Rachel Darden

23/07/2026

There's something special about meeting people who understand what it takes to build meaningful XR experiences.

Spent the morning at Click Studio here in Da Nang, the game studio is multi-level and they built it! I was honored to played Hoi An Chronicles, their VR experience set in 16th century Hội An, incredible detail, all built from real motion capture. It just showed at the Exhibition of National Achievements in Hanoi for Vietnam's 80th Independence anniversary.

Then I shared MedMicroMaps with their team, and watching them explore the meditation room, play with virus and ask real questions about the design was a highlight of my week.

Thank you to the entire Click Studio team for the warm welcome, and a special thank you to Ian, the developer behind M3!

Give them a follow: https://www.facebook.com/click.studio.DTU - https://www.clickstudio.com.vn/

11/07/2026

I help high-performing professionals sustain energy, focus, and resilience without sacrificing their health.

The approach draws on the everyday levers that actually move the needle: sleep, movement, food, stress recovery, and connection, grounded in the evidence base of Lifestyle Medicine and behavior change. I trained and certified through Wellcoaches and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM).

I'm also exploring how immersive technology (XR) can deepen focus, recovery, and connection in ways a standard call cannot. I serve as Director of Partnerships at MedMicroMaps.

My work spans more than 20 years across corporate leadership, coaching, and immersive technology,

If you're stretched thin or moving from project to project, exhausted and still expected to perform at your best, this page is for you.

[email protected]

01/07/2026

Friends, come play as we go live TODAY. 5PM ET

Download Engage XR then Join link: https://app.engagevr.io/events/g4jGk/share

I am hosting Christine Schwarz from Virtual Round Ballers at 2pm PT / 5pm ET inside ENGAGE XR. We will dig into how mixed reality can make movement feel possible again for people who stepped away from sport.

Christine and her team are building experiences that connect fans with real players in VR, then layering in accessibility so more bodies can play. Injured, wheelchair, a truly all associable game play!

Come hang out, ask questions, or just listen in while you work. Replay will be posted, but live is more fun.

What is one thing that would get you moving three times a week if tech solved it? Drop it below and I will bring it up with Christine today.

25/06/2026

📅 Wednesday, July 1, 2026

⚕️ XR News Med Health

🗺 ENGAGE XR

⏱ 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET / 10 PM UK / 6 AM* Hong Kong / 9 AM* Sydney

🔗 https://app.engagevr.io/events/g4jGk/share

Join me July 1st, and every first Wednesday, in Engage XR.

My guest this month is Christine Schwarz from Virtual Round Ballers. We will have a fireside chat about how XR is changing sports and wellness, and why movement-based mixed reality matters for accessibility, not just novelty.

Christine is a strategic executive and co-founder building at the intersection of immersive tech, sports, and wellness. Her team is creating experiences that let more people feel the thrill of the game.

If you want to try it early, sign up as a Quest beta tester here: https://www.virtualroundballers.com

I am curious: what sport did you love as a kid but stepped away from? What would bring you back? Share your story below, I will read a few live with Christine.

With thanks to Educators in VR and Lorelle VanFossen for the community.

07/06/2026

Reposting with so much pride for my team at Medmicromaps.

Last week at XI Demo Day, DrJane Colleen Harrington took the stage for our Spring 2026 XI Accelerator cohort at Exponential Impact, and the work behind it just paid off in a big way.

Dr. Jane Harrington and Ian Holyoak won the top $50,000 in technical assistance at the 2026 Small Business Week Pitch Night, as part of their journey with XI .

What we're building sits right at the intersection of emerging tech, education, and impact: immersive AI-XR gaming experiences designed to make STEM learning more engaging, accessible, and inspiring for the next generation .

Our flagship, microbe XR, is now launching on Meta Quest, we even celebrated a family-friendly launch day at Exponential Impact this month . It was born when Jane was frustrated teaching microbiology to med students during the pandemic, and she and Ian decided to dedicate their lives to improving STEAM education with XR gaming .

As Director of Partnerships, I see every day how this matters most for learners who've been left out of traditional science classrooms, kids with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, or multilingual backgrounds who light up when they can touch a microbe instead of memorize it.

This is what tech looks like when it's built with purpose. Colorado's ecosystem is better because founders like Jane and Ian are in it, and I'm honored to help bring partners alongside them.

Congratulations team. Onward. 🚀

03/06/2026

TODAY! XR NEWS: Medical & Health Edition is LIVE 🔥

Join us in Engage XR at 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET / 10 PM UK / 6 AM Hong Kong / 9 AM Sydney** for a can't-miss interactive session!

