Verta is a founder, storyteller, yogi, mama warrior and anti-racism facilitator. She has designed, managed, and delivered professional learning experiences and programs for school leaders and educators across the country.

Verta began her 25 year career in education as a teacher in Prince George’s County Public Schools and then as a literacy specialist for the New York City Department of Education. After getting her master’s degree in politics and education at Columbia’s Teachers College, she became the founding principal of Bronx Arts and then served for several years as a leadership coach for principals and aspiring principals at New Leaders.

Verta is a founding team member at Civics Unplugged because she knows #TheKidsWillLead and is Chief Innovation Officer & Co-Founder at the*gameHERs because all gamers who identify as women and/or are femme identifying across the spectra of gender identity and expression are dope.

Michelle Statham A.K.A. TacticalGramma, is a 58-year-old grandmother that’s been playing video games for over 50 years. She started her streaming career late in life going live for the first time in October2019. Since then, she’s attracted millions of followers which she affectionately calls Grandkids. As a Gramma that loves to play first person shooter (FPS) games she's certainly a unique content creator. She’s especially proud of her positive and uplifting community where people of all ages and backgrounds can find a safe space to connect. “I’m just really grateful for the opportunity to be a positive influence in so many lives” says Statham.

Born in Dominican Republic and raised in Dallas, TX, Jaye's drive to succeed has always been a defining characteristic. A modern-day renaissance woman, Jaye is a tournament champion gamer, a Grammy Nominated Recording Artist, published songwriter and has serviced thousands of patrons in the Michelin Star world as a culinary expert and Certified Wine Sommelier. 

She has built company models, lead corporate initiatives by partnering with and curating sponsored activations with Fortune 500 companies and has dedicated her life to empowering and motivating marginalized communities through education and activism. Searching for a way to merge her creative and her technical self, she founded a video game startup that became the first off-line subscription-based society in the world, called Coexist Gaming.

Sam leads the 5G Gaming and Immersive initiatives for AT&T with responsibility for strategy, monetization, and partnerships. Sam’s focus includes prioritizing the technical and strategic initiatives for connectivity products that showcase and improve gaming performance for AT&T customers.

As a 16-year veteran of AT&T, Sam has held roles in AT&T Business sales, strategic alliances and sales operations. Sam’s responsibilities have also included leading the launch of AT&T Edge solutions with several first-of-their-kind innovations focused gaming and connectivity. Prior to AT&T, Sam held leadership roles with Target, T-Mobile and with enterprise technical solution providers.
Sam holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Texas A&M University. He lives in Dallas with his wife, daughter, and son. In addition to facilitating a multitude of extracurricular activities with his kids, he enjoys running, exploring the latest in consumer electronics, and enjoying a vast LP, music, and movie collection.