An Interview with Nelly Steiner, Gamers Engaged Head of Operations
Gamers Engaged is thrilled to announce that we have hired Nelly Steiner as our Head of Operations. To properly introduce Nelly to our community, we asked her a few questions about gaming, giving and social impact.
Gamers Engage: What's your origin story (in gaming)?
Nelly: I've loved games for as long as I can remember, especially cooperative ones. Around age 9, my dad introduced me to Dungeons & Dragons, where my first character was a ranger inspired by Gabrielle from Xena: Warrior Princess. I've been adventuring with my current D&D group since 2008. I also love cooperative board games, especially Pandemic and Spirit Arcana.
Gaming has brought some incredible people into my life, including my partner, who I met at a speed dating event at Gen Con. There's something about facing a challenge together and figuring out how to use everyone's unique strengths to overcome it that I find incredibly energizing. Along the way, I've learned a lot about my friends and about myself.
Gamers Engage: What's your professional super power? And what powers you up in the workplace?
Nelly: I love sitting at the intersection of creativity and logic. I studied Fine Art, and I'm fascinated by communication and the psychology behind why certain messages just click. I dig into what makes something immediately understandable, the moment where something intuitively makes sense without needing to be explained.
So my professional superpower is solving that puzzle. How do you take something complex or multi-layered and shape it so the end result feels simple, intuitive, and engaging. Most challenges are complex and involve multiple stakeholders, audiences, and perspectives. I figure out how to break things down, clarify the real goals, and identify opportunities to improve clarity, flow, and moments of delight.
I get the most energy from working with passionate people who care deeply about what they're building. There's a special energy when a team is excited about the same goal and brings different strengths to the table. It reminds me a lot of my favorite gaming experiences, where everyone has a role and you're all trying to figure it out together in real time.
Gamers Engaged: What was your path to Gamers Engaged?
Nelly: I moved to the US from Ireland in 2015, and my first job here was at Mox Boarding House. Coming from Ireland, where access to gaming and community can be more limited, it felt like cracking the jackpot.
I started as a sales associate at Mox and worked in that role until 2017, when I moved into the marketing department. I became involved with Gamers Engaged (then Engage) in 2016, supporting community engagement efforts. When I moved into marketing, my responsibilities shifted into more operational and hands-on support. I was acting as a bridge between Mox stores and Gamers Engaged initiatives like the Giving Trees and the Gauntlet.
I’ve been involved with Gamers Engaged in one way or another for almost 10 years now, and I’ve always believed in the power of games to bring people together and do good. For me, Gamers Engaged is a way to put that belief into practice through gaming, play, and community.
Gamers Engaged: What about other relevant career highlights?
Nelly: I studied Fine Art with a focus on photography, which still shapes how I approach visual storytelling and communication.
From 2017 to 2025, I worked as Marketing Manager at Mox Boarding House. In that role, I managed a team of sales and marketing associates and worked across the full marketing mix, including copywriting, social and community management, campaign development, graphic design, branding, and ad spend. During that time, I also helped support the opening of two new Mox locations out of state, which was a major period of growth for the company.
Gamers Engaged: We’ve heard that conventions are a big part of your life. Tell us more.
Nelly: Coming from rural Ireland, where finding a gaming community could be more challenging, I made it a personal mission to seek one out. I immersed myself in podcasts and forums, traveled to conventions, and looked for opportunities to connect with people who shared my interests. What I discovered was that gaming conventions are about much more than games. They bring passionate people together and create an environment where connection comes naturally. There's an unspoken camaraderie that emerges when thousands of people gather around something they love.
What I love most is how eager people are to share that enthusiasm with one another. I've seen complete strangers cheer each other on through a difficult dice roll, light up over a niche cosplay reference, or invite someone they just met to join their table. That generosity and openness is something special. The energy at a gaming convention is unlike anything else I've experienced, and it's one of the reasons these events are so meaningful to me.
Over the years, conventions have become an important part of both my personal and professional life. My partner works with Gen Con, and together we've supported a variety of gaming events and conventions in freelance capacities, helping with everything from staffing and event operations to vendor coordination and attendee experiences. I've attended and worked events including Gen Con, Origins, PAX Unplugged, PAX West, GeekGirlCon, OrcaCon, Winter Fantasy, SPIEL Essen, GoPlay NW, and many others. Each one has reinforced my belief in the power of games to bring people together and create lasting community.
Gamers Engaged: What do you want people to know about social import in this sector?
Nelly: Games matter because they connect people. They create space to play, be curious, and be challenged in fun ways both socially and mentally. They slow us down, help us be present, and let us understand each other more deeply.
Games are innately good for you, and we know that. The gaming community is deeply passionate about bringing others in because we all have deeply personal experiences of how games enrich our lives. We want to share that, and the idea of doing good in the world through the power of games and play resonates deeply.
ers Engaged sits right in the middle of that. It connects a passionate community with people who might not otherwise have access to it, and uses games and play to bring people together. It raises much needed funds through play, and helps get games and resources to those who need them most.
It’s a simple idea, but a powerful one. Everyone deserves access to play.
Gamers Engaged: What's your alignment?
Nelly: I’m aligned with the idea that play is vital. It’s not something extra, but something fundamental to how people connect, learn, and spend time together. Games are one of the simplest ways we create that space, and I care about making sure more people have access to it, and about empowering those who do to turn their passion into action.
Additionally, I believe in harnessing where the energy already is. The gaming community already has a strong instinct for sharing what they love and bringing others in. I’m interested in helping channel that into something bigger, where joy and connection can also create real impact.
And if we’re talking D&D terms: chaotic good.
