Team
The Virtual Worlds Museum team is currently comprised mostly of volunteers and advisors. Please reach out if you would like to enquire about volunteering.
Core Team
Julian Reyes
Founder & Director
Julian Reyes is the Founder and Director of the Virtual Worlds Museum™, recognized with the prestigious 2025 AUREA Impact Award and selected for the M100 SPectrum Metaverse Innovators Awards. Prior to VWM, he founded Keyframe-Entertainment, which produced media projects, events, VR demos, XR projects, and 3D worlds. Julian has also held positions at Meta, Cisco Systems, Jacobs Associates, Metaverse Workshop, and Exponent. Additionally, he received training from the Oculus Launch Pad and Oculus Start programs and the EveryRealm Metaverse Academy. He is the Executive Producer of the film "Electronic Awakening," the book project "Reinhabiting the Village," and the "Explore Damanhur" VR experience. Julian speaks at XR conferences on the subject of virtual worlds.
Aaron Norstad
XR Product & Research Advisor
Aaron Norstad is the founder of A2Labs, an immersive technology consulting firm specializing in guiding organizations, scaling teams and managing projects for AI, games, spatial computing, web3, theme park experiences, software and physical products. Aaron draws upon the deep product experiences he has gained from Disney, Meta, Unity, and Yuga Labs. Aaron has taken to the stage speaking at conferences across the globe including talking about robotics from Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge in the Rise of the Robots at CES. Aaron is an ex-Imagineer, patented creator and experience specialist who has focused on bending technology innovations to enable the development of immersive and interactive products across the globe.
Kyle Piorkowski
Design Director
Kyle Piorkowski is a transformative figure in the digital arts industry with over a decade of experience. His expertise spans the domains of graphic design, web development, digital marketing, VFX, Generative AI Art, and 3D design for both metaverse projects and major films. At the core of Kyle's journey is Liquid Light Designs, a venture where he marries his artistic flair with strategic SEO marketing. This fusion amplifies the digital presence of brands, making them shine brighter in a crowded online space. Whether you're looking to overhaul your website, take your brand's digital presence to the next level, delve into the future of VFX in major films, or explore 3D design in the burgeoning metaverse, Kyle Piorkowski is the person to turn to.
Evo Heyning
Curation Advisor
Evo is a US based multimedia artist creating protopian and participatory futures that merge physical and digital media into interactive stories and creative play. Mixing generative works with physical art and antiques, Evo creates worlds with XR and metaverse tools, projection mapping and crystalline structures that connect people to new visions and futures. Evo curates and creates out of Realitycraft in Oakland. Evo's metaverse and XR works have won international art, screenwriting and media awards over 2 decades since contributing to the Metaverse Roadmap in 2005. Evo gives over 50 talks a year on art, media and production of AI topics in entrepreneurship.
Carlos Austin
Virtual Reality Filmmaker - Advisor
As a seasoned VR Filmmaker, Carlos has spearheaded and executed numerous VR filmmaking projects across a range of social platforms, including High Fidelity, Sansar, MozillaHubs, AltspaceVR (RIP), VRChat, Engage.io, Sinespace, Neos, RP1, MetaHorizon, Odyssey and RecRoom. Drawing from his background as a third-generation photographer and videographer, he's transposed production standards from photography and broadcast television into the dynamic realm of virtual reality. His collaborative endeavors have spanned esteemed companies and organizations such as: Microsoft, Linkedin, BBC, XRSI, Immersive Learning Research Network, Educators in VR, BRCvr.org, and more.
Steve Van Loon
Virtual Worlds Mapping Advisor
Experienced Engineer building expertise in machine learning and storytelling through augmented reality narrative filmmaking. Demonstrated history of working in many industries. Strong engineering professional skilled in data management, analytics, Web Applications, and DevOps. Steve worked as Senior Software engineer for LinkedIn for 4 years. With the tap of a finger, Steve can completely automate application creation with design tools backed by AI generative tooling to create dynamically generated Infrastructure with supporting tools. Steve is working on Mapping Immersive Worlds (Research, Curation, Development, 3D Visualization, AR/VR), which is the fulcrum of the Virtual Worlds Museum.
Advisory Board
Tom Boellstorff
Academic Advisor
Tom Boellstorff (Ph.D., Stanford University) is Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, former Editor-in-Chief of American Anthropologist, the flagship journal of the American Anthropological Association, and a series editor for the Princeton University Press book series Princeton Studies in Culture Technology. Tom has worked in the field of digital anthropology for over twenty years, specializing in the ethnographic study of virtual worlds and the histories that have shaped their emergence.
