Deirdre Quarnstrom

Deirdre Quarnstrom

Deirdre Quarnstrom started the program at Mojang Studios to bring the video game Minecraft to mainstream education which now reaches millions of students and educators around the world. In 2021, she joined Microsoft Education as Vice President of Education Experiences, leading product, engineering, and customer engagement teams that create solutions to improve learning outcomes for learners around the world.

Previously, Deirdre led product and engineering for Minecraft Education, Minecraft China, and Mojang Studios’ Accessibility and Social Impact programs. At Mojang Studios, Deirdre created an employee “Better Together” program to encourage diversity and inclusion among the team and in its products and services, and served as executive sponsor for Women of Minecraft. Before joining Mojang Studios, Deirdre was Chief of Staff for Microsoft’s Xbox division and held finance, operations and strategy roles at Microsoft, T-Mobile USA, and StairMaster, Inc. She currently serves as a Director on the board of a non-profit partnership between Mojang and UN-Habitat called the Block by Block Foundation. Deirdre is a Trustee for the French American School of Puget Sound board and co-chair of the school’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee. She is a founding partner and advisor at Reaction, a social impact VC fund.

Deirdre holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from McGill University in Montreal, an MBA from Seattle University, and she completed the Stanford Executive Program at Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 2018. Deirdre, her husband and their two daughters live in Seattle, Washington.

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  • Organization
    Microsoft
  • Profession
    Vice President, Education Experiences
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