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meet the crew

Our mission is to tell the story of colonizing Mars in an accurate and compelling way so that more people are inspired to become explorers and pioneers of the final frontier.

The Crew

Hunter

Stanchak

Founder

Hunter

Stanchak

Founder
Hunter started his career at Apple, helping launch products such as the Apple Watch, iPad Pro, and Apple Music as a creative engineer on Apple.com. Most recently, he was the creative director of global brand design at Magic Leap, an augmented reality company with $2.6 billion in funding.

Why Mars?
“If I’m going to drive a Rover anywhere, it might as well be through the Martian landscape.”

Andrés

Sentis

Design Lead

Andrés

Sentis

Design Lead
Andy is a full-stack designer based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has been working with big companies and tech startups for almost 15 years.Since 2018 he has run Ander.Agency, a boutique brand & product design agency. He also plays music, hosts podcasts and is a big fan of Lio Messi.

Why Mars?
I want to be the first person to use comic sans on the red planet

Sean

Stewart

Story Lead

Sean

Stewart

Story Lead
Sci-fi writer with a dozen published novels, including the NYT International bestseller Cathy’s Book, considered the first “transmedia novel.” Co-creator of the ARG genre as lead writer on the The Beast, I Love Bees for Halo 2, and the Nine Inch Nails collaboration Year Zero. Emmy Award for Interactive Television and Creative Director for Xbox Entertainment Studios.

Why Mars?
Sure, it’s a long way away, but it’s still a whole new world that’s a lot closer than Middle Earth. Also, I’m allergic to horses, and Mars is horse-free.

Tom

Gower

Lead Tokenomics Designer

Tom

Gower

Lead Tokenomics Designer
Tom is a qualified Power Systems Engineer and member of British MENSA, with varied experience in engineering and finance. His specialism in designing balanced and efficient systems and processes, coupled with his love of computer games and science-fiction, adds a real-world viewpoint to the gameplay design.

Why Mars?
Being UK based, the weather on Mars can’t be worse than here

Roman

Matus

Architecture & City Design Lead

Roman

Matus

Architecture & City Design Lead
Roman is an architect from Ukraine. 25 years of practice in architecture and design using 3D modeling tools and CAD. Bionics and Parametric Design inspire him to search for new forms and bold solutions.

Why Mars?
Because it will be an amazing feat of mankind. And I'm glad to be a part of it.

Raimondas

Stancikas

LEAD 3d Generalist

Raimondas

Stancikas

LEAD 3d Generalist
Raimondas is a virtual studio Saintpix founder and 3D generalist with a huge 3D content creation experience in various spheres – movies, cartoons, advertisement, games, real time applications, photogrammetry and 3D printing.

Why Mars?
Mars for me is like a new level for my imagination to express scientific research and creativity in a highly advanced, artificial intelligence based environment

Cyrill

Baumann

Blockchain Developer

Cyrill

Baumann

Blockchain Developer
Cyrill is a robotics engineer, currently pursuing his PhD in distributed robotics. This gives him the perfect mindset for figuring out the distributed logic of blockchains. Having always been fond of gaming he soon started deploying his own smart contracts once he discovered blockchain games.

Why Mars?
It’s the only (potentially) viable alternative to Earth for the Human race given our current technology.

Sam

Hill

Gameplay Systems Designer

Sam

Hill

Gameplay Systems Designer
Sam created Wrath of Tezca on the wax blockchain, putting together a team of 8 people to bring a long term passion project into the NFT space. During his time on the project he acted as designer, programmer, producer and CEO, but his main passion has always been game system design and Colonize Mars lets him spend time doing this - in between still doing his various roles on Wrath of Tezca and looking after his two children.

Why Mars?
Tezca scratches the itch for fantasy, going to Mars could be a reality, and that excites me.

Erin

Cypher

Operations

Erin

Cypher

Operations
Graduated from Grove City College in 2021 with a degree in Communications and a minor in Digital Entrepreneurship. She is a master of detail and organization and is always looking for ways to improve processes for the company and team while absorbing as much information as possible.
 
