Shane Liesegang, SJ

Shane at the Venice Beach Recreation Center on what appears to have been a chilly day in February of 2009

Me, at the Venice Beach Recreation Center on what appears to have been a chilly day in February of 2009.
{ OpenStreetMap | Google Maps }

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I’m a Jesuit theologian in the USA-West province. I currently live in Boston, Massachusetts, studying at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry and accompanying undergraduate Kairos retreats with BC Campus Ministry.

Just prior to starting theology studies, I lived in Beirut, Lebanon, working as the Regional IT Officer for the Jesuit Refugee Service. Before that, I was at Fordham University in New York doing dual masters programs in Philosophy and International Political Economy & Development.

Before I entered the Jesuits, I spent over a decade as a game developer and writer, working at Sony Santa Monica, Bethesda Game Studios, Electronic Arts Los Angeles, ever so briefly at Walt Disney Imagineering, and on some interactive projects with Disney Consumer Products.

These days I still consult on video game development, and work on the occasional little software project, mostly for funsies and as a creative outlet. You can see what I’m up to or what I was up to in the past at my projects page. (At least, the stuff that is not under NDA!)

I went to the University of Virginia for undergrad (Cognitive Science and Theater, Computer Science minor) and Carnegie Mellon University for my first round of grad school (Entertainment Technology Center).

I used to make robots, which is why my name is on Patent 8,307,295, but I have mixed feelings about software patents in general. I also used to make Twitterbots, but not the evil kind.

While I don’t like spam, I love to receive emails about: burritos, typography, computer science education, film scores, political and social history, social justice, immersive theater, karaoke, irrational travel, the Polyphonic Spree, afrofuturism, spirituality in popular media, refugee policy, innovations on or past democracy, and baking.

If you need to get in touch with me about any of these subjects, my email address is my last name at a popular search engine company’s webmail service.

If you’re interested in occasionally hearing about what I’m up to, I have a newsletter. You can sign up for it!

I tweet @OptimistPanda far more than I should. If you only need a quick response, that’s probably the best way to reach out. I also have multiple accounts on Mastodon, but still figuring out what I want to do there since I haven’t simultaneously abandoned Twitter. Taking a break from Twitter and Twitter-like things for a bit.

I am on Facebook. As far as I know, I’m the only Shane Liesegang there. I have a policy, though, of only friending people who I have met in real life. Nothing personal. I’m also on Instagram, where the same rules mostly apply, but it is a bit more of a public outlet these days with the demise of Twitter.