Anastasia Staten is head of the ESA Foundation.

ESA Foundation’s Anastasia Staten — how to change the face of gaming

The show floor wasn’t as crowded with exhibits this year at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the big game trade show in Los Angeles last week. And one of the beneficiaries of that were charities, like the Stack Up veterans in gaming group as well as the ESA Foundation, a charity associated with the Entertainment Software Foundation, which puts on E3.

The ESA Foundation, which makes grants to nonprofits that work on behalf of kids, set up its own booth in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center, and it staged a number of panels with the theme We Are. It offered a diverse view of who gamers and game developers are. The ESA Foundation, headed by executive director Anastasia Staten, also offers scholarships for minorities and women who want to be in the gaming industry. The foundation supports 144 charities, nonprofits, and schools.

Unlock premium content and VIP community perks with GB M A X! Join now to enjoy our free and premium perks. 

Join now →

Sign in to your account.

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.