Safe In Our World Announces New Ambassador Class of 2026

Safe In Our World is thrilled to announce our newest cohort of mental health ambassadors in our Class of 2026.

With 80 impressive applications this year, selecting Safe In Our World’s Ambassador Class of 2026 was a real challenge. We’ve seen such passion and creativity in every submission, and we’d like to thank everyone who applied for caring so deeply about improving mental health in games. But the final decision has been made, and our new ambassadors are locked in.

What do our newest ambassadors bring to the Safe In Our World mission – other than their boundless enthusiasm? We’re excited for this year’s cohort, which represents the diversity of backgrounds and experiences within our community. We’ve been joined by individuals with direct experience supporting loved ones with their mental health, educators, writers, healthcare providers, grief specialists, creators, and games industry professionals.

2026 is fast approaching, but with our new ambassadors by our side (and our ambassador alumni having our back), we’re excited for it to arrive. 2026 will bring with it fresh content, mental health initiatives, resources for the industry and global gaming communities.

Safe In Our World’s Ambassador Programme is sponsored by The Indie Stone this year, and by doing so, they power an initiative that connects mental health advocates on a global scale, allowing our charity to reach further and bring mental health resources and signposting to more people in need.

Alexander Mellström

[He/Him]

Alexander has worked in the video game industry for 7 years and is currently serving as Partner Account Manager at Paradox Interactive. With experience in digital distribution and partner relations, he’s passionate about fostering inclusive, respectful environments where everyone feels seen, heard, and supported both professionally and personally.

Alexander is super energetic and loves talking about, well, anything! Mostly, he enjoys talking about football, video games, Demon Slayer and Star Wars – or whatever has piqued his interest that week.

JadedPhoenix (Amber)

[She/Her]

Amber (JP) is a coordinator, creator, and entrepreneur whose work spans higher education, gaming, and community building. She fell into the world of gaming a year ago after being inspired to change careers and enter the creative industry. Since then she has worked on her own content creations, an indie studio and supports the Liverpool Game Development Network.

At the heart of everything Amber does is a passion for supporting and uplifting others, as well as working with creatives who are ready to make a difference!

Annabelle Afful

[She/Her]

Annabelle is a games developer and designer who founded Lost Wanderer Games, creating a rhythm narrative game. She’s interested in how games bring people together through shared experiences and enjoys supporting emerging developers and creative communities within the games industry.

Bethany Rainbird

[She/Her]

Beth is a game developer and one of the writers at Patch Magazine! She is passionate about how games can be used to support our mental health, particularly through loss and bereavement. While she admits to talking a lot about death, she promises that she’s still fun at parties!

Beth has already been hard at work, developing a content series for Safe In Our World exploring grief and video games.

Caitlin Doleman

[She/They]

Caitlin has been a solo indie developer for a year, and wants to have as positive an impact on the industry as possible. She has been working on publishing her first game while creating a community on social media to showcase what it’s like to work solo and help create a support network for new indie devs.

Codie Sheldon

[She/Her]

Codie is a Player Support specialist and Community Manager in passionate about creating welcoming, safe spaces for players of all ages. With years of experience in large online communities, she focuses on empathy, accessibility, and positive player experiences.

Outside work, Codie loves gaming, thrifting and nurturing cosy online spaces.

Conway Sutton

[He/Him]

Conway Sutton is a freelance indie games writer and narrative designer living in Guildford, UK, with a particular interest in telling queer and disabled stories. He strongly believes in the importance of intersectionality and supporting everyone’s mental health in the way that works best for them.

Dasha Barsky

[She/Her]

Dasha is a QA Analyst in a small studio, having taken a leap of faith 2 years ago to leave her data analytics career and pursue a life in games development. She is passionate about video games (obviously!), inclusivity, being nice to people, collecting niche hobbies like a dragon with a hoard, and her two cats.

Mod Q

[He/Him]

Mod Q is a video and livestream producer at Jagex, helping bring life to announcements across Old School RuneScape, RuneScape 3, and Dragonwilds to players. As a proud dad of two, he’s driven by a deep belief that gaming should be an inclusive and welcoming space where his children, as well as players of all backgrounds can feel safe, supported, and able to belong.

Outside of Jagex, Mod Q is a lover of great stories, whether playing adventure-driven games on Nintendo consoles, watching Critical Role while learning to play Daggerheart, or diving into the magic of Disney and Star Wars.

