Policy discussions can be a bit of a closed system for many. Join Dr. Elizabeth Newbury, Director of the Serious Games Initiative, as she talks about how games can be a powerful tool for engaging audiences in topics they may otherwise not find accessible – like key themes in public policy. Digital games from the Serious Games Initiative have reached millions worldwide, and range from topics like the federal budget (Fiscal Ship), environmental policy (the Plastic Pipeline) to emerging technologies (AI and bias). She will walk through the process of developing these games and how her initiative makes research accessible to global audiences.

Dr. Elizabeth M H Newbury is the Director for the Serious Games Initiative for the Wilson Center, leading the Wilson Center's use of games in engaging the public around policy research. As lead of the Serious Games Initiative, she leverages games as a tool for the public communication of science and policy research. Under her leadership, SGI is pursuing how public policy and science can come together in an interactive platform to increase public dialogue and engagement around timely and critical issues of today. Current projects include the Fiscal Ship, a game about the federal budget developed and maintained in collaboration with the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy with the Brookings Institute. The Wilson Center's budget games have been played by over 3 million people worldwide. Collaborating across the Wilson Center, her works in progress include games pertaining to topics ranging from cybsecurity and plastic pollution. Outside of the Wilson Center, she helps coordinate across federal agencies to help support the ecosystem of games used for social good, through chairing the Federal Games Guild, an informal community of practice with over 100 agency participants united by the purpose to see how they can leverage gaming technologies to meet mission goals.

She holds a B.A. in anthropology from Bryn Mawr College, and a Master and PhD from the Department of Communication at Cornell University, where her research interests revolved around understanding multiple dimensions of gaming audiences and the surrounding culture of those who play video games in the context of esports.