Bio

I am a science, technology, and innovation professional with over 20 years’ experience working on challenging and important problems across the academic, government, and private sectors. I’ve forged a distinctive career path as a scientist, analyst, strategist, and writer, and have advised leaders at Fortune 100, nonprofit, government, and startup organizations. My overarching interest is diagnosing disruptive forces and creating plans that offer decision advantage for navigating alternative futures, seizing opportunities, and decreasing risk. My experience as a behavior scientist infuses systems and design thinking, alternative hypothesis testing, and sharp communication into all of my work. Prior to my consulting career, I was Microsoft’s first Director of Innovative Engagement, where I spearheaded novel “high risk-high reward” content and experiential marketing campaigns designed to influence key customers and elites in the public and civic sectors. This work involved a combination of external scanning, research and insights, novel partnerships, and creative marketing that “saw around corners” and pushed Microsoft’s boundaries with new concepts, programs, and platforms. My thinking has frequently been ahead of the curve: For example, I wrote op-eds about climate change as a national security issue in 2007, published information about pandemic readiness in 2008, studied social media for government use in a 2009 report, and launched an early corporate branded content platform in 2011. In addition to winning numerous competitive academic awards, my public thought leadership includes having taught or lectured courses at a number of top-tier universities, writing that has appeared in prestigious outlets, and lectures given at Caltech, Berkeley, Stanford, RAND, and West Point, among many other forums. My work has received coverage from media outlets including CNN, BBC, Fast Company, NPR, TechCrunch, PC World, Vanity Fair and Wired.