Office and People Directory

Benjamin Kohler

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Christian Konczal

Biography

Christian Konczal, Director of Esports at Champlain College, is a passionate advocate for the integration of technology and education. A proud alumnus, Christian received his MFA in Emergent Media from Champlain in 2017 and has been steadfastly committed to the development of collegiate esports ever since.

As a graduate student, Christian served as a project management fellow for BREAKAWAY, an internationally recognized project partnered with the UNFPA, UNiTE, and Grassroot Soccer. BREAKAWAY aims to educate youth about Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), promote gender equality, and inculcate respect, values that Christian carries forward in his current role.

Christian is a strong proponent of gender equity within esports, striving to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for all players. He believes in the transformative potential of esports to bridge gender gaps and is proactive in his efforts to ensure this in practice.

After graduation, Christian honed his skills in the field, consulting for multiple collegiate esports programs across the country. He then launched a successful program at a D2 State University, wherein he established varsity esports teams, oversaw program operations, supervised student coaches and players, and integrated esports into the academic experience. His fundraising efforts during this period helped support scholarships and program expenses, further validating his dedication to esports in the educational sphere.

Upon returning to Champlain, Christian pioneered the college’s esports program, fostering strong varsity teams and empowering the existing esports club. His leadership, combined with his unwavering belief in student potential, brought Champlain its first Varsity championships in over 20 years within the first year of the varsity esports program’s inception.

Christian is a fervent believer in preparing students for life post-college. His approach to esports extends beyond gameplay to encompass professional development, ensuring his students are equipped with practical skills and a strong foundation for their future careers.

Beyond his collegiate commitments, Christian has a heart for philanthropy. Working with his students he has been instrumental in raising over $20,000 for the Extra Life charity throughout his career, demonstrating his commitment to broader societal issues.

Christian Konczal’s multifaceted contributions at Champlain College exemplify the blend of passion, dedication, and vision needed to drive growth and success in collegiate esports. His unwavering commitment to gender equity and student development ensures that Champlain College’s esports program prepares students not just for competitive gaming, but for the wider world that awaits them after graduation.

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Christine Koogle

Biography

Christine is from Baltimore, Maryland where she first had her taste of beautiful events. After searching for schools that would provide her with an education that she could take and apply anywhere, she came up north to attend Champlain College. Here, she studied business administration and event management. Christine held many student leadership positions as an RA, Student Activity Programmer, Orientation Leader, CHAMP President, and more. After graduating with her bachelor’s degree, Christine stayed in Vermont to manage a luxury event catering company. After several years, she returned to Champlain and Student Engagement. Now, she gets to run the events she always participated in as a student!
When she’s not having fun with students, you can find her planning weddings for friends and family, kayaking in the beautiful state of Vermont, or trying out a new recipe to share.

What are your hobbies?

Cooking and Baking, kayaking, planning parties!

Favorite local eateries and things to do in Vermont:

I love to eat and drink! And, of course, explore. Top places to eat: Honey Road, Poco, May Day, The Tillerman, and Philo Ridge Farm

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Leslye Kornegay

Biography

Dr. Leslye Kornegay is an inspiring Executive Leader, Educator, and Author who is currently making a significant impact at Duke University as the Executive Director of Facilities Management University Environmental Services. After her tenure at the University of Vermont, she chose Duke to broaden her work in facilities management and services. Her commitment to improving the lives of the university’s service employees, many of whom face challenges, is a true testament to her passion. At Duke, she skillfully manages a $28 million budget, engages in strategic planning, and leads a dedicated team of 300 employees who serve the university community and oversee waste management efforts.

Publications & Abstracts

Leading to Change the World

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Nicholas Kornek

Distinctions & Awards

Innovation Award – MIGF 2015, Official Selection – Alt.Ctrl.GDC 2015, Official Selection – TIFF Nuit Blanche 2015, Finalist Best Interactive Experience – NUMIX 2017

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Fred Kosnitsky

Biography

Fred’s academic background is in the biological/ecological sciences and the environmental studies realm. He has an undergraduate degree in Biology from Williams College, has studied Ecology at the graduate level at Dartmouth College, and has a Masters degree in environmental law and policy from the Environmental Law Center of Vermont Law School.

For the past four decades he has been involved in the environmental arena as a Board member of groups such as Vermont Earth Institute, the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, 350vermont.org, and the Voice of the Potash Brook Watershed. He has written columns on nature and the environment for the Vermont Times, The Other Paper in South Burlington, and the Saint Albans Messenger. He is currently a member of the South Burlington Energy Committee. Fred has taught at Community College of Vermont since 1983, and has joined Champlain College as an adjunct in 2023.

Recommended Reading, Listening & Viewing

• Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson

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Angelika Koukoulas

Biography

Angela joined Champlain in June of 2023 as part of the innovative partnership between Champlain College and Hula (a co-working space on Lakeside Ave). In this role, Angela works with businesses, entrepreneurs, and non-profits to bolster their teams with Champlain talent. Angela helps students land internships, work on client facing projects, and generally get connected to the Burlington business community. Angela also supports the development of Burlington’s Innovation District by forging intentional connections between students, academics, and industry.

