Stop learning community

leadership through trial and error.

What is the DLC Leadership Program?

The DLC Leadership Program is a certification program that equips digital community leaders (i.e., community moderators, community managers) with the skills to build sustainable, more resilient communities. Built on the research-backed DLC Framework, participants advance through three integrated pillars: Development (building), Leadership (leading), and Community (sustaining).

Program graduates earn certification in digital community leadership and join the ongoing DLC Leadership Circle, a professional network providing continued mentorship, resources, and collaboration opportunities. Designed specifically for the gaming ecosystem (but applicable across various digital communities), the program bridges academic research with industry expertise to address critical challenges like harassment, toxicity, and inclusive community design, preparing leaders to foster sustainable and more resilient leaders and communities.

Addressing the Needs of Digital Leaders

The Leadership Training Gap

Digital gaming communities are spaces where millions gather to connect, play, and support each other through life's challenges. The leaders of these spaces serve as custodians enforcing guidelines, curators designing community structure, and connectors fostering relationships within and between communities. Despite their central role, these leaders face a stark reality: they're managing complex psychological and social dynamics with virtually no formal training.

The numbers reveal the scope of the problem:

  • Most digital leaders receive no formal training the core competencies before starting their roles.

  • 56% report encountering situations in their communities they felt unprepared to handle

  • 74% of digital community leaders rate company training as inadequate.

  • 96% independently seek professional development (a clear sign of an unmet need).

In 2025, Shine a Light Gaming conducted a series of roundtable discussions with digital community leaders in games. Through these discussions, we learned that "trial and error" is overwhelmingly the most common way leaders develop essential skills. These professionals regularly navigate high-stakes situations, such as harassment campaigns, doxxing threats, mental health crises, without adequate guidance or support.

Current resources remain fragmented, theoretical, and disconnected from the real demands of peer-to-peer gaming leadership, leaving the people who need support most without it.

The DLC Leadership Program was created to address this training gap.

Our Approach

Evidenced-Based Approaches

This program is built on solid research foundations across disciplines, including psychology, sociology, and community health, among others. We translate academic findings into practical training by consulting directly with digital community leaders and incorporating their lived experiences managing complex online environments. Our approach bridges theoretical knowledge with the real-world insights of digital leadership, this curriculum addresses the actual challenges digital leaders face daily (often with limited institutional support).

Collaborative Development

Great communities aren't built in isolation, and neither is great training. We partner with industry experts, platform specialists, and experienced community leaders to ensure our curriculum reflects both academic research and real-world expertise. From GamerSafer's community safety insights to Christchurch Call’s specialized training modules, our collaborative approach brings diverse perspectives into every module, creating training that's both evidence-based and immediately applicable.

Community of Practice

Community leaders learn best from each other. Our approach emphasizes peer learning, shared experiences, and ongoing mentorship through the DLC Leadership Circle. Participants don't just complete courses, they join a professional network of digital community leaders who continue supporting each other's growth long after certification. This community-centered learning model reflects our core belief that the strongest leaders are those connected to thriving support networks.

Access & Accessibility

Quality leadership training shouldn't be a privilege. We're committed to making our resources accessible to volunteer moderators, grassroots community leaders, and anyone working to build healthier gaming spaces. Our modular design allows leaders to engage with training that fits their schedules and needs, while our open access principles ensure financial barriers don't prevent access to essential skills development.

Meet the Team

Our team combines 25+ years of experience in psychology, research, community leadership, and instructional design, all grounded in a simple belief that the people leading our digital communities deserve professional training that matches the complexity of their work.

True to our collaborative values, we also work with a diverse network of industry experts and content specialists who share this vision.

Rachel Kowert, PhD

Rachel Kowert, Ph.D is a research psychologist, award winning author, and globally recognized leader facilitating global policy and product development with non-profit, governmental, and non-governmental agencies for more than 15 years through data-driven research focused on mental health and trust and safety in digital games. She has spoken about her work to thousands of people across the globe, including the United Nations and the United States Congress. She has published a variety of books and scientific articles relating to the psychology of games and, more recently, the relationship between games and mental health specifically.

Additional team member coming soon