BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SCOTT STEVENS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF
THE HERO WORKSHOP
The Hero Workshop is the third company that Scott has founded, and the first non-profit.
His first company was a wilderness guide service called Scott's Backcountry Expeditions, and his second was a game company called Tall Chair, Inc. - which was acquired in 2012.
Before founding The Hero Workshop, Scott was Chief Production Officer at Firefly Games. Scott's work at Firefly built upon a 15 year career in video game design and development across companies such as Zynga, KIXEYE, Disney Interactive and Scopely.
Before his career in game design, Scott worked in a wide variety of fields including graphic design, environmental activism, food service, and for 10 years as a classical ballet dancer.
BEN VAN DER FLUIT
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT,
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND
CONTENT AT CRITICAL ROLE
Ben has been working in the entertainment industry since the start of his career, including at Hasbro, Maker Studios, Disney, and eventually at Legendary where he met the cast of Critical Role. Ben serves there as the SVP of Business and Content Development, and has spent the majority of his working life over the last 5 years thinking about how a TTRPG brand can expand and reach new people.
In his personal life, Ben is lucky enough to call the current Hero Workshop location his very close neighbor, having moved to Culver City a year ago. He enjoys staying active (that early guy on the Ballona Creek bike path), music, playing games (of course), and spending time with his wife and 2 young sons - they are not yet ready for HW (3yrs and 6 months), but they're counting the days down!
MELISSA LO
CEO OF WILDCATS.IO
Melissa is a long-time trailblazer in social impact businesses and passionate about unleashing the next generation. Her love for creative education began in grade school as a tutor for bilingual students, later becoming a TA for a weekend Chinese school and earning awards mentoring at-risk high school youth while in college. Since then she's gone on to lead in Fortune 500, startup and social impact spaces, building products, companies and solutions to solve some of the world's biggest problems. She's made her mark in diverse regions worldwide, living and working in Africa, ASEAN, Europe, Latin America and the US. She is an award-winning social entrepreneur with accolades from CES to rural marketing awards in India to Congressional Honors for service to community in the US. Melissa's passion for impact has covered arenas of edtech, fashion, AI, and robotics to illuminating off-grid villages and collaborating with giants like Apple and Walmart. Both UC Berkeley and Wharton grad, she's a bookworm and a snowboarding aficionado, always up for some trouble.
SARA DEAN
VICE PRESIDENT, ICONIC ENTERTAINMENT
Sara is a senior entertainment marketing executive with over 20 years of experience in building partnerships between global brands and the entertainment industry. As Vice President of Iconic Entertainment, she oversees client strategy, brand integration, and product placement for leading automotive brands.
Sara is also deeply involved in youth athletics and the local community, serving as a softball coach at both Culver City Middle School and High School. She is also an active member of the Hero Workshop community, playing at one of the Adult Tables. As both a board member and a participant, she has firsthand experience with the Hero Workshop's ability to bring people together through creativity, collaboration, storytelling, and fun.
Sara lives in Culver City with her longtime partner Arden and their two daughters, Zoey and Kyra. She is proud to support the Hero Workshop in its mission.
AMY SALZMANN
TREASURER
Amy brings a deep-rooted commitment to community building and youth development to The Hero Workshop board, serving as the board's Treasurer. Drawing on her foundational background in corporate finance and auditing with major organizations like Ernst & Young, Disney, Sony Pictures, and British Telecom—alongside her credentials as a Certified Public Accountant (inactive)—she brings rigorous financial oversight to help the organization run efficiently and stay laser-focused on its mission. A long-time Culver City community member, Amy is a proud parent of three children (Caelyn, Isabel and Isaac), with Isaac being an active and enthusiastic participant in The Hero Workshop. Her heart for youth programs also shines through her extensive leadership experience supporting children's education and enrichment, including serving for four years as Committee Chair for the local Boy Scout troop through June 2026, alongside years of dedicated service on school PTAs and booster boards. An endlessly curious person who loves learning new things, reading, traveling, exploring the great outdoors, and hitting the gym, Amy is thrilled to support The Hero Workshop’s mission of empowering the next generation through creative, inclusive community play.