Stephanie Riggs

Summary

Stephanie Riggs stands as a distinguished figure in the tech-narrative field, expertly merging experiential technologies like VR, AR, AI, and more with classical and spatial experiences. Acclaimed author of "The End of Storytelling" and "Quantum Narratives," she has been called “the renaissance woman of the immersive era” and “a 21st century Marshall McLuhan.” As co-Founder, President and CXO of Nia, the first AI-native interface layer, she has set her sights on redefining how we interact with AI in the real world - as an experience. Areas of Expertise: 🔹 Innovation | Emerging technology trends, interdisciplinary collaboration, curiosity-driven problem-solving 🔹 Experience & Narrative | Spatial narrative, interactive media, theatrical & cinematic storytelling 🔹 Technology & HCI | Tech-agnostic development, human-centered design, seamlessly integrated experiences Former Disney Imagineer and Creative Director of Experiential at Refinery29 (Vice Media), Stephanie has worked with corporations, non-profits, start-ups, and academic institutions. Past clients include: Google, Amazon, Netflix, Instagram, Hulu, and Meow Wolf. Stephanie began developing interactive virtual reality worlds in the 1990s and founded Sunchaser Entertainment to continue to push the boundaries of storytelling and technology. Stephanie directed the NYT Critic’s Pick documentary “The Standbys”, produced the award-winning stereoscopic 3D feature thriller “Banshee Chapter”and "Banshee Chapter: Oculus Rift Edition" became the first feature film released in VR on the Oculus DK2. Stephanie was invited to film President Barack Obama, set the world record for the number of people in a simultaneous VR experience and continues to push the boundaries of classical narrative through her JV with the Shubert Organization, Odeon Theatrical and with blended reality productions like “Ink & Paint” (AWE EU 2023 Start-up to watch Finalist). She is regularly invited to speak about emerging technology, experience design, and the future of storytelling in high profile discussions such as TedX, BBC, SXSW, IAAPA, SIGGRAPH, IEEE, AWE, and Tribeca Film Festival. Stephanie graduated simultaneously from Carnegie Mellon's School of Drama (Directing) and School of Computer Science (HCI) as a Phi Beta Kappa and Andrew Carnegie Society Scholar before being invited to join in the inaugural class of CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center Masters Program. She is committed to increasing diversity, interdisciplinary talent and access to immersive technology.