Jess A.

Jess first discovered the excitement of pressing buttons as a preschooler when she pushed a restaurant’s Big Red Button and summoned the local fire department. To better channel her enthusiasm, her parents decided to place a more appropriate red button in her hands. This one was attached to the joystick of an Atari 2600 and pushing it booted up a love of all types of games.

Now that Jess is all grown up, married to a fellow gamer and raising three more, every night has become Family Game Night which also doubles as a fun-filled tool for teaching her children on the Autism Spectrum. Ask Jess her personal motto and she’ll say: “Caned But Able: Conquering disability challenges one achievement at a time.” If you bump into her at a gaming convention, she may very well fall over, but then she’d just dust herself off and ask you to sign her cane. Signatures: She’s gotta collect ‘em all!