Gameheads Creator and Executive Director, Damon Packwood Selected as a California 100 Commissioner

Damon Packwood will be one of 26 commissioners bringing their expertise to California 100, a new statewide initiative focused on long-term planning and visioning for California future

The Gameheads organization announced today that Creator, Executive Director, Damon Packwood has been selected as a Commissioner for California 100, bringing his expertise in education, technology and art, media and culture to this new statewide initiative focused on inspiring a vision and strategy for California’s next century. Incubated at the University of California and Stanford University, California 100 is establishing a 26-member multigenerational commission with diverse backgrounds and expertise to advise on, and engage in, the initiative’s transformative streams of work and activities. Earlier this summer, California 100 announced research awards to 18 centers and institutes across the state to examine future scenarios with the potential to shape California’s leadership in the coming century.

“It’s an incredible honor to be selected as a California 100 Commissioner. California is my home; I was born and raised here, and now I am raising my family here. I know first hand that much of the Golden state’s promise remains unfulfilled for communities like the one I grew up in, and the students I teach live in. It is critical that we collectively do all we can to shape a California that is inclusive, equitable and just over the next 100 years. I look forward to contributing what I have learned in education, gaming technology, social justice and social entrepreneurism to advance this important mission.” (Damon Packwood)

“We are thrilled to draw on the expertise of these transformative leaders who are making a difference in their respective fields and already leaving a mark on California,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, executive director of California 100. “ We will draw on their unique perspectives to inform our work to create a vision and strategy for the next century that is inclusive, equitable and sustainable.”

In addition to research, California 100 will also sponsor original policy innovation projects across California working in partnership with local and statewide agencies. Commissioners will organize engagement sessions throughout California with key stakeholders across the state to test California 100’s research and policy innovation efforts to ensure that Californians are directly included in the initiative’s work.

The California 100 Commission can be found here.

The Commission brings expertise within the thirteen issue areas of focus for California 100:

• Advanced Technology
• Arts, Culture, Entertainment
• Education
• Economic Mobility, Inequality and Workforce
• Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources
• Federalism and Foreign Policy
• Fiscal Reform
• Governance, Media and Civil Society
• Health and Wellness
• Housing and Community Development
• Immigrant Integration
• Public Safety and Criminal Justice
• Transportation and Urban Planning

Commissioners will serve a two-year term and meet regularly throughout the life of the initiative. They will hold listening sessions across the state to engage key stakeholders in the Spring and Summer of 2022.

The goal of California 100 is to lift up and support transformative ideas, people and projects that accelerate progress with a focus on inspiring a vision and strategy for California’s next century that is innovative, sustainable, and equitable. In addition to sponsoring original work, the California 100 Platform will promote the best of what is happening in California. Through these various projects and activities, California 100 seeks to move California towards an aspirational vision—changing policies and practices, attitudes and mindsets, for a more vibrant future.

California 100 is organized among interrelated streams of work: research, policy innovation, advanced technology and engagement. Each stream is led by a director who comprise the executive team. 

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