Policy Advisor, The White House, Office of Science and Technology Policy
Erik Martin is a Policy Advisor at the White House, Office of Science and Technology Policy. Erik has worked on efforts to drive forward educational technology and R&D and ways to use entertainment technologies for social good, including the first White House Game Jam, working with the Dept. of Education to launch a new Prize Challenge for Virtual and Augmented Reality learning tools, and engaging VR/AR developers to create experiences that counter bias and stereotypes, or tell untold stories in STEM. Erik also worked on identifying regulatory and budget items to advance the President’s Testing Action Plan to reduce and rethink standardized testing, and the first White House Game-A-Thon streamed on Twitch.tv to encourage millions of gamers to sign up for healthcare coverage at HealthCare.gov. Erik previously worked in the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education. He studied New Media and Global Civics at the University of Maryland, College Park. In a former life he was a competitive gamer and guild leader.