Dana Steinhoff, Executive Producer, Rad Magpie
WHO? Dana Steinhoff
ROLE: Dana is the Executive Producer at Rad Magpie. Rad Magpie specializes in developing radically diverse interactive media, and Dana is a showrunner, in charge of making all their initiatives actually happen.
BIGGEST WIN IN THE PAST YEAR: “The biggest win for me is definitely having this opportunity with Rad Magpie.” Dana is a recent graduate of Champlain College’s emerging media graduate program, but originally wasn’t supposed to stay in VT. “I really pictured what I was going to do was leave town and get a job at a big corporate video game company somewhere else. But keeping a pulse on that industry in the past couple years made me realize that there is nothing inherently safe about all that… its unstable and masses of people are losing jobs all the time. The startup route isn’t a heck of a lot riskier.”
“My options were either to take my chances at a big company, doing a fraction of the work I would like to be doing, and running the risk of being submerged in a bro-culture every day…
… or take the opportunity to start a company whose mission is to combat that same culture,” Dana explains. “I would be able to do all the things I like at a startup and not just be a quality assurance tester, or something like that.”
Dana & THE FUTURE: “We want to grow the company sustainably so it can continue to support everyone who wants to be a part of it. Which is a lot! Our mission is to diversify the game industry, and part of the way we’re doing that is by hiring diverse people. We haven’t had any problem getting people excited and getting people on board.”
BEST EATS: “Bento! That’s like the only place in this town where I’m a legit regular. And second would be Tiny Thai. Bento uses fresh fish from Boston, you can see them back there slicing it up. I even got a sushi gift from them for graduation.”
FUN: “I’m a hiking freak! I bet you never get that, here in Vermont,” Dana laughs. “I did a mountain last night – it was the best. Snake mountain. Great for sunsets.”
