CEO
What is your role?
I'm the founder and CEO of futurethink. My goal is to help organizations better anticipate and capitalize on the future. To help in this quest, my savvy team of seasoned innovators, trained futurists and I spent the past 20 years developing the largest database of innovation research and tools in the world.
I like to immerse myself in the world of foresight and innovation. In addition to running futurethink and lecturing, I serve as a strategic advisor for the Institute for Triple Helix Innovation think tank, which is funded by Senator Inouye of Hawaii and is the only innovation initiative of its kind within the U.S. government. I also sit on the advisory boards of the Institute of Direct Marketing in London, The Women’s Congress, the membership board of the Association of Professional Futurists, and a member of the World Future Society. I’ve been privileged to serve as a finalist judge at the annual Idea Crossing Innovation Challenge and FIT’s innovation challenge (co-created with futurethink), have taught marketing and creativity at American University, and serve as a faculty member of the American Management Association.
What’s your story?
My belief is that everyone has the power to create change and be innovative, they just need to know how.
I began my career at Leo Burnett in Chicago, where I developed an appetite for marrying strategically-driven ideas with forward-thinking themes. I went on to start my own strategic planning firm, Strategic InSites, and then a marketing and branding firm, Harvest Partners, before focusing solely on the innovation space with my latest venture - futurethink.
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Lead Trainer and Facilitator
What’s your story? What brought you to futurethink?
I came to futurethinkthrough a friend. I was pondering what to do with my future.
What are your areas of expertise?
My areas of expertise include adult and active learning, engaging facilitation, and transfer of learning.
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Director of Marketing
What is your role?
My focus is on building the futurethink brand, driving our position as thought leaders in the innovation space, and ensuring that everyone who should know, does know about futurethink. More importantly, my role is to help innovation teams understand the tangible value futurethink can deliver to their group and organization.
I try to stay connected to the 'community', so I regularly attend conferences and industry events expanding futurethink’s presence. I’ve spoken on the topic of interactive marketing and have been quoted in the New York Post. I also serve as a judge for the Goldman Sachs Global Leaders Program, a competition designed to identify and reward the academic excellence and leadership potential of second-year university students. The program is sponsored by the Goldman Sachs Foundation in conjunction with the Institute of International Education, the organization that awards Fulbright scholarships.
What’s your story? What brought you to futurethink?
I started my career in management consulting, then transitioned into strategic marketing consulting where I was involved in several global innovation projects. I’ve had a range of experience across numerous marketing disciplines - global brand development, brand activation, innovation, online / interactive marketing, and public relations. I’ve worked in marketing and innovation on both the consulting- and client-side, which gave me unique insights into the needs of both groups. I joined to futurethink to leverage those insights for the betterment of the firm and our clients.
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Lead Futurist and Facilitator
At futurethink I'm responsible for…
Keeping an eye on the future. In addition to building general future-focused knowledge for futurethink, I also co-write our Futurist Reports and develop and lead the firm’s Foresight training courses as well as facilitate our "Future Of" Scenario Planning workshops.
I am a Board member of the Association of Professional Futurists and a co-author, with Rohit Talwar, on Designing Your Future (2008) a Fast Futures / ASAE publication. I'm also the Founding Editor of The Energy Roadmap.com - a futures-focused blog exploring the cross sections where energy meets industry, transportation, design and society.
What’s your story? What brought you to futurethink?
I came to futurethink after holding positions within boutique futures consultancy firms which helped to set direction for major corporations, and a strategic think tank that worked with business-civic leaders on long term regional issues.
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Assitant Director of Research
What is your role?
At futurethink, I'm responsible for driving content development and overseeing updates to our catalog of research and tools. I work with our team of researchers, writers, and trainers to ensure that our catalog is up to date and relevant and that every presentation and workshop we give will provide a fresh perspective on innovation to attendees. I regularly attend talks and events that build futurethink’s knowledge base, and interview experts in the innovation field to learn more about how innovation happens within different organizations on a day to day basis. I also work closely with our members to help them effectively leverage the 250+ items in our catalog.
What’s your story? What brought you to futurethink?
I started my career with futurethink as an intern, and have been fortunate to work here ever since. When I first began working at futurethink, we were in the midst of developing our catalog of innovation tools and launching our first Website. I have since worked with our clients and members to learn their needs and develop new content, and have been closely involved in the evolution of futurethink’s Web experience.
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Lead Writer
What is your role?
Putting the brilliance of the futurethink team into words.
What’s your story? What brought you to futurethink?
I spent twelve years as a marketing executive for Fortune 500 firms. During that time, I had the lucky opportunity to meet Lisa and engage futurethink to provide innovation guidance for my company. When I left the corporate world to launch my own consulting practice in early 2005, I jumped at the chance to partner with futurethink to help organizations achieve business breakthroughs through practical innovation.
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