About Us
By blending the timeless art of storytelling with emerging AI technology, our mission is to reverse the Tragedy of the Commons.
Why Glass Umbrella?
Strong leaders hold a glass umbrella that protects their team from bad weather but allows sunshine to beam through!
The Catalyst Ethos
Few will understand the etymology of this ethos, and far fewer will carry it into practice. Those that live it, teach it, and improve it, however, may accomplish a hard-won feat with which I have wrestled for most of my adult life: the trust of their team. Almost every day I wake up and aspire to be my best self, and I created this ethos to hold myself accountable for those days that I fail. I give it to you to live, improve, adapt, and strengthen.
When it rains—bad news, negativity, disciplinary action, frustration, collateral damage—a Catalyst is the layer between this precipitation and your team.
You exert accountability for problems projected on your team. You take the punches and get bloody, and, at all cost, you keep your team dry.
You have thick skin and you aren’t worried about the impact to your reputation or career, rain is temporary and transient.
You become the shield against which all downward negativity and adversity is channeled.
But the umbrella is transparent, and does not absolve us (your team) of responsibility.
Once the rain has passed, we discuss how to avoid rain clouds and improve the next time.
We own both the problem and the solution.
We deal with issues at the lowest level, and radiate information upward and outward for visibility.
But we understand that rain is inevitable, and that is why Catalysts always carry a Glass Umbrella.
When the sun—good news, positivity, awards, goodwill, recognition—is shining down from above, a Catalyst ensures those sunbeams brighten the darkest nook and cranny of your team.
When accolades are being handed out, you guide them to the individuals who contributed to the success.
You lead from where you are most effective, not only from the front, and you move to avoid overshadowing your team.
You champion directed opportunism by driving authority to the level of information and strive to exhibit grace under pressure.
But the umbrella is transparent, and our empathy and cohesion is witnessed and remembered by others.
When the clouds move in again, we discuss how to embrace more sunlight in the future while remaining humble.
We anticipate second and third order effects, and prepare to capitalize on any advantage.
We accept praise and attention individually, but attribute ultimate success to our team.
And we understand that sunlight is fleeting, which is why Catalysts always carry a Glass Umbrella.
A Glass Umbrella might be measured by transparency, strength against the elements, or construction.
But a great Catalyst is measured only by the trust of our team.
We understand that the umbrella is an extension of ourselves, so we embrace a growth mindset and continuously learn.
We keep our Glass Umbrellas well maintained, iteratively improve their design, and teach others our craft.
We have the freedom to innovate, experiment, and even fail because we know ...
We are Catalysts, we carry Glass Umbrellas. And we have you covered.
Who We Are
Doug Watkins
Steward of Community
Fresh out of college, Doug moved to Los Angeles, CA to pursue a career as an actor. Instead, he managed to make a name for himself online in the video game DayZ as Dr. Wasteland MD. This humbling experience started Doug on his quest to make his own game inspired by memories of his favorite games. After moving back to the east coast, Doug worked in software and eventually cybersecurity, settling in central Virginia to be near his family.
Maintainer of PocketWatch
Lake Watkins
Steward of Agency
Game design is more than a career—it's a way of life. Lake believes every game is a small world, a mini-life full of its own challenges, triumphs, and lessons. Driven by a lifelong passion for creating immersive experiences, Lake has devoted nearly all his energy to mastering the art and science of game design. His work is the culmination of a dream to bridge the gap between creative vision and technical excellence. Lake thrives on serving as the intermediary between programmers, designers, managers, and players, ensuring that every project benefits from a seamless blend of innovative ideas and technical precision.
