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.