Meet the Team

FOUNDER

Background: Licensed therapist, author, and mom of a Wicked-obsessed preschooler.

Bio: Katie created Young Dragonslayers as a small pandemic project to help local kids make friends online. Now she leads the team, meets with families, and ensures players feel socially and emotionally supported.

Fan of: Podcasts (actual play and otherwise), Renaissance Fairs, Stranger Things, Game of Thrones, and games like Dialect, Pandemic, and Earth.

Favorite D&D Class: Wild Magic Sorcerer

FOUNDING GAME MASTER

Background: Actor, College prep tutor, former North Carolina state champion in Magic: The Gathering.

Bio: You might have seen Zack in Blindspot or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. A pro performer with excellent NPC voices, he loves giving classic D&D adventures unexpected twists — like his Curse of Strahd + Grimm’s Fairy Tales mashup.

Fan of: What We Do in the Shadows, Kingdom Hearts, and Critical Role (Ashley Johnson reintroduced him to D&D!)

Favorite D&D Class: Cleric

GAME MASTER, VIDEO PRODUCER

Background: Former behavioral health technician, current pediatric nurse, Studio Ghibli fan.

Bio: Sergio is a veteran DM with experience running games for kids ages 8-18. He loves creating custom content and (occasionally unhinged) storylines for his players based on his their favorite genres and fandoms.

Fan of: Dimension 20, Delicious in Dungeon, Blades in the Dark, Kids on Bikes, and anything Lin-Manuel Miranda touches.

Favorite D&D Class: Sorcerer

GAME MASTER, CONTENT CREATOR

Background: Youth nonprofit worker, future social worker, author of Rolling with the Youth

Bio: Jaclyn literally wrote the book on running inclusive, supportive games for kids — Rolling with the Youth! Jaclyn excels at modifying adventures to be accessible for all players and creates rich, detailed worlds and characters, like Kermit’s brother Timrek, who has appeared in multiple campaigns.

Fan of: Legend of Zelda, Marvel & DC, Pokemon, Evil Hat’s Fate and Powered by the Apocalypse game systems, and weird indie microgames like Bird Trek and Honey Heist.

Favorite D&D Class: Paladin

GAME MASTER

Background: Podcaster, improv comic, pop culture blogger and proud Girl Dad

Bio: Aself-described “old school nerd,” Jesse has been rolling dice since 1985 and has a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of roleplaying games, comic books, and classic editions of D&D. He loves weaving players’ character backstories into his adventures and has created many horrifying (and hilarious) Big Bads for his campaigns.

Fan of: All things superhero (especially Marvel), comic books, Star Wars, and pro. wrestling.

Favorite D&D Class: Warlock

GAME MASTER

Background: Former middle school teacher, graduate student, clinical researcher, escape room enthusiast

Bio: Olivia is a pro at turning groups of excited, high energy kids into cohesive adventuring parties. Her campaigns run the gamut from mild-mannered to gloriously chaotic, but they’re all warm, inclusive, and welcoming to players of all stripes. Many adventurers return term after term to keep the story (and friendships) going.

Fan of: Yu-Gi-Oh, HunterXHunter, SpyXFamily, Call of Cthulu, Betrayal at the House on the Hill

Favorite D&D Class: Knowledge Cleric

GAME MASTER, BLOGGER

Background: Middle grade fiction writer, Navy veteran, podcaster, Mom (dog, cats, and human)

Bio: As a real-life bard, Hannah is all about the lore: you can expect super detailed world-building, cool set pieces (like fantasy game shows) and characters with complex backstories. Hannah is also an avid follower of the Rule of Cool: if you come up with a creative, culinary scheme to convince the campaigns’ evil vampire to become vegetarian (it has happened), she’ll let you roll for it!

Fan of: Gravity Falls, Over the Garden Wall, One Piece, Breath of the Wild, Skyrim, Baldur’s Gate III

Favorite D&D Class: Barbarian with a Tavern Brawler feat

GAME MASTER

Background: Engineering professor, writer, parent, founder of TTRPGKids

Bio: An engineering professor turned full-time gaming professional, Steph is a level-50 wizard when it comes to kids’ roleplaying games. As the founder of the popular TTRPGKids website, they’ve written thousands of articles helping parents and educators create supportive, neurodivergent-affirming tabletop experiences. Steph’s campaigns often weave in favorite fandoms (like Minecraft) and encourage creative, nonviolent conflict resolution.

Fan of: Star Trek, The Owl House, K-Pop Demon Hunters, Xena Warrior Princess, Pokemon

Favorite D&D Class: Artificer or Cleric (or a combo!)

GAME MASTER

Background: Mental Health Counseling graduate student, former Zookeeper, proud Dad

Bio: Joseph found lifelong friends through D&D, and loves helping young people do the same. A skilled improvisor, Joseph embraces the unpredictable nature of kids’ gaming (ask him about the time his players ditched the entire plot to search for Adam Sandler in a hot air balloon). His games include exciting storylines, custom content, and (unsurprising for a Zookeeper) an abundance of animal facts.

Fan of: Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Disney, Avatar, One Piece, Bleach, Naruto, HunterxHunter, and Dimension 20.

Favorite D&D Class: Druid

GAME MASTER

Background: Former behavioral therapist, veteran, current stand-up comedian and board game store manager

Bio: Ben’s experience in children’s therapy and comedy makes him a natural at running inclusive, affirming D&D games. As you’d expect, his campaigns are funny, but they’re also impressively thoughtful. Ben is not afraid to do extra research to support his players’ interests: a crash course in economics helped a party pitch a business venture to an NPC investor, and a diagrammed crab eyeball proved invaluable in a battle against a crustacean Big Bad.

Fan of: Magic: the Gathering, One Piece, Gundam, and Persona. As a board game store manager, he also knows tons of games and loves to make recommendations.

Favorite D&D Class: Circle of the Moon Druid

GAME MASTER

Background: School psychologist, graduate student, hiking enthusiast, amateur chef

Bio: Savanna draws upon her experience as a school psychologist to create inclusive and affirming spaces for teen players. Plus, her games feature some of the most gloriously unique premises around. Whether her players are members of a traveling futuristic circus or house pets fighting crime, her sessions encourage players to step into the spotlight, take creative risks, and express themselves.

Fan of: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Inheritance Cycle, Mass Effect, She-Ra, The Roots of Chaos, and The Last Apprentice…just to name a few.

Favorite D&D Class: Warlock multiclassed into Cleric

GAME MASTER, EDUCATION COORDINATOR

Background: Instructional design specialist, Biology major, educator, camp counselor extraordinaire

Bio: Maddy is an educator in every part of her life. She builds online courses by day, teaches friends new board games and TTRPGs in her free time, and even trains her cat to do tricks at home. While she occasionally hosts online games, Maddy is most often the mastermind behind our in-person summer camps, where her players recently adventured through the Feywild to rescue a baby pixie.

Fan of: Teen Wolf, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Spider-Man, Critical Role, Dimension 20, Everdell, Pathfinder 1e, Splendor

Favorite D&D Class: Circle of Stars Druid, Assassin Rogue, Divination Wizard…you can’t choose just one!