Joyce Bettencourt is an artist, content creator & evangelist of online social media & believe in its power to raise social awareness, foster community & spark creative collaboration through internet mediums like blogging, podcasting, video/machinima & virtual worlds and has used mash ups of all of these to create provocative art installations.


Joyce is the co-founder and Creative Director of The Vesuvius Group, LLC (thevesuviusgroup.com). The Vesuvius Group is a collective of idea conceptualizers and techy-creatives working together online and within virtual worlds such as Second Life, on collaborative projects that try to make a difference within the world at large.


Joyce is also the web 2.0 specialist for Global Kids, which runs online digital media initiatives to prepare urban youth in becoming global citizens and community leaders. They have a presence in the online virtual world Second Life, where they use Teen Second Life as a tool for education, game development and issue advocacy, and where they partner with outside organizations such as the Field Museum, UNICEF, and the U.S. Holocaust Museum to bring their work to teens. She also developed and is chief editor of their widely read youth media focused blog holymeatballs.org


Her prior professional experience is as a visual artist and designer who has been involved in everything from corporate branding campaigns to collaborative street art performances. Her artwork has been shown in the United States, Australia and online through virtual exhibitions.