This month's special guest: Dr. Shannon Putman of Putman XR Consulting

What we're diving into:
👉 How to maximize immersive education for medical, healthcare, and traditional students
👉 Preparing pre-service medical professionals for real-world demands
👉 LIVE tour of a medical training facility designed for high school students

Why Dr. Putman? She led the largest single rollout of educational VR in the US, created Kentucky's first VR lab, and teaches IVR + marketing as a university professor. Her firm blends research-based instruction with real-world XR experience.

Bring your questions and experience the future of healthcare training firsthand. You can join via headset or PC!

🔗 RSVP + Download ENGAGE XR: https://app.engagevr.io/events/g4jMr/share

See you in-world! Don't miss it.

01/06/2026

Excited to share that I have learned, practiced and excelled with Mindfulness-Based Mind Fitness Training (MMFT) with Dr. Elizabeth Stanley, and what struck me most is that this isn't mindfulness as a trend.

This is neuroscience. Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, built for people operating under genuine pressure, and grounded in how the nervous system actually works under stress.

I left a 12-year corporate career because I felt what unchecked stress does to a body over time. That experience sent me down a path I'm still walking. MMFT added something to that path I didn't know was missing.

Dr. Bessel van der Kolk wrote the foreword to Dr. Stanley's book Widen the Window. If you know his work, you know that means something. He praises Dr. Stanley's work for providing a highly accurate landscape of living with trauma and for offering a truly comprehensive, bottom-up approach to healing.

For everyone I work with in wellness, in XR education, in high-demand lives, this is the kind of training that changes how you show up. Not because it's a quick fix. Because it's not.

More on how this shapes what I'm building soon.

28/05/2026

Come down tonight to see XI Demo Day happening at Exponential Impact downtown Colorado Springs and cheer on these incredible founders showcasing their work.

A special shoutout to DrJane Colleen Harrington and Ian Holyoak from Medmicromaps! Working with them has been so exciting and so proud of how far we have come!

I’ve had the chance to see their work up close, and the way they are bringing science, XR, and education together is exactly the kind of innovation the pipeline needs. Thoughtful, rigorous, and deeply focused on making complex biology accessible in a way that actually sticks.

Come join the energy in the room tonight and celebrating what this cohort has been building. This is a don’t miss, these are the kinds of teams you’ll be hearing about for years to come!

Tomorrow is the day. And we're almost at capacity.

XI Demo Day is TOMORROW, May 28th, from 5:00–8:00 PM at our Downtown Office at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs - and there are only a few spots left.

This is where you'll see what our latest cohort has been building. Live product demos. Sharp founder pitches. Real innovation happening right here in Colorado.

You'll meet the founders, investors, mentors, and community leaders shaping the future of our tech ecosystem. These are the startups you'll be hearing about next year - and tomorrow, you get a front-row seat.

If you've been meaning to RSVP, now is the time. Space is limited, and spots are filling fast.

👉 Secure your spot now: https://luma.com/y2hbp4eh

See you tomorrow. 🚀

08/05/2026

Last night DrJane Colleen Harrington knocked it out of the park winning first prize of $50,000 in technical assistance funding!

I am wildly excited to be a part of this team Medmicromaps (Jane & Ian) and so many mentors. This project will have so much positive impact on youth for years to come, curious about spatial learning in VR?
Check it out here - https://www.medmicromaps.com/

Sign up today and get 60% off for the pre-release. ✨

🎉 Some nights remind you exactly why Colorado’s startup community is different.

Tonight’s Small Business Week Pitch Night was packed with big ideas, brave founders, honest conversations, and the kind of energy that only happens when people show up to build something meaningful together.

And seeing one of our own from the XI Accelerator take home the top prize made it even better.

Huge congratulations to Medmicromaps for winning $50,000 in technical assistance funding! 🚀

MedMicroMaps was founded by Dr. Jane Harrington and her husband Ian Holyoak. What they are building sits right at the intersection of emerging technology, education, and impact - immersive AI-XR gaming experiences designed to make STEM learning more engaging, accessible, and inspiring for the next generation.

That’s the kind of innovation we love seeing grow here in Colorado. Bold ideas. Real purpose. Founders willing to put themselves out there and build.

Proud night for the XI community. Proud night for Southern Colorado innovation.

Huge thanks to Colorado Colorado SBDC serving Pikes Peak Region, Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC, and Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado for putting on the 2026 Small Business Week for the Pikes Peak Region!

01/05/2026

Want to turn your kids from gamers to learners?

Check out this new project I have been working on! Sign up for the pre-release on the website www.medmicromaps.com or the QR code in the video below.

This way of learning is so much fun, I can't wait to share it with you all!