Biography
Jane McGonigal is a world-renowned creator of games designed to solve global problems and improve players' real lives.
Jane currently serves as the Director of Game Research & Development for the Institute for the Future in Palo Alto, California, and has previously created games for organizations such as the World Bank, the New York Public Library, the American Heart Association, and the International Olympics Committee. Her best-known game SuperBetter has helped nearly one million players tackle health challenges like depression, anxiety and traumatic brain injury.
She is the author of two New York Times bestsellers: "Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World" and "SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully." She earned a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley and currently teaches futures thinking at Stanford University's continuing studies program. Her classic TED talks have more than 13 million views. Although she has received honors from Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and MIT Technology Review, her favorite accolade was when Oprah Winfrey called her one of the 10 most inspiring women in the world. She is the first game developer in the world invited to deliver a keynote at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Her chief mission in life is to see a game developer win a Nobel Prize.