Rachael Newport
XR Impact Producer
A seasoned interactive media producer and project manager, Rachael works with immersive technology studios to reduce risk and build confidence for both teams and clients. She applies UX strategy and research to clarify value propositions, establish a clear experience vision, and prioritize the needs of VisitoRs ("users"). With a background in journalism and documentary filmmaking, she is passionate about the potential of new mediums to drive positive change. Rachael is the founder of XRradio.io, a license-based content library featuring XR experiences from independent artists.
Ben Erwin
WebXR Advisor
Ben Erwin is the creator of The Polys - WebXR Awards, WebXR Summit Series, and MetaTr@versal which have impacted the industry by catalyzing awareness of, and engagement with the immersive web. His work is dedicated to the advancement of the XR industry through recognition of its pioneers and events that provide an advocacy platform for thought leaders. He is a passionate proponent for cooperation on standards for the Metaverse. For 13 years, he was a webmaster and consultant for the United Nations humanitarian section and partner NGOs, bringing awareness to the plight of women and children in conflict areas around the world.
Terry Schussler
Next Gen Devices Advisor
Serial entrepreneur and team builder. Technology architect. Software designer. Writer, speaker, trainer. His career focus has been making software smarter for users while leveraging technology to enable new forms of communication. Designed/developed over 200 commercial software products reaching over 50 million users on desktop, mobile and tablet devices. He has delivered numerous technology innovations including artificial intelligence in consumer products, multimedia, hybrid online/offline CD-ROMs, interactive multimedia on the internet, real-time character animations, factory to consumer personalized plush toy design, and 5G enabled AR streaming.
Jared Bienz
Developer Relations Advisor
Jared is an architect and educator with 25 years in software and 9 years in XR. He worked at Microsoft extensively on HoloLens and Mesh, serving as a Software Engineer and Partner Advisor. Jared helped develop Mesh and MRTK. He taught at the Microsoft Holographic Academy, mentored at Global Hackathons, and led a worldwide team of Technical Specialists created to support partners building HoloLens solutions. Jared has notable experience with spatial computing, multi-user interactivity, storytelling, metaverse open standards, environmental capture and AI in XR.
Paige Dansinger
Programs Advisor
Paige Dansinger is the founder of Better World Museum, Horizon Art Museum, Women in Horizon, and is a Facebook Horizon VR Game Developer in the Horizon MiniGame Accelerator Program and the Oculus Launch Pad Program. Paige is recognized by Facebook as one of the Top 117 Global Community Leaders by the Facebook Community Leadership Fellowship Program and was a Horizon Worlds Pre-Alpha Community Creator. Paige has presented at the WHO, TEDx Minneapolis, MIT Reality Hackathon, Facebook's Global Wellness & Safety Summit, Nobel Peace Prize Forum, Singapore, Shenzhen, Beijing, Miami, San Francisco, and more.
Brittany Marine
VR Engagement Advisor
Brittany Marine is a leading force in curating engaging virtual experiences in Horizon Worlds. With a solid grasp of the latest XR technologies and a keen understanding of audience needs, she crafts immersive digital interactions that truly connect with museum visitors. Drawing from her multifaceted experience at platforms like Bass Drop Radio (Horizon Worlds), she's adept at audience segmentation and tailoring content that resonates. As the Volunteer Manager for MetaCenter Global Week, Brittany showcased her knack for training, managing, and procuring volunteers, underscoring her holistic approach to digital interactions.
Scarlett Arana
Web3 Advisor
Scarlett Arana is an Architect and Geospatial Scientist graduate from University of Florida and is the co-founder of the Miami blockchain start-up BitBasel. She is also a scholarly resident at University of Florida with blockchain research lab teaching web3. Her academic background includes specialties in Spatial Computing, LiDAR, Blockchain, and Metaverse. Over the past decade, Scarlett has spearheaded community initiatives across the Blockchain, Metaverse, SpaceTech, and OceanTech ecosystems. As a Latin woman, Scarlett's passion is educating young women about emerging technology and guiding them on a pathway towards success.
Additional Support:
3D Designers: Cause and Christi • Emeritus Council / CTO / CFO: TBD • Actively looking for volunteers