Tanya DePass

Tanya DePass is the founder & Director of I Need Diverse Games, Rivals of Waterdeep Producer & Cast Member on twitch.tv/rivalsofwaterdeep, a partnered Twitch variety broadcaster, and RPG developer/writer/consultant. She’s the Creator & Creative Director for Into the Mother Lands RPG, which has had four seasons of an Actual Play stream; supported by Twitch. Additionally, she’s a Senior Annenberg Civics Media Fellow at USC. Additionally she’s part of the Inaugural TGA Future Class of 2020. She was also named as one of Gamers of the Year 2020 by Kotaku along with three of her contemporaries.

Her work to make the industry more inclusive has been highlighted in Game Changer, Directed by Tina Charles, WNBA star & olympian as well as filmmaker. The short documentary premiered at Tribeca 2021, as part of the Queen Collective; an initiative started by Queen Latifah, supported by Proctor & Gamble in an effort to get more Black women into film making. Game Changer was also featured as part of BETHer’s 2021 Juneteenth Programming on 19 June 2021. Most recently she was named The Gayming Awards Icon for 2022.  Additionally, she became a full BAFTA US member in 2024, maintaining her member status in 2025.