GET INVOLVED

GET INVOLVED WITH COMMITTEES OR THE BOARD

COMMITTEES

As the list of GAMA benefits and programs expands, we are highlighting opportunities for members to get involved and share their voice - the most recognizable being the various committees that help guide the association.

For more information or to join a committee, please send an email to Bryan.Borgman@gama.org.

Standing Committees

The Board of Directors may set the composition and terms of Standing Committees, within their defined limits. Creating or dissolving a Standing Committee requires a Bylaws amendment.

Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design

The committee oversees the annual industry awards program as well as the Origins Award & Hall of Fame, which was created to recognize outstanding work in the tabletop game industry.

Chair: Alex Schmidt, Stonemaier Games

Hall of Fame Curator: Mike Elliott (HOF inductee 2017)

Board Liaison: Monica Rasso, Meeples at Sea

Code of Conduct Committee
This committee deals with issues related to the Code of Conduct, with rights and responsibilities that shall be set forth in a policy approved by the Board of
Directors.

Chair / Board Liaison: Eric Price, Meijia Game Factory

Finance Committee
This committee deals with issues of finance, including review of financial documents and internal controls, with rights and responsibilities that shall be set forth in a policy approved by the Board of Directors.

Chair / Board Liaison: Treasurer

Membership Committee
The committee helps new members feel comfortable, enjoy sharing and gaining knowledge of the industry, and share the value of belonging to GAMA as well as assist in guiding conversations about existing and future member benefits and ways to support the association’s members.

Committee Chair: Nick Haas, Delano Manufacturing
Board Liaison: Danny O'Neill, Hammerdog Games

Ad Hoc Committees

The Board of Directors shall have the power to create committees to help the management of the association. These committee as created through a resolution of the board and may be dissolved by the same process.

Best Practices for Tabletop Media Committee

Promotes best business practices and assist with GAMA membership compliance with Federal Regulations – particularly those from the Federal Trade Commission and the US Consumer Finance Protection Bureau concerning publisher relations with media and reviewers.

Projects:

GAMA MEMBER EDUCATION & COMPLIANCE It is fair to state that most GAMA members are unaware that they are subject to Federal regulation for seemingly innocuous activities like board game reviews that were sponsored, or where the reviewer received free product. However, the video game industry has been regulated in this way for quite some time. And the most recent guidance from the Federal Trade Commission makes clear that board game reviewers/publishers are not exempt. The Committees task it to help GAMA members become aware of their legal responsibilities in this area of the law. Click here for more information.

BEST PRACTICES: The Committee is also putting together a document of best practices that we recommend GAMA members adopt to ensure their compliance with the law, while also promoting the high ethical standards for the gaming industry.

Chair: We have two committee co-chairs:
Co-Chairman: Mike Dunn mdunn@gamingtrend.com
Co-Chairman: Drew Wehrle drew@wehrlegig.com

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee:

The committee works to assist GAMA to expand opportunities for marginalized people within the tabletop gaming industry through diversity education and outreach programs that leverage our diverse networks and resources to overcome existing obstacles and create new pathways within GAMA and the broader industry.

Projects:

Among other projects, the GAMA DE&I Committee oversees:
The Horizons Fellowship, a sponsorship program that supports new and prospective retailers and publishers with mentorship and funding to attend GAMA Expo.

The Inspirations Awards, a new GAMA award program that will honor inspirational members of the tabletop industry who are helping to build a diverse and inclusive future.
Tabletop Guilds, a community-led initiative to empower diverse groups within GAMA to build solidarity, generate new resources, and connect with each other.
Support of GAMA professional development.

Chair: Carrie Linden, Snowbright Studio
Board Liaison: Matt Fantastic, Forever Stoked Creative

Education Committee

To assist and oversee the professional development programming available to GAMA members and promote the use of gaming in the classroom setting.

Projects: The GAMA Education Committee consists of 2 subcommittees.

The Professional Development subcommittee assists the GAMA staff with ensuring quality speakers, and programming for professional development of the game industry both at GAMA EXPO, the Origins Game Fair, and periodically throughout the year via recorded seminars made available online to the GAMA membership. This Committee helps identify needed coverage in professional development and also identifies members and outside experts who are willing to share their expertise with the GAMA membership more broadly.
The Gaming in Education subcommittee helps promote the use of all forms of analog gaming in the classroom. The subcommittee is now examining successful experiments with game usage and promotion around the country and developing a set of recommendations for GAMA adoption.

Leadership:

Committee Chair: Jason Mathews, Fort Circle Games
Board Liaison: Drew Wehrle, Wehrlegig Games
Professional Development Committee Chair: James Lowder
Gaming In Education Committee Chair: Josh Stilts

Market Expansion Committee

Promotes opportunities to grow the industry through development and execution, brainstorming and beta testing, engaging in, sponsoring, and facilitating projects intended to expand tabletop gaming.

Chair: Michael Maggiotto Jr., BEST Human Capital & Advisory Group
Board Liaison: Merdith Placko, Turbo Dork

Origins Site Selection Committee

To recommend possible future location to host Origins Game Fair

Chair / Board Liaison: John Stephens

Sustainability Committee

The Sustainability Committee is dedicated to promoting environmentally responsible practices across the tabletop game industry. We recognize the ecological footprint of game production—from materials and packaging to manufacturing and distribution—and strive to reduce that impact through education, collaboration, and innovation. Our mission is to empower publishers, retailers, and creators with actionable insights and best practices that support sustainable development, without compromising creativity or quality. Together, we aim to build a greener future for gaming.

