About Deirdre Quarnstrom
Deirdre Quarnstrom started the program at Mojang Studios to bring the video game Minecraft to mainstream education which now reaches millions of students and educators around the world. In 2021, she joined Microsoft Education as Vice President of Education, leading product, engineering, and customer engagement teams that create solutions to improve learning outcomes for learners everywhere.
Previously, Deirdre led product and engineering for Minecraft Education, Minecraft China, and Mojang Studios’ Accessibility and Social Impact programs. At Mojang Studios, Deirdre created an employee “Better Together” program to encourage diversity and inclusion among the team and in its products and services, and served as executive sponsor for Women of Minecraft. Before joining Mojang Studios, Deirdre was Chief of Staff for Microsoft’s Xbox division and held finance, operations and strategy roles at Microsoft, T-Mobile USA, and StairMaster, Inc. She currently serves as a Director on the board of a non-profit partnership between Mojang and UN-Habitat called the Block by Block Foundation. Deirdre served as a Trustee for the French American School of Puget Sound board and co-chair of the school’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee. She is a founding partner and advisor at Reaction, a social impact VC fund.
Deirdre holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from McGill University in Montreal, an MBA from Seattle University, and she completed the Stanford Executive Program at Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 2018. Deirdre, her husband and their two daughters live in Seattle, Washington.
About Anoo Padte
Anoo Padte is an EdTech product innovator at Microsoft and former middle-high school educator. She has developed several v1 AI products, taught middle and high school math and science, founded and run Art of Education, an independent education consulting practice , written and been interviewed nationally on reshaping learning. Her personal and professional work is fueled by the belief that education is the bedrock of a well-functioning uplifting society. AI has the power to reimagine education by making it deeply personal and relevant so every learner has the chance to live up to their greatest potential.
About Mike Tholfsen
Mike Tholfsen is an experienced product leader with a deep understanding of the education space, customers, engineering lifecycle and software development. Throughout his career, he has worked on and managed high performing teams across a spectrum of client, server, mobile and cloud products that are used by millions of people. From v1 to established businesses. He is passionate about building great products and teams with a focus on the customer.
