There’s never been a more exciting time to get into gaming! With the global gaming industry now worth over $300B and Big Tech rapidly joining in, there are a multitude of new MBA pathways (e.g., PM, PMM, Data & Analytics, Finance) and new ways to game (e.g., VR, Mobile, Free-to-play).
Our passion is to connect students through gaming. Whether you want to explore MBA career paths in Seattle’s thriving gaming industry (ranked No. 1 in US), or just want to enjoy playing games with your classmates, we want to create a community through social gaming events and establish our UW Foster MBA program as a regional and national leader for game business talent.
Check out our LinkedIn page here.
Brady Lemons
President
Full-time Class of 2024
Brady is OBSESSED with the gaming industry. Marketing, leadership, M&A, or even sound design, he loves to chat about it. Prior to Foster, Brady spent 15 years in the Army in roles ranging from demolitions to UH-60 Blackhawk pilot. He traveled across the United States and even a few places abroad while soaking up the diversity and leadership experiences afforded to him. As president of Level Up, he is extremely excited about helping people learn about the industry and creating as many opportunities as possible for people to enter the industry. Upload image of the leader in the respective club folder. Image name should be name of the leader.
Favorite Games: Marvel SNAP, Sea of Thieves, Ikaruga, Ori, Cuphead, Diablo
Kylie Wright
Senior VP - Programming & Operations
Evening Class of 2024
Kylie currently works on the Xbox Worldwide Consumer Channel Marketing team where she manages retail e-commerce syndication and channel marketing execution across major retail partners worldwide for Xbox and Windows gaming products. Prior to Microsoft, she worked in corporate and non-profit marketing, as well as owning her own graphic design and marketing consulting business for small and medium-sized businesses across the US. Kylie is at Foster to build upon her foundations in global business, leadership, and product marketing. As part of Level Up, she is excited about building a community where gaming is for everyone!
Favorite Games: Spyro the Dragon, Ori, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Donkey Kong, Settlers of Catan
Kalia Calhoun
Senior VP - Programming & Operations
Evening Class of 2025
Kalia currently works as Senior Manager of Product and Sales Marketing at Vox Media. As the industry lead for Entertainment, Gaming, Auto and B2B verticals, she specializes in finding branding solutions for those advertisers on Vox Media. Previously Kalia has had experience creating branding campaigns at Davis Elen and Gravity Road in addition to working in marketing partnerships at media companies such as Twitch, ESPN and WarnerMedia. Kalia is pursuing an MBA at Foster to increase skills in product marketing, digital analytics and global business. With LevelUp, Kalia is excited to network and to be an evangelist for gaming among the Foster Community.
Favorite Games: Shin Megami Tensei 4, Genshin Impact, Valorant, Overwatch, Persona 5, Conan Exiles, Bayonetta)
Peter Berquist
VP - Programming & Operations
Full-time Class of 2024
Peter got his start playing games with Quake 3: Arena and hasn’t looked back since. Prior to attending Foster, Peter worked at Arch Insurance as a management liability underwriter in the growth and middle markets space. He chose to pursue his MBA with the goal of moving into the tech industry and will be joining infosys this summer. Peter’s breadth of knowledge in the gaming industry and ability to work with external stakeholders will be a huge benefit to LevelUp.
Favorite Games: NBA2k, Divinity: Original Sin II, Pathfinder: Kingmaker, CSGO, League of Legends, Guild Wars 2
Brennan Miller
VP - Programming & Operations
Full-time Class of 2024
Brennan LOVES the competitive aspect of FPS gaming and the community that gaming brings. Prior to Foster Brennan served in the US Army for 8 years in a wide variety of roles. This summer Brennan is joining Nike in a Marketplace supply chain role. While a part of the Level Up!, Brennan hopes to build upon an already well established community that supports entrance into the gaming industry as well as individuals lifelong passion for gaming.
Favorite Games: BR’s: Call of Duty, Apex, Pubg. Other’s: 64 Super Smash Bro’s(Best at Foster), Halo.
Rohith Manoj
VP - Finance
Full-time Class of 2024
Video games have always been an important part of Rohith’s life. Prior to his MBA, Rohith worked as a software engineer at PlayStation, where he was a member of the launch team for the PlayStation 5, which has become the fastest selling console in history. His data team led a transformative period for the company during which it switched to a data-driven model, which was spurred by the quality of data provided. He enjoys working with people from multiple backgrounds and cultures, and is passionate about finding opportunities to collaborate with people from different walks of life. As a member of LevelUp, Rohith is excited to bring more people into the gaming industry, while also building a community for gaming at Foster.
Favorite Games: The Last of Us, Uncharted, Arkham City, Overwatch, Fifa, Super Smash Bros (Actual best at Foster)
Kim Tsai
VP - Marketing
Full-time Class of 2024
Kim enjoys new and old RPG games - especially ones with open worlds and cool main characters. Prior to starting her MBA, Kim was a civil engineer working in construction management where she worked on public infrastructure projects (such as the U-District Light Rail Station). Kim joined Foster to pivot into another industry and continue her passion for building out new projects and finding passionate teams to work with. This summer, she will be joining Microsoft for a product management internship. As part of LevelUp, Kim is most excited to bring the joy of games to other members and also create pathways for students to enter the gaming industry as a career.
Favorite Games: Horizon Zero Dawn, Red Dead Redemption, Uncharted, FFVII - FFIX, Overcooked, Dune (board game)
Examples of Past Events Include:
Guest Speakers
Product Management in Video Games - Learn how the PM role operates in the gaming industry.
David Lau & Leslie Tullis - Minecraft/Microsoft
Leadership Lunch and Learns -
Chris Sides - Director of Product Management - Bungie
Craig McNary - Director of Global Branding & Integrated Marketing - Xbox
Investing in Video Game/eSports
Leo Hsu - Director of Business Strategy - aXiomatic Gaming
Women in Gaming
Casey White - Producer - BigBox VR
Julie Olden - Head of Business Strategy - Microsoft Education
Local Studio Tours - Valve, Microsoft Game Studios
Field Studies - Minecraft, Halo
Game Nights
Quarterly Game Nights with Food and Drink
Online Dungeons and Dragons