He also loves stepping into storytelling himself, taking the occasional side quest into managing wrestling villains on the UK indie wrestling scene. He has a deep affection for New Orleans culture and cooking, as well as a love for the sounds of jazz and soul. And if that wasn’t enough, he’s a regular at the cinema, a dedicated concert-goer, a keen LEGO builder, and a guitarist at heart.

George Coates

[He/Him]

With time spent at several studios (currently at Team17 and everplay), charities, schools, and theatres; George has experience with the arts, education, and vulnerable people across the UK. He has spent a huge amount of time and effort dedicated towards learning about and bettering mental health in himself and others.

Havva Solhan

[She/Her]

Havva Solhan is the Co-Founder of Nonereal Games and has been working in the game industry for 5+ years, focusing on both mobile and PC game development. The games she has contributed to have reached millions of downloads. Currently working on a PC title called Problem Solved under the Nonereal Games label.

In addition to game development and publishing processes, she also leads projects on “Education in the Game Industry” and “The Role of Women in the Gaming Industry,” aiming to build more inclusive and informed communities within the industry.

Havva actively advocates for mental well-being, accessibility, and safe creative spaces in game communities – values that align strongly with Safe In Our World’s mission! Her ongoing efforts to support diverse, healthy, and supportive environments make her a strong fit as an ambassador.

Jarvs Tasker

[She/Her]

Jarvs Tasker is an award-winning Accessibility Advocate and Head of Communications at Happy Volcano, creators of the upcoming factory builder game, Modulus. With experience across community marketing, accessibility consulting, and content creation, she has worked on acclaimed indie titles and champions inclusive game communities through industry-wide accessibility initiatives.

Jodie Swepson

[She/Her]

Jodie is a digital artist living in Lincolnshire. Jodie recently received First Class Honours in BA (Hons) Fine Art from the University of Lincoln and is at the start of her career in games.

Through Safe In Our World, Jodie hopes to support fellow graduates with their mental health, knowing from personal experience how turbulent graduate life can be.

Jordan “AmazinglyOreos” Stephens

[He/Him]

Jordan is an experienced Social Media and Community Manager who started as a Sales Assistant at GAME, building his way up to work with major brands like Red Bull and Riot Games. Currently at Get In as a Social Media Manager, he supports diverse clients and studios in the games industry.

Jordan is a passionate AuDHD and neurodivergent advocate, championing truly safe and inclusive online spaces. You’ll often see him with his cat, Sebastian. Be warned though, he may ask you to dab in a photo with him for socials.

Katie Squires

[She/Her]

Katie is the Business Manager at South Westerly Games. They are a micro indie studio based on the south coast of England developing and producing their first game, NINE ROUNDS RAPID. It’s her first job in the games industry, having recently moved from a 20+ year career in the education sector.

Katie held various roles over this time, with a particular interest in the pastoral care and wellbeing of the children in her care. Coupled with this pastoral experience, she has very personal reasons for knowing that talking about, raising the profile of and reducing stigma surrounding mental health is of the utmost importance. Katie is delighted to be given an opportunity to help do so in relation to the games industry. She’s happiest when she is either in her garden or swimming in the sea – the colder the better!

Eri Cheng

[She/Her]

Eri is an Account Executive at Bastion, working on the Riot, FFXIV and WotC accounts. Her favourite game is Outer Wilds. She loves connecting with people, and wants to foster that attitude in the gaming industry and encourage the building of stronger relationships regardless of backgrounds. She also has a British Longhair called Lemony!

Paul Rennie (Ren)

[He/Him]

Ren is a gamer by day, and by night? A gamer with funky neon lighting! He has over 16 years of experience in and around the video game industry – from QA to community management! He’s a content creator, and hosts a semi-regular live podcast on video game news and mental health topics.

Outside of games, Ren enjoys the usual nerdy things, as well as yoga, hiking, coffee, and is a reliable source of bad jokes.

Roshelle P.

[She/Her]

Roshelle P. is a Games UX Researcher, writer, and Death Doula with 4 years of AAA and indie experience, including shipped work on the World of Warcraft franchise at Blizzard. She holds an M.A. in UX Design and is the founder of Playfully Mortal, a 2x award-winning initiative focused on advancing grief literacy and death positivity through games.

