ENVISION HONORS PROGRAM
Vera Lichtenberg
MGTA Founding Director (1964 – 2022)
Vera Lichtenberg is the founding Director of the Mason Game & Technology Academy (MGTA), one of the largest youth STEM programs in the U.S., hosting students and school teachers on Mason campuses each summer from around the globe. As Director of MGTA, Vera was honored with a Business Partnership of the Year Award in both 2015 and 2018, by the Prince William County School System for innovative school partnerships that provided student workshops and teacher training in Game Design and programming. MGTA also received a Virginia School Board Commendation for her support of schools and students in Virginia. Vera was also a finalist in the Small Business / Entrepreneur category for the 16th Annual Women in Technology (WIT) Leadership Awards. Under Vera’s leadership, In 2019, MGTA received a prestigious grant from the Jack Kent Cook Foundation, to provide scholarships for students to attend MGTA. In 2020, MGTA was also honored to receive grant funding from the Micron Foundation, enabling us to continue our scholarship funding.
Vera has brought multiple established relationships in the mid-Atlantic region’s technology, arts, philanthropic, and public and private education communities. She has over fifteen years of administrative and managerial experience developing major new organizations, building strategic and tactical partnerships, and managing multiple cutting-edge national and international projects. Her professional activities include several years designing and coordinating international training programs and policy briefings for the International Research & Exchanges Board, in conjunction with multiple U.S. government agencies including USAID, USIA, and the U.S. Department of State.
Joshua Emswiller
Operations Manager for MGTA
Email: jemswill@gmu.edu
Joshua Emswiller is the Operations Manager and Senior Instructor for the Mason Game & Technology Academy. He graduated from George Mason University with a B.F.A. in Computer Game Design. Since graduating, he has been working as a 3D artist and animator for multiple private companies and VSGI start-up companies and contracts. As a Senior Instructor for MGTA, he has taught and developed a wide variety of courses, including: Game Design, Roblox Game Development and Art, Modeling & Animation.