler Knowlton: 2023-24 Chief Operating Officer
Valentino Abate: 2018-19 Vice President, 2019-20 President/Programming Lead
Vinh Ta: 2023-24 Sound Officer
Zane Gregorian: 2017 Sound Lead
Zoey Laytart: 2021-23 Production Officer