Wizards of the Coast Introduces New D&D Community Advisory Group

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Back in July 2025, Wizards of the Coast officially announced that they would be creating a D&D Community Advisory Group, which would be composed of industry professionals, influencers and retailers who would provide feedback on the overall direction of the Dungeons & Dragons brand.

Now, after almost a year, the official advisory group has been unveiled. The panel, which will be rotated on an annual basis, consists of 12 individuals, with a mix of YouTubers, designers, event organizers, TTRPG advocates and publishers.

Below, we take a closer look at who’s involved and what it means for D&D.

What is the D&D Community Advisory Group?

In a blog post on D&D Beyond, Wizards of the Coast VP Dan Ayoub notes that the group is tasked with looking at “early product concepts and D&D Beyond tools, and to challenge our approach. Alongside feedback we were hearing more broadly from players, creators, and the community, they pushed on the lack of a roadmap, which led us to revisit our plans before sharing the 2026 roadmap timeline in March. Some topics are still far out, and this gives us a chance to adjust earlier. That’s part of the point: this group engages early, while there’s still time to change course.

In the post, Ayoub also notes that the team was actually formed in December 2025, with members meeting with D&D team leads and being compensated for their time as consultants.

Ayoub also adds that recommendations from the advisory group “doesn’t replace Unearthed Arcana, surveys, research, conventions, or the many other ways we listen. It’s one more channel built for consistent, candid input from people deeply involved in the game.”

Who is on the D&D Community Advisory Group?

The 12 members of the current advisory group (as of June 2026) are as follows:

• Teos Abadía: A Colombian-American game designer who co-wrote the Acquisitions Incorporated D&D 5E sourcebook and is the co-host of the popular Mastering Dungeons podcast.
• David Christ: The founder of Baldman Games and organizer some of the biggest conventions, D&D events and organized play programs in the world, including Legends of Greyhawk.
• Zac Clay: A professional Dungeon Master and organizer of D&D youth programs in the San Francisco Bay Area.
• Kelly Lynne D’Angelo: A writer and veteran online Dungeon Master who has also worked on TV shows including The Legend of Vox Machina and Final Space.
• Scott DeBoard: Owner of the Arizona-based Silver Dragon Games game store and winner of the 2026 GAMA Retailer of the Year.
• Jennifer Kretchmer: An award-winning game designer, author, actual play performer, television actor/producer and disability consultant, as well as the creator of the Accessibility in Gaming Resource Guide.
• Monty Martin: Co-host of the popular Dungeon Dudes YouTube channel and co-creator of the award-winning Drakkenheim setting.
• Kelly McLaughlin: The co-creator/co-host of the Dungeon Dudes YouTube channel and the Dungeons of Drakkenheim campaign.
• Donna Ricci: Owner of the Geeky Teas & Games store located in Burbank, California.
• Michael E. Shea. Founder of Sly Flourish and writer of Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master, Forge of Foes and the City of Arches campaign setting. He also hosts the popular Lazy RPG Talk show.
• Ted Sikora: Creator and host of the popular Nerd Immersion YouTube channel.
• Nala J. Wu: A freelance art director, sensitivity/cultural consultant, illustrator and actor working full-time in tabletop RPGs.

On the D&D Beyond blog post, the advisory group also released the following official statement:

As the first D&D Advisory Group, we wanted to take a moment to introduce ourselves. As a diverse group of professionals from across the RPG industry, long-time players of the game, and members of the community, we care deeply about the future of D&D and tabletop gaming.

We all joined this panel with both a sense of responsibility and a fair share of skepticism. We are here to offer honest, independent feedback to Wizards of the Coast, ask hard questions, and raise concerns directly. We share our perspective, but what they choose to act on is ultimately up to them.

Since we began, Wizards of the Coast has actively listened and engaged in good-faith discussions with us, which has created a productive exchange of ideas.

We’re grateful to be part of this community and look forward to continuing this work and the conversations ahead!

The D&D Community Advisory Group

Has Wizard of the Coast run D&D Advisory Groups in the past?

The closest we’ve come to this kind of advisory group was the D&D Creator Summit, which was held online and in-person in April 2023 at Wizards of the Coast’s headquarters in Renton, Washington. The event featured a select group of almost 100 influential D&D YouTubers, bloggers, third-party publishers and social media pundits. The goal of the summit was to connect with these creators and answer concerns in the wake of the OGL scandal.

Notably, attendees to the summit were not required to sign a non-disclosure agreement prior to attending the event, and the entire summit took place in a little under 9 hours (including breaks), with presentations and Q&A from a variety of highly-placed Wizards of the Coast employees and Dungeons & Dragons team members.

Final Thoughts

In many ways, Wizards of the Coast is still recovering from the black eye it suffered during the OGL scandal, so making an effort to mend fences and bring in respected members of the D&D community feels like a smart move on their part.

Of course actions speak louder than words, so it remains to be seen whether or not Wizards of the Coast will actually act on the advice of this new community group.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on this story in the weeks ahead and will update this page with new information as it’s made available.

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