Projects:

Collaborating with other groups outside of GAMA to collectively bring together a pool of resources of best practices in production of games to share with the membership.
Growing awareness of the ecological impact of production and encouraging manufacturers and publishers to keep best eco-friendly practices in mind when producing their games.
Creating a resource list of best practice and sustainability information to be shared on the GAMA website.
Hosting education events for GAMA members on sustainability best practices.
Supporting the Green Games Guide’s Sustainable Production Award .

Chair:Juli Bierwirth, Distant Rabbit Games
Board Liaison: Eric Price, Meijia Board Game Factory

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ANNUAL ELECTIONS

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors will have twelve (12) seats comprising two (2) individuals from each Voting Membership group elected by a vote of its respective members at their Annual Meeting.

The terms of Board seats are two (2) years (staggered), with six (6) seats (one for each Voting Membership Group) expiring each year at the end of March. Board Members serve for no more than three (3) consecutive full two (2)-year terms. Board Members elected at Voting Membership Groups’ Annual Meetings, begin their term April 1. A Board Member’s term of office lasts until completion of the term, they resign, or are removed from office. Board Members who have reached their term limit must wait at least one year before running for a seat on the Board again.

At any Voting Membership group’s Annual Meeting, if by the end of March multiple seats representing that group will be vacant, Board Members must be chosen to fill each of them. In the event that more than one Board Member is elected at any Voting Membership Group’s Annual Meeting, the newly elected Board Member who received the most votes will serve a two-year term, while the newly elected Board Member receiving the second most votes will serve a single one-year term.

To apply to be a candidate for the 2025-2027 Term on either the Board of Directors or the Retail Voting Officer Board, please use this form.

Deadline to apply is Monday March 10th, 2025. The schedule for the elections will be as follows:

Feb 12 – Official notification of the 2025-27 Board of Director elections via email to the designated representatives for all voting members.
Feb 13 - Notice of the 2025-27 Elections in the Member Update Newsletter
Feb 22-27 - GAMA EXPO - Opportunity for potential candidates to talk with members in their division.
March 10 – deadline to apply for the board position by completing the candidate form.
March 12 - Ballot sent to designated representative for each membership group.
March 19 – Ballot closes and election results announced.
March 20 - March Board of Directors Meeting. Results shared with members.
April 1st – New Board Term commences.

If you have any questions about the election, please email: John.Stacy@gama.org for more details.

Officers

There are four Officer positions: President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary, who will be determined by a vote of the Board of Directors using ranked choice voting at the first Board Meeting following a change in any of the Directorships. If the Board determines that the required skills for the Offices of either Treasurer or Secretary cannot be completed by any of the current Board Members, they may allow that Officer position to be filled by hiring an expert in that field; however, such individual shall not have a right to vote on the Board of Directors. An elected Board Member has voting privileges due to their Board membership and not their position as an Officer.

President

Only individuals serving on the Board of Directors are eligible. The duties include all responsibilities delegated to the President by the Board of Directors and also include the right to serve as chair of any Meeting of the Association the President attends. In the event of a vacancy in the office of the Secretary, the President will serve as Secretary until the Board of Directors elects a new Secretary.

Vice President

Only individuals serving on the Board of Directors are eligible. The duties include all responsibilities delegated to the Vice President by the Board of Directors and also include the right to serve as chair of any Meeting of the Association the Vice President attends that the President does not attend. The Vice President also chairs any ad hoc committee constituted for the purpose of auditing the Association’s finances. In the event of a vacancy in the office of the President, the Vice President will serve as Interim President until the Board of Directors elects a new President.

Treasurer

The duties include all responsibilities delegated to the Treasurer by the Board of Directors, as well as the responsibility of ensuring the financial records of the Association are kept in good order, and that financial records are available for auditing as needed. At least annually, the Treasurer will provide the membership with an overview of the financial condition of the Association. The Treasurer also chairs the Finance Committee.

Secretary

The duties include all responsibilities delegated to the Secretary by the Board of Directors, as well as the responsibility for keeping the records of the Association’s meetings in good order, as well as the responsibility of keeping the contact information of the members of the Board of Directors current and in good order. The Secretary will have access to the contact information for all members of the Association, as well as their Designated Representatives. In the event of a vacancy in the office of the Treasurer, the Secretary will serve as Interim Treasurer until the Board of Directors appoints a new Treasurer.

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EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

There are a wide variety of opportunities to share your industry experience and help your peers improve.

To give in-person presentations, please view our seminar opportunities.

If you prefer to present from the comfort of your own office, there are also several available times for webinar presentations.

Additionally, if sharing your knowledge through writing is better suited to your skills, you are also welcome to contribute to Around the Table, our quarterly magazine.

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GAMA FUNCTIONS

Volunteering

It takes a lot of effort to host events throughout the year. To help ensure GAMA Expo and Origins Game Fair are each a success, we always welcome volunteers who can give their time to the association either before or during an event. To request more information about volunteering for GAMA, please send an email to volunteer@gama.org.

Exhibiting

Likewise, we wouldn't be able to hold these shows without exhibitors to fill the hall. To request more information about exhibiting at either show, please send an email to exhibitors@gama.org.