MEET THE FOUNDER
Randie Lemons founded Valley of the Nerds because she knows what it is like to struggle with gathering your party.
Growing up, Randie often felt as though everyone else had a guidebook for belonging and hers was lost in the mail. Loving video games, Pokémon cards, Dragon Ball Z, and disappearing into fictional worlds was not always a reliable way to win popularity contests.
She eventually discovered she was not the only person wondering where she fit. People were hiding their brightest, strangest parts, hoping that becoming easier to understand might make them easier to accept. Randie believed there should be somewhere people could bring those pieces back into the light.
As an author, storyteller, Dungeon Master, photographer, and lifelong collector of ambitious ideas, Randie is fascinated by how stories connect people. Give her an empty room, and she will imagine an immersive adventure, an interconnected fictional world, and at least three programs that do not yet have budgets.
That is where the Valley of the Nerds leadership party works well. Randie asks, “What if we built an entire world around this?” Buffie begins figuring out how to construct it, while Sheila keeps one hand on the party’s gold and gently reminds everyone that enthusiasm is not technically an accepted form of payment.
As Founder and President of Valley of the Nerds, Randie carries its vision: a community where storytelling, gaming, cosplay, art, and imagination become bridges between people who might otherwise never find one another. She believes play is meaningful, stories are never “just stories,” and being welcomed around a table can change a life.
For Randie, Valley of the Nerds is the place she once needed: somewhere people can discover who they are, celebrate what they love, and connect without sanding down every strange, brilliant edge.
She has spent her life creating worlds where people can belong. Valley of the Nerds is the one she intends to make real.