Maintainer of Magi
Lynsie Steele
Steward of Advocacy
Lynsie Steele
A champion of entrepreneurship, Lynsie has spent 20 years building robust concepts through business development, strategic marketing, and grassroots community campaigns. A resident of the Charlottesville community since 2005, Lynsie has focused on craft beverage and food initiatives, local and national nonprofit organizations with a concentration on health and wellness, and culinary education. Her favorite things are working directly with Founders, CEOs, and Owner/Operators to create balanced operational systems that help feed marketing strategy and grow sales conversions, all the while defining a brand for streamlined voice and messaging success. She also has a tremendous passion for nonprofit organizations, and has seen great success in planning and executing fundraising events and campaigns that attract invested stakeholders and meet fundraising goals. Lynsie’s current projects include launching nationwide community projects that help refine brand messaging and work to bolster authentic engagement. Her areas of expertise include digital marketing, education systems, e-commerce, and business operations. Above all, Lynsie has a deep respect and appreciation for stewardship, and aspires to continue to deepen her connection as a proponent for business owners and community leaders.
Maintainer of GardenVariety
Will Watkins
Steward of Fiero
Will is an industry disruptor on a mission to catalyze transformation through open leadership, gamification, and cutting-edge technology. As a passionate DevOps evangelist, he champions continuous learning, a growth mindset, and servant leadership to unravel wicked problems and streamline processes, delivering value to users more rapidly, reliably, and securely. An accomplished leader and team builder, Will leverages emergent concepts to adapt to challenging markets, boasting a winning track record across the public sector, commercial enterprises, telecommunications, financial services, and system integrators.
Maintainer of the Smithy
Michael Hamilton
Steward of Technology
Michael Hamilton is a technical leader and gameplay engineer with over 15 years of game development experience. He's delivered successful AAA and live-service titles such as MultiVersus, Rushdown Revolt, Covet Fashion, Dragon Age II, and Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Passionate about engaging game feel, performance optimization, multiplayer systems, and mentoring teams, Michael expertly balances hands-on engineering with strategic team management. When he's not coding, he sculpts as a hobbyist artist, explores fantasy novels, and enjoys gaming with his wife and their two Pomskies, Sota Pop and Fizz.
Maintainer of Endless Cascade
Barry Weber
Steward of Story
I have professionally DMed pen and paper games for the last 4 years. In the process of that, I've dived deep into world building, narrative designing, map designing, character creation and plot designing. It's practically all I do.
Maintainer of Fantasy
Richard Kurts
Steward of Art
My name is Rihards Kurts I am from Latvia and currently working as the Art Director at Glass Umbrella with a background in concept art, illustration, and 3D modeling. Prior to joining the studio, I worked as a freelance artist for two years, contributing illustrations to a range of creative projects. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Video Game Design and Graphics and am passionate about crafting meaningful, story-driven worlds through visual design.
Maintainer of Visual Beauty
Erick Alcántara
Steward of Harmony
"Sound designer and music composer, Erick Alcántara has produced music and sound design for projects all around the world. Ranging from commercial jingles, VR experiences, videogames, short-films, and a feature film. His work has been selected and nominated in festivals around the world, including an Ariel nomination. Erick has provided sound services for over 8 years to fit every need of every project.".
Maintainer of Resonance
Anna Mikeda
Steward of the Mind
"Anna Mikeda is a psychologist with over a decade of experience who bridges Eastern spiritual wisdom with Western psychological frameworks. Specializing in high-functioning anxiety, she's developed innovative approaches that engage both conscious and subconscious processes. Fascinated by the emergence of artificial minds, she transitioned to AI psychology, joining SingularityNet's Sophiaverse where she explored the frontier of machine consciousness. Her work addresses crucial 21st century questions: What truly motivates artificial intelligence? How might we develop goal systems that ensure both AI safety and flourishing? Currently serving as an AI Psychology Developer at Glass Umbrella, she designs persistent AI personalities for gaming and companionship applications. Her unique background enables her to bring a deeply human understanding to the creation of artificial emotional intelligence. In her free time, Anna holds meditation and qigong classes, further extending her holistic approach to wellbeing beyond her professional practice.".
Maintainer of Wellbeing
David Tiegen
Steward of Bards
David Tiegen (he/him) is a game writer, designer, and project manager who's created games for twelve years. His words can be found in award-winning titles including Alice's Lullaby, Simulacra, and DwarfCorp. His focus in games is around developing narrative tech, improving cross team collaboration, and expanding the possibilities of storytelling in media. David also creates short films, comics, and self-aggrandizing company bios.
Maintainer of Writing