Sally Sheppard

[She/Her]

Sally is a game developer, educator, and researcher focused on inclusive game design and storytelling. A Lecturer in Game Design, Art, and Animation at the University of West London, she is also the founder of Wyrdren Games and an advocate for diversity and representation in the games industry.

selcouthmind

[She/Her]

Sel is a Canadian V-tuber and speed-runner with a focus on indie games and cosy chaos. With an educational background in psychology and lived experience with trauma disorders, Sel loves to discuss mental health, stigma, and psychological assessment especially in the context of games and media.

Susmita Aryal

[She/Her]

Susmita Aryal is a Kathmandu-based published author and an independent journalist. As a graduate in journalism, she brings years of writing and publishing experience. Susmita has a genuine love for storytelling, and is a person in progress as a communication professional. With a curiosity about International Affairs, she is currently pursuing her interest in International Relations and Diplomacy.

Sybil Collas

[They/Them]

Sybil Collas is a creative director, narrative designer and published author. They work with clients ranging from video game developers to interactive television and tourism companies (Ubisoft, Warner Bros., Canal+, We Are Social and more) and have navigated the ever-changing landscape of interactive narration for the past 15 years.

In this lapse of time, Sybil has sailed through several burnouts and started operating as a DEI consultant and advisor with a focus on fostering mental health awareness among both teams and projects, especially for queer and neurodivergent developers. They are one of the founders of the French collective Radi (Radical Collective for the Actors of Diversity and Inclusion) and a fervent advocate of political action through community making.

Thomas Müller

[He/Him]

Thomas ‘SpeedyBrain’ Müller is an indie game developer, community manager and co-founder of Fire Sword Studios with over a decade of experience. He purr-sues community-driven development and advocates for mental health and accessibility in games. Thomas is a proud cat dad, shameless pun enjoyer and can always be found on Discord.

Spencer Stachi

[He/Him]

Spencer is a Montréal-based Brazilian-born Canadian. He’s a former video game journalist turned PR, marketing and social media pro, working with brands like Sony Music, Atari, Focus Entertainment, and WB Games. Spencer is a board member for AbleGamers Brasil and a Certified APX Practitioner, and is passionate about making games accessible for everyone.

Tara Williams

[She/Her]

Tara is a non-profit professional who advocates for cancer patients and survivors. Video games brought levity to her own cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship. She tries to balance a love of the outdoors with a love for indoor pursuits and lives in the United States with her husband and their retro video game collection.

Aiden Sealey

[He/Him]

Aiden Sealey is an Assistant Producer at Electronic Arts with a background in indie production and studio operations. As a neurodivergent, transgender man, he’s passionate about inclusive, wellbeing-focused game-dev cultures. Outside of work, Aiden freelances as a graphic, web and UI/UX designer, drinks too much caffeine, and spends his free time playing games.

Elise

[She/Her]

Elise is a people-focused, detail-loving producer who thrives where creativity meets structure. From Zynga Mobile and Cloud Imperium Games to her own indie studio, she’s led teams, shipped features and worn many hats. Mental health matters deeply to Elise, inspiring her support for Safe In Our World and inclusive gaming spaces.

Ricardo Lozano Ham

[He/Him]

Ricardo has over 10 years of marketing experience and is currently the Head of Operations at Infernozilla, a marketing agency in the gaming space.

He is deeply passionate about working with indie games and helping them succeed. He is looking to raise mental health awareness across the hundreds of gaming communities he is responsible for and to be the helping hand he once wished he had. Outside of his professional work, he is dedicated to animal welfare, serving as a volunteer godfather for multiple shelters.

Nat (MurderVeggie)

[She/They]

As Community Manager by trade and content creator for fun, Nat (@MurderVeggie) has a penchant for creating welcoming and safer spaces for gamers that fit more than one type of person. Despite recent online harassment as a direct consequence of her job, they continue to speak publicly and refuse to leave the industry out of equal amounts of passion and spite.

Thank you to all our new ambassadors for their passionate applications, and to everyone who applied. We’re so excited for our Class of 2026! Remember, applications open every year in October, so if you want to apply (or reapply if you weren’t selected this time), add a reminder to your diary, follow us on social media, or join our Discord to hear when we’re looking for a new cohort.