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Danielle L’Esperance

Biography

Danielle has been with Champlain College since 2019. She has her M.Ed. in Higher Education and Student Affairs from the University of Vermont (2012). Danielle also has extensive experience in the Hospitality industry. She loves her job because it combines her knowledge of events and hosting guests with her passion for Higher Education.

Danielle is a native Vermonter and a first-generation college student. During her personal time, she can be found meandering along nature trails with Levi, her small but mighty four-legged companion. She also enjoys Fantasy and Science Fiction novels, baking treats for family and colleagues, & traveling to new and exciting places.

What are your hobbies?

Baking, Hiking, Reading & Traveling

Favorite local eateries and things to do in Vermont:

Summer outdoor concert series (Williston, South Hero, SoBu), Kountry Kart Deli, Folino’s, Cafe Dim Sum

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Jalil Laalami Ouali

Biography

Jalil has been working in the game industry for over 15 years on three continents. After working on AAA content and coordinating QA teams on massive projects, Jalil went back to smaller teams where he had a stronger influence on company culture and direction. Indie life allowed him to explore AR, VR, playable ads, event installations and his personal favorite: procedural content generation. With a contagious smile and a talent for doing more with less, Jalil is currently coaching emerging indies on production management, Agile principles and happiness at work.

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Benton Lane

Biography

Ben is the Maker Program Coordinator for the Champlain College, facilitating access to the school’s Maker Space tools and materials in support of the college’s new academic model focused on experiential and interdisciplinary studies.

A ’26 graduate of Champlain College’s Game Design program, Ben loves working with colleagues and employees on novel solutions to tricky problems, and enjoying each day’s challenges. He lives in Williston with his wife Elizabeth and their cat, Daisy.

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Tony Langan

Biography

Tony Langan grew up 1 hour north of Dublin in a small rural village called Dromiskin in County Louth. He received an International Bachelors degree in History and Economics from NUI Maynooth where he also studied abroad at the University of Miami, Florida. Tony continued his studies at the University of Mississippi where he studied Tourism and Recreation. He has worked in the field of Study Abroad since 2013 where he ran programs in England, Spain, South Africa and Ireland. He is also an accredited National Irish Tour guide and runs his own tour company seasonally. During the recent lockdown Tony completed a Post Graduate Certificate from Trinity College Dublin in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship. Recently, he has completed the Lord Mayor Dublin’s certificate in Oral History and is currently taking a Family History course at Trinity College. Previous to his position as Assistant Director with Champlain College (and before COVID), Tony was the Student Life Manager here from 2018.

Tony is passionate about many things in life and they seem to change weekly. But the continuous passions are Study Abroad, Travel and Irish Culture. He loves to show students and tourists alike what Dublin and Ireland has to offer and watch as they slowly become locals in a new city. He also loves live music and a good pint of Guinness which, luckily, are very easy to find in Dublin!

Hobbies

Music, concerts, travelling and meeting new people!

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Michael Lange

Biography

Michael Lange is an anthropologist and folklorist, specializing in narrative, food, and identity. He has done ethnographic fieldwork in Scotland, Morocco, Norway, the US, and Canada. His books include Norwegian Scots and Many Meanings of Maple.

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Al Larsen

Biography

Al Larsen is a media artist and writer whose work engages with ideas of public space and populist uses of media technologies. He works in and across multiple media and processes including programmable technologies, textiles, performance, audio production and printmaking. His work has shown in festivals in the US and internationally and his writing on popular culture, art and performance has appeared in P-Queue, Careless Talk Costs Lives, Plan B and The Squealer. He directs toe Creative Media BFA program at Champlain College.

Distinctions & Awards

Residencies:
– Center for Machine Arts, Peekskill, NY
– Burlington City Arts, Burlington, VT
– Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center, Buffalo, NY
– International Artist Exchange Residency, City of Glasgow, Scotland

Favorite Quote

“Find a place you trust and then try trusting it for a while.”

—Corita Kent

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Dean Lawson

Biography

Dean Lawson has worked in the Games Industry for nearly 30 years, primarily as a Programmer but also as a Designer, Project Lead, and Director of Programming.

He has worked on 14+ shipped titles, including SimCity Societies, Caesar IV, Majesty, Risk: Global Domination, a number of online board game conversions for Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast, and World of Zoo and Club Penguin: EPF: Herbert’s Revenge on the Nintendo DS for THQ and Disney Interactive, respectively. Throughout his career, Dean has focused on game AI and how it helps shape the player experience.

Dean’s other main passion in games is Game Architecture; how to engineer flexible technical frameworks for games. Dean advises at the EMC at Champlain College, as well as working as a contract programmer for a number of game and educational companies. Dean has been teaching at Champlain College since 2010: he previously taught Game Programming and Design at Savannah College of Art and Design.

Dean Lawson earned a BS in Computer Science from Union College in Schenectady, NY and an M.Ed in Secondary School Mathematics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

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Erika Lea

Biography

Erika’s career in social work has spanned supervising after-school programming for high school students, home visiting for vulnerable families, teaching parenting classes for incarcerated fathers, directing the counseling program at a boarding school, and now co-coordinating both the Champ 101 Program and The InSight Program’s wellbeing theme. She joined Champlain College in 2019 and enjoys the innovative and supportive community, including the many student leaders who are the “special sauce” of the work she gets to do. She enjoys spending time with her family, dogs, and chickens. She also serves on the Champlain Valley School District Board of Directors.

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