About Mycelios

We build reflection games that surface what matters most.

Our mission is to make reflection an accessible daily practice, transforming hidden burdens into purposeful action for people in all walks of life.

Why we exist

When life gets heavy, standard reflection tools fall short. Traditional check-ins and intake forms feel like chores when energy is low, while direct conversations demand finding the right words at the exact moment you’re struggling.

We started Mycelios with a simple question: How can we help people process what they’re carrying without adding to their burden?

Through field-testing across diverse real-world settings, we found that short, bounded card sorts create a safe, tangible way to name what’s happening beneath the surface. By using play as a starting point, our reflection games turn unspoken weight into clarity—helping individuals and communities transform hidden burdens into purposeful, everyday action.

What our name means

Mycelium is the hidden fungal network under the soil. It connects living things, redistributing nutrients and moving support to where it’s needed most.

Our games work the same way: they bring to light what is already present beneath the surface so individuals, groups, and teams can support themselves.

Our design theory

Play reconnects us with motivation. Lasting action starts with real human needs.

Every Mycelios game follows a single, four-step path from lived experience to concrete action.

  1. Lived experienceWe ground every game in human needs, stress frameworks, and what meets those needs in everyday life.
  2. PlayA short, rule-based card sort turns internal experience into something tangible you can see.
  3. PatternsA single sort brings focus to one person; aggregated sorts build a shared map for a team.
  4. Action and reflectionPlayers or teams choose one small, practical change within reach, try it, and learn what works.
White paper coming soon

Our full design theory will be published shortly.

The team

The people behind the games

Mycelios is an interdisciplinary studio blending game design, science, art, and technology.

Portrait of Zoë Ackerman

Zoë Ackerman she/her

Co-founder and CEO

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Zoë has spent her career building systems that help people and teams get their needs met in ways traditional tools miss. Having renewed $2.1M in grants, built giving programs for domestic care workers, and edited academic research, she field-tested over 20 custom games one-on-one before founding Mycelios. As CEO, she sets strategy, leads product design, and translates academic frameworks into game systems. She holds an MA from Tufts University and a BA from UNC Chapel Hill (Morehead-Cain Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa).

Portrait of Elinor Ackerman holding a sprig of goldenrod

Elinor Ackerman she/her

Co-founder

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Living with a chronic illness taught Elinor how suffering compounds when people are too depleted to name what they need. As an editor and historian by training, she brings close attention to historical patterns and system dynamics. Elinor advises on product development and fosters a sustainable work culture to ensure the Mycelios team stays grounded and healthy.

Portrait of Sarah Pontier

Sarah Pontier she/her

Co-founder, Too Much / Not Enough

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Sarah has led product strategy across B2B tech, founded and sold a needs-based rideshare startup, earned an AI patent as VP of Product, and served as Principal PM at Workday before founding The Find Studio. At Mycelios, she leads product strategy and user fit, ensuring our games deliver immediate, empathetic value to players.

Portrait of Enzo Simione

Enzo Simione he/him

Researcher

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Enzo conducts technical research for Mycelios and ensures our builds match our safety promises—from data anonymization to lead visibility limits. He co-founded PS Homecare in Brazil (serving hundreds of clients monthly) and has years of experience managing online communities. He holds a BA in International Relations and lives in Curitiba, Brazil.

Portrait of Sara Gómez Trillos

Sara Gómez Trillos she/her

Scientific Advisor

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Sara grounds our games in rigorous science. A mixed-methods researcher with over a decade of health and mental health research across Latin America and the US, she is completing her PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She leads research review pipelines, clinical validations, and efficacy testing.

Portrait of Kelvin Klein, smiling in glasses, a charcoal suit and a burgundy tie

Kelvin Klein

Engineer

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With a background in law and nearly a decade in software engineering, Kelvin builds the technical foundation behind Mycelios games. His work spans backend systems, cloud infrastructure, and security tooling, with a sharp focus on privacy architectures, system reliability, and maintainable software design.

Partner with us

We are building a new category of games. While we do not have open roles at this time, we are always eager to connect with researchers, artists, and practitioners in game design, mental health, and technology.

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