Why Mars?
Traveling is fun

Daniel

Tompkins

Lead Bioneer

Daniel

Tompkins

Lead Bioneer
Doctor of Plant Medicine with 20 years of applying knowledge of biosystems from the lab to the field.

Why Mars?
If we can learn to  expand independent of Earth's natural resources, we will uncover better paths forward for life and not feel so resource constrained which drives conflict.

Stéphanie

Querriere

Community Manager

Stéphanie

Querriere

Community Manager
Stéphanie is a trained operational auditor with an earlier education in sciences. As a board member of the Belgian Mensa, she organized the European
gathering of the association in 2019, managing 550 attendants and a team of 20 volunteers over 5 days.

Why Mars?
Because destiny is as much a matter of choice than of luck. And... d*mn! If Shatner can
go to space, why couldn't I?

Victoria

Pasin

Sr. Graphic Designer

Victoria

Pasin

Sr. Graphic Designer
Vicky is an Argentine graphic designer with more than 15 years working in brand management for large and small companies. She loves astronomy and, especially, sky

Why Mars?
Witnessing how something that seemed unattainable as children and was only part of science fiction movies becoming a reality is a privilege.

David

Turpin

Unity Developer

David

Turpin

Unity Developer
Since 2009, David has worked in games and XR as a professional engineer and designer. A versatile generalist, David has shipped products across many platforms over the years, including the Emmy-nominated Blade Runner: Memory Lab, on which he served as both Lead Interaction Designer and Lead Engineer.

Why Mars?
The Apollo program proved to the world that humans could accomplish great things by working together. In my mind, Mars serves as a symbol for our continued belief in mankind's ability to move forward.

Felipe

Pereira

Backend Developer

Felipe

Pereira

Backend Developer
Felipe has been developing digital problems solvers for over 10 years. Dropped out of college to start a 9 year old business, nowadays he’s focusing on backend development for challenging and cool projects. Loves sports and beaches, from teaching and competing in Jiu-jitsu to Software Engineering, he’s what you call an all around generalist guy.

Why Mars?
A good beginning, for humans as a multiplanetary species.

Brandon-Lee

Coskey

Full Stack Developer

Brandon-Lee

Coskey

Full Stack Developer
Full time engineer, part time musician and gamer. Disney karaoke fanatic and kendo practitioner.

Why Mars?
I was intrigued by the plethora of challenges and opportunities for innovation that exist at mars. I have a passion for Javascript and game development, Mars allows me to indulge in both!

Peter

Holt

Finance

Peter

Holt

Finance
Peter began his career as a CPA providing attestation services for venture capital firms and startups in the software, technology, and life sciences industries. Most recently, Peter worked as a private equity associate within real estate acquisitions, performing deal sourcing, underwriting, financing, and due diligence. Peter received his MBA from Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business and resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Why Mars?
The topic of traveling to Mars is often discussed casually, yet we forget that this accomplishment would truly be the most significant accomplishment in the course of humankind.

Charlie

Heinemann

Technical Project Manager

Charlie

Heinemann

Technical Project Manager
Charlie started his career with Microsoft as a technical program manager in SQL Server, Zune and Xbox Live. In 2012, Charlie co-founded HowURun, a software and consulting company focused on productivity solutions for industries ranging from Healthcare to Real Estate Management.

Why Mars?
In the words of Werner Herzog, "every man should pull a boat over a mountain once in his life."

Medhat

Albsugy

Frontend Developer

Medhat

Albsugy

Frontend Developer
Meticulous frontend engineer with over 10 years of experience and passion for web development. Passionate about experience design, developer experience, building high-performance, scalable and maintainable web applications.

Why Mars?
Taking a plunge into the Martian oceans seems so appealing. What goes on out there? Possible wrecks? Shark-like predators? Mermaids?

German

Fera

fullstack developer

German

Fera

fullstack developer
Germán is a fullstack developer based in Argentina. His curiosity led him to work on mobile apps, web apps, 2D/3D web games and even enterprise platforms.

He also loves racing cars, 3D printing and extreme sports.

