RESEARCH | 2015
Using play to address health & safety issues for adolescent girls
Using play to address health & safety issues for adolescent girls
Using play to address health & safety issues for adolescent girls
SAY NO MORE
SAY NO MORE
ABOUT
Say No More is a preventative educational tool that helps educate both early-teen girls and social workers on sex trafficking. The game helps better assess, identify and empower girls ages 12-15 who may be at risk of, or are currently being trafficked.
Say No More is a preventative educational tool that helps educate both early-teen girls and social workers on sex trafficking. The game helps better assess, identify and empower girls ages 12-15 who may be at risk of, or are currently being trafficked.
CHALLENGE
As a graduate student enrolled in a course on games for change, my classmate Robin Newman challenged me to reflect on simple but powerful question: could we somehow create a game that helps tackle the issue of domestic sex trafficking? Something people would be willing to play? Together with Michelle Kwon, we tackled this idea for over a year.
As a graduate student enrolled in a course on games for change, my classmate Robin Newman challenged me to reflect on simple but powerful question: could we somehow create a game that helps tackle the issue of domestic sex trafficking? Something people would be willing to play? Together with Michelle Kwon, we tackled this idea for over a year.
RESEARCH METHODS
ROLE
I led all strategy and business management for for the game, including managing the $20,000 budget for our 500 game pilot test.
Michelle Kwon led all design aspects of the project, including UI and production of the physical game.
Robin Newman led our partnerships and playtesting coordination.
I led all strategy and business management for for the game, including managing the $20,000 budget for our 500 game pilot test.
Michelle Kwon led all design aspects of the project, including UI and production of the physical game.
Robin Newman led our partnerships and playtesting coordination.
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
PROTOTYPE
Our research resulted in a card game that is meant to be played with pre-teen girls and social workers.
For pre-teen girls at risk of sex trafficking, Say No More allows them to:
● Reflect on healthy relationship boundaries. All of the game content comes from real-life trafficking survivors’ stories, but it's not clear to those playing the game unless they are explicitly told.
● Learn to practice saying no and better understand how to assert themselves.
For social workers, the game helps them:
● Easily understand the issue of trafficking in the United States.
● Familiarize themselves with the warning signs that at-risk girls demonstrate. The game comes with a suggested curriculum and resource guide.
● Start a larger conversation about relationships and gently introduce the topic of trafficking to the girls they work with.
The game included two decks of cards, a check-in card, directions and a guide for social workers on the broader issue of trafficking of adolescent girls.
Our research resulted in a card game that is meant to be played with pre-teen girls and social workers.
For pre-teen girls at risk of sex trafficking, Say No More allows them to:
● Reflect on healthy relationship boundaries. All of the game content comes from real-life trafficking survivors’ stories, but it's not clear to those playing the game unless they are explicitly told.
● Learn to practice saying no and better understand how to assert themselves.
For social workers, the game helps them:
● Easily understand the issue of trafficking in the United States.
● Familiarize themselves with the warning signs that at-risk girls demonstrate. The game comes with a suggested curriculum and resource guide.
● Start a larger conversation about relationships and gently introduce the topic of trafficking to the girls they work with.
The game included two decks of cards, a check-in card, directions and a guide for social workers on the broader issue of trafficking of adolescent girls.
IMPACT
Say No More won a 2014 Sappi Ideas That Matter Grant for nearly $20,000 in partnership with ECPAT-USA. Through the grant, we were able to produce 500 games to pilot and test with social workers, educators and teenage girls in urban areas across the United States.
I was selected for the first Fellowship for Young Women Entrepreneurs in Jordan in 2015, a program of the Open Hands Initiative. The two week entrepreneurship boot camp and pitch day provided an opportunity to better understand how to understand the potential market for Say No More and think more deeply about a business model.
Our team has ultimately decided not to pursue funding, but to make our game open source and free to all.
Say No More won a 2014 Sappi Ideas That Matter Grant for nearly $20,000 in partnership with ECPAT-USA. Through the grant, we were able to produce 500 games to pilot and test with social workers, educators and teenage girls in urban areas across the United States.
I was selected for the first Fellowship for Young Women Entrepreneurs in Jordan in 2015, a program of the Open Hands Initiative. The two week entrepreneurship boot camp and pitch day provided an opportunity to better understand how to understand the potential market for Say No More and think more deeply about a business model.
Our team has ultimately decided not to pursue funding, but to make our game open source and free to all.
"It's so simple, but it's such an effective tool. It can reach someone who knows nothing about sex crimes to someone who has seen it all. It's a great tool to start a conversation, and this game is a perfect starting point. How did no one think of this before?"
– Trafficking Survivor
WORK
WORK
RESEARCH
RESEARCH
RESEARCH
RESEARCH
Applying ethnography to scale social change
Applying ethnography to scale social change
Applying ethnography to scale social change
Bridge International Academies
Bridge International Academies
Bridge International Academies
Bridge International Academies
UX
UX
UX
UX
Building a non-profit's first digital product
Building a non-profit's first digital product
Building a non-profit's first digital product
Cool Culture
Cool Culture
Cool Culture
TEACHING
TEACHING
TEACHING
TEACHING
Office of Personnel Management
Office of Personnel Management
Office of Personnel Management
UX
Improving usability for millions of job seekers
Improving usability for millions of job seekers
Improving usability for millions of job seekers
Improving usability for millions of job seekers
USAJOBS.gov
USAJOBS.gov
USAJOBS.gov
RESEARCH
RESEARCH
RESEARCH
RESEARCH
Using play to address health & safety issues for adolescent girls
Using play to address health & safety issues for adolescent girls
Using play to address health & safety issues for adolescent girls
ECPAT-USA
ECPAT-USA
ECPAT-USA
SERVICE
SERVICE
SERVICE
SERVICE
Championing empathy as a strategy to reduce costs
Championing empathy as a strategy to reduce costs
Championing empathy as a strategy to reduce costs
CFPB
CFPB
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
UI
UI
UI
UI
Operationalizing design for a new product team
Operationalizing design for a new product team
Operationalizing design for a new product team
Federal Reserve
Federal Reserve
Federal Reserve
Federal Reserve
TEACHING
TEACHING
TEACHING
TEACHING
Helping students solve problems using creative mindsets & methodologies
Helping students solve problems using creative mindsets & methodologies
Helping students solve problems using creative mindsets & methodologies
IDEO U
IDEO U
Medic Mobile