Wizards of the Coast is going through another organizational restructure, and people have found themselves redundant. This time, it seems to be the community management and marketing team that’s been hit. On Monday, LaTia Jacquise, community manager for Dungeons and Dragons, and Jordan Hopkins, social media manager for Magic the Gathering, announced that they had been laid off, something that Hopkins says was “part of a greater restructure”.
Wargamer has reached out to Wizards of the Coast for comment, but at the time we published this article we hadn’t received a response. We’ll update you as soon as we hear anything from the team there.
Jacquise is a prominent figure in the D&D community and in the industry, first working for WotC in 2020 as the Adventurers’ League Community Manager, before spending two years as the Community Relations Coordinator with Monte Cook Games. She rejoined WotC as the full time Community Manager for Dungeons and Dragons in November 2022.
This meant that her first big job was handling the catastrophic public relations fallout from the OGL disaster, a real baptism of fire. She has a wider creative career, including as a game designer, which you can find at her personal website.
Hopkins joined WotC as Social Media Marketing Manager for Magic the Gathering in August 2022, coming from a similar role at online card retailer Card Kingdom. If you’ve seen any official MtG social media content connected to the last four years of MtG sets, Hopkins was directly or indirectly involved. Hopkins is also a Twitch partner streamer, going by RayFK, and a participant with Loading Ready Run’s annual Desert Bus charity marathon.
Writing on her LinkedIn account, Jacquise says “I have a lot of feelings that I’ll probably never put words to, except to say that I don’t regret a single day there and I have so much love for anyone else affected and for those who remain”. Writing on his LinkedIn, Hopkins says “I obviously have many feelings about this, but I am still so proud of my work on the incredible show that is MagicCon and Magic: The Gathering FINAL FANTASY”.
These experienced marketers state that they’re considering their next moves and looking for more work. If you happen to be a geek industry insider with a vacancy, why not reach out to them? And consider coming to hang out in the Wargamer Discord community – it’s the kind of place you’ll enjoy.
Source: Wargamer