Why Mars?
Mars is the first step to human expansion through the universe. Also, let's put some javascript on Martian soil, what could go wrong?

Joaquin

Mazo Reist

UX Designer

Joaquin

Mazo Reist

UX Designer
Joaco is a UX Designer based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has been working in the IT world for almost 5 years, and has designed from ecommerce to banking applications. Also, he likes drinking coffee (like, too much), listening to new music and gaming in his free time.

Why Mars?
Imagine being the first person to see a concert in Mars!

Christopher

Shepherd

Engineering Lead

Christopher

Shepherd

Engineering Lead
Christopher has spent his entire life since age 4 programming computers, from the Apple II era to Super Nintendo video games to Web development. Along the way he helped build some of the first local Internet providers, founded several companies, worked with many startups and most importantly has had fun and made friends.

Why Mars?
Working on a video game about colonizing Mars, using web3 and javascript technologies, with a group of fun people... I mean really, could I have refused?

Mat

Valadez

Unity Developer

Mat

Valadez

Unity Developer
Mat is a 15 year veteran of the video game industry with experience ranging from console and mobile games. Mat’s wide range of experience includes game engine, networking, gameplay, UI, and educational game.

Why Mars?
Ever since seeing the Space Shuttle Endeavor’s first landing as a kid, I’ve wanted to be on the other side of space exploration.

Bradie

Tippetts

Brand Author

Bradie

Tippetts

Brand Author
Bradie spins the gray matter of great ideas into copywriting gold for the world’s most innovative companies. From neurotech to AR headsets and AI powered healthcare. Storytelling, creating systems of language, and building brand worlds is her jam.

Why Mars?
There are few “firsts” left. But helping to make humanity a multiplanetary species is one of the greatest.

Bruno

Ghirello

Marketing Operations Manager

Bruno

Ghirello

Marketing Operations Manager
Bruno has over 9 years of experience in Marketing and Operations. He has experience working with multiple channels to bring return, productivity, and process improvement. Bruno is also passionate about series and movies and has a taste for great sports moments.

Why Mars?
Being part of a project that will contribute to a better human being makes everything more exciting. Knowing it's going to Mars makes even it more fun.

Maureen McHugh

Lead Writer
Maureen McHugh is a Hugo Award winning novelist and short story writer. She was a story editor and writer on the ARGs ILoveBees and Year Zero.  She lives in Austin, Texas.  

Why Mars?
Sitting around on Earth means putting all our eggs in one basket. Also, I could probably do a handspring in one-third gravity.

Advisors

John Spencer

SPACE ARCHITECTURE ADVISOR
Author and Space/Future Themed Experience Designer and Developer He is the founder of the Space Tourism Society (STS – 1996) and Co-Founder of the Space Tourism Conference (STC)
He is establishing the outer space yachting industry modeled after ocean super yachts and designer of the first orbital super yacht named Destiny. He is also the co-founder and designer of the proposed $2B Mars World immersive attraction and luxury resort. He is based in West Los Angeles.

Phillip Freeman

Science Advisor
Philip has degrees in physics, mathematics, and education. He has consulted on various projects, including outreach work for the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and science consulting for The Beast and other ARGs. After a successful career, including an award from the Canadian Association of Physicists for teaching excellence, he's "semi-retired" and hoping to focus on cool projects like this one!

Andy Lanning

Story Advisor
Andy has worked for over thirty years as a creator developing story worlds across many platforms: comics, video games, TV and film. He is best known for writing Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy comic series- source material for the smash-hit movies. Recently, Andy spent eight years as the Executive Creative Director for Magic Leap, spearheading partnerships with some of the world’s leading creative companies, like The Royal Shakespeare Company, Imaginarium Studios and Weta Workshop. In 2020 Andy helped form QXR Studios, a studio that specialises in creating AR experiences and launched Metropolis Origins, an NFT-based collectable card game.

Chris Carberry

Chris Carberry is CEO and co-founder of Explore Mars, Inc. a nonprofit which was created to advance the goal of sending humans to Mars within the next two decades. The organization also encourages the use of STEM curriculum in the classroom to instill a desire to pursue space exploration for future generations.

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