Dr. Chrissy Mackey (she/her) is part strategist, part cheerleader, and full-time chaos wrangler—currently serving as Chief Operations Officer for The Asylum Project. She’s on a mission to help vulnerable and severely oppressed U.S. citizens find safety and stability by building systems that relocate, house, and support them in U.S.-friendly EU countries. It’s complex, emotional, and high-stakes work—and Chrissy wouldn’t have it any other way.

With a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology (specializing in Training & eLearning with a healthy dash of applied gaming), Chrissy knows how to translate research into impact—and make it fun. Her dissertation, which explored how skills from Dungeons & Dragons carry over into real life, has been cited in multiple academic journals. She even took the stage as a keynote speaker at the EUROSIS ICS ’23 Conference, where her talk and paper on applied gaming and skill transfer left a lasting impression on tech leaders and scholars alike.

Before joining The Asylum Project, Chrissy led inclusive training development for the Society for Creative Anachronism, managed large-scale events (sometimes with actual swordplay), and ran teams through high-stress, high-creativity operations in both nonprofit and entertainment sectors. She’s also the host of a podcast that blends the drama of stage performance with the science of business leadership.

Chrissy’s leadership style? Empower everyone, stay curious, and never pretend to know everything. She’s a fierce advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, racial justice, accessible education, and universal healthcare. She believes in lifting others up, asking the questions no one else wants to, and never leaving the glitter at home.

When she’s not keeping operations humming, Chrissy can be found designing habit trackers, crafting immersive training experiences, or daydreaming new ways to make policy a little more human.