Jamie Sanchez leans more towards the geek side of the nerd spectrum. Her nerdy engineer grandfather introduced her to a world of Star Trek and The X-Files, thus opening doors for bigger fandoms down the line. And then there was Cowboy Bebop. Since then, anime has consumed many hours of her adult life.

A Chicago native and full-time graphic designer, Jamie extensively studied web design, user interfaces, web programming and animation, mostly out of curiosity. Eventually, she outgrew college and decided anime was still best enjoyed as a social event where people could connect in-person. She founded AnimeChicago.com to keep the community well-informed of related events and resources, and promote general Japanese culture festivals and trends.

Jamie still enjoys playing video games such as Dance Dance Revolution, Diablo II, and old-school puzzlers like Tetris, Dr. Mario and even Twinkle Star Sprites. Being a long-time fan of PCs, she took the plunge and became a hardcore Mac user this past summer, embracing her new Apple overlords. Jamie is currently deciphering the world of Linux and small form factor builds to equip an old NES case with new life. It’s been quite a challenge, but nothing has exploded or combusted as of this entry.