Judging committee
On the online ballot, the Judging Panel will be asked to rank nominated entities (referred to as: the Nominee) for each category. A point system will then take place.
An online form will be sent, where the judging panel will have to rate selected criterias for each entity nominated, as well as place them from 1st place to 5th place.
Both total points as well as the 1 to 5 placement will be considered in designating the winner.
The nominee with the most total points will be our official winner for the category.
Bradley Shankar
Brad is a staff reporter at Canada’s largest tech publication, MobileSyrup, where he focuses on content for the site’s gaming section, SyrupArcade. In addition to regularly producing gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and features, he’s travelled internationally to cover such major gaming events as E3, GDC, Gamescom and XO19. One of his main contributions to the site is a monthly developer interview series focusing on the diverse Canadian talent in both the indie and AAA space.
Chris Zaiser
Chris Zaiser is the Lead Editor of SophistiGamer and recently joined the team at AutoSave where he captures gameplay footage for the weekly video game podcast. He graduated from Toronto Film School’s ‘Video Game Animation’ program in 2021 with academic honours and is thrilled to be returning to the Judging Committee for the Canadian Video Game Awards once again.
Elaine Gusella
Elaine Gusella is Game & Marketing Director for indie studio Artifact 5 and Program Coordinator for the Indie Video Game Design program at Dawson College. She has worked as a game design & marketing strategy consultant with multiple independent game studios and organizations in Montreal, and spearheaded community projects, including game jams, consumer events, and mentoring programs. She holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Game Design from Université de Montréal, where she specialized in communications and social features in games. Her personal projects delve into life-size installations and creating hybrid experiences between the digital and physical worlds.
Kurston Timothy
Also known as, “Kvondoom”. Kurston is a versatile leader and industry veteran focused on creating efficient development strategies as well as expanding the BIPOC presence within the gaming industry. He is the founder of Mynno, and currently the Social and Digital Marketing Manager for Xbox Canada. His goal is to uplift and foster all diverse and inclusive talent within the industry.
Lenna Ly
Hi my name is Lenna Ly-Matz! I started out in the esports scene as a passionate fan of the Toronto Defiant. From attending events to connecting with other fans online, I started my career as a Community Manager and Team Chef for both the Toronto Defiant and Toronto Ultra, their official CDL team. After this, I choose to move to British Columbia to join the Vancouver Titans & Seattle Surge as the Team Operations Coordinator & Team Manager where I have been for over two years. Recently, I was chosen to represent Team Canada as their General Manager for the Overwatch 2023 World Cup this year – a dream of mine since it’s first year in 2017. I believe that my passion and love of the industry has gotten me to where I am, experiencing amazing events and meeting so many people from around the world.
Marc Saltzman
Marc Saltzman is a prolific freelance journalist who contributes to more than 20 publications (including USA TODAY/MSN, Toronto Star, Costco Connection, Readers Digest, and AARP), a 16-time author, radio and podcast host, and public speaker. Marc specializes in consumer electronics, interactive entertainment, automotive innovations, and future trends. Follow him on Instagram @marcsaltzman or Twitter @marc_saltzman
Matthew Rondina
"Matthew ""Dapper Tux"" Rondina has been involved in all things gaming and tech related since the start of the digital era. He shares his passion for technology via multiple media platforms. As a long-time veteran of the video game and tech industry, he's covered interactive entertainment and esports on the web, in video series, podcasts, and on international television. Matthew is the managing editor of tech and entertainment, website dappertux.com. Along with Matthew is the managing editor of tech and entertainment, website dappertux.com. Along with this, he has writing bylines with Best Buy, Cineplex Entertainment, MobileSyrup and Walmart. You can follow Matthew's tech-venture filled lifestyle on Twitter and Instagram handle @dapper_tux"
Raj Patel
Raj Patel is an experienced marketing executive who has been leading in the games industry in a variety of roles for over 15 years now, with experience in global campaigns including hardware, services, mobile, independent, and AAA gaming products. He’s gone from an influencer and blogger to leading marketing strategy and campaigns for some of the biggest Canadian titles.
Rob Keyes
Rob Keyes helps run Screen Rant, from editorial and PR to SEO and social media, and has been building it for 15 years into the largest entertainment publisher owned and operated from Canada. Rob also created gamerant.com, consults on various Valnet Inc. publishing and video operations, and hosts Podcast X. Rob can be found on Twitter @rob_keyes and Tiktok @robkeyes.
Steve Noel
Steve Noel is a Canadian Marketer focused on Content Creators, influencers and esports within the gaming, tech and video game industries. He has two cats named Jeff and Susan
Steve Vegvari
Steve Vegvari - Host, Writer - Freelance Steve Vegvari is a freelance writer and host, advocating for the Canadian industry to get the attention it rightfully deserves. Over the course of his career, he has lent his voice to a number of Canadian outlets, bringing his insight and knowledge of video games and technology to audiences and readers. Additionally, Steve has hosted the Canadian Video Game Awards since 2020, shining the spotlight on diverse and talented creators. He’s also been a host on SQUAD, and the Creature Cast podcast. His bylines can also be found on iPhone Canada, MobileSyrup, and Console Creatures.
Russell Sng
Russell is an avid gamer who turned that passion into a career in game development to create unique experiences in virtual space. He’s been specializing in VR for the last three years. By integrating his background in marketing with developer insights, he is excited to enable other creators to take their projects to new heights with cutting-edge Unity features. Past projects include implementing rehabilitation tasks in VR for healthcare, game design and character animation in AI, non-traditional control schemes like eye tracking, navigation in Unity for accessibility, and integrating external hardware like the Myo armband into a gesture-based wizard spellcasting game.