Who We Are
We have a wide range of researchers on our core staff, as well as a large network of affiliates. Our permanent staff members typically have deep knowledge in one field, with at least one other strong content interest. We look for people who work at the edges of their disciplines, with a mind toward global future implications and practical impacts on decision making.
A native of Odessa, Ukraine, Marina is particularly suited to see things from a global perspective. She has directed international programs and led international development projects for SRI (formerly Stanford Research Institute) in China, Japan, Vietnam, India, and Eastern Europe. Marina has also authored publications on international business and economics, with an emphasis on regional innovation and competitiveness.
In addition to serving as IFTF's Executive Director,...
Dawn oversees client services for the Health Horizons program and across other projects at the Institute, contributing to the business relationship part of the equation. She began her technical sales career over a decade ago after realizing her skills lie in building partnerships between organizations and their clients. She believes in living life passionately which is why she was intrigued by the topics the Institute covers. This view of life has taken her on many adventures...
Robin is a Graphic Designer in the Production department of IFTF and works to support all graphic and creative needs for IFTF deliverables, as well as maintaining IFTF's graphic identity. Working with various researchers and employees, Robin finds creative solutions for research project reports, presentations, representation of data, packaging, and illustration support.
Robin holds a BA from University of California, Berkeley as well as a Certificate of Graphic Design from...
With an A.B. in History of Science from Harvard College, Mathias is interested in the conditions in which scientific knowledge is produced and verified, and in how technologies develop in response to, and exert influence on, social, political, and individual concerns. Mathias’ interests are mirrored in his work as Research Manager for the Signtific at the Institute. Prior to joining the Institute, Mathias worked as an Intellectual Property legal research assistant in New York City...
Upon joining IFTF in 2007, Vivian quickly became the voice of the Health Horizons Program in the blogosphere, writing about trends in the global health economy and other interesting health-related news. As a researcher, Vivian has explored how social networking platforms have contributed to the emergence of collective action groups centered around shared health concerns. Other forms of social media and online tools have also captured her attention for their role in personal health...
Jake's research examines the role of emerging technologies in transforming subjectivity, culture, and governance, and he has been leading explorations into new methods for communicating foresight. Jake is currently completing his Ph.D. at the Manoa School of Futures Studies on neuropolitics, neuropower, and alternative futures for the extended mind.
Before joining IFTF, Jake was a researcher at the Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies, leading and participating in...
Born in Oakland, California in a time and place of great social change, Rod Falcon attended nearby UC Berkeley to better understand what was happening. There he studied history and social change as an undergraduate and public policy as a graduate student. After working one summer enforcing the Voting Rights Act for the Justice Department, he realized that public policy was not as future oriented as it might be and was inspired to do something about it. He came to IFTF to forecast...
Since joining IFTF in June of 2008 Tessa has developed two clear focus areas. She has been working to further develop a knowledge base around African issues as well as working to bringing futures thinking to youth. Tessa is also in awe of the power of forecasting and is intrigued by how forecasting can be used to aide development work and conflict prevention and resolution.
Tessa moved to the Bay Area from Denmark at the age of 7. After earning her bachelors degree in...
Over nine years ago Jean brought her lifelong passion for visual metaphors and more than fifteen years of experience in information design, design strategy, branding and graphics production to IFTF. Her experience helped IFTF move from toward new ways of presenting research material visually through maps, digital stories and many other methods.
She currently serves on the IFTF Leadership Team, and leads the communications, creative and production arm of the organization. In...
Research Manager Rachel Lyle Hatch has studied and worked in Thailand, Ireland, Poland, and the US. Her current forecasting efforts are focused on external future forces affecting social connectivity, leadership, caregiving, and faith. She is developing an immersive learning experience to help leaders and future leaders experience the world of the future and the new leadership skills that will be required to thrive. She is leading a project on the future of active giving, and...
Lyn Jeffery is a cultural anthropologist whose research focuses on the changing nature of identity and reality in a blended digital physical world, with special interests in real-time data and in the Chinese-language Internet. She also works with corporate and government clients on mobility, social media, and the future of work. Lyn has led the Global Ethnographic Network, a multi-year ethnographic research program that experiments with reflective personal forecasting...
Bob has worked for more than 30 years as a forecaster, exploring the human side of new technologies. He has a deep interest in the future of religion and its impact on business, society, and individuals. Bob works mainly with senior corporate executives across a wide range of industries. He has rich experience in presenting IFTF's foresight and then drawing out insights-inputs to strategy-and-action steps.
Bob served as IFTF's president and CEO from 1996 to 2004. Still on...
Bradley Kreit was born in San Francisco and grew up in Oakland, California. Taken by an urge to explore other parts of the country, he moved to Connecticut for college and moved and traveled around the United States before settling happily back in the Bay Area.
At Connecticut College, Bradley studied cultural and political history with an emphasis on economic development in the Americas. Bradley first became interested in health care while working as a medical reporter in...
Andy's passion for new technology and innovation led him to San Jose State University, where he is majoring in MIS. At IFTF, Andy assists with infrastructures for servers and general technology support for the staff. He has four years experience providing general support prior to joining IFTF.
Mike Liebhold is a Distinguished Fellow focusing on the mobile web, abundant computation, immersive media and geospatial foundations for context-aware and ubiquitous computing. Previously, Mike was a Visiting Researcher, Intel Labs, working on a pattern language based on semantic web frameworks for ubiquitous computing. Before that, during the late 1990s Mike worked on startups building large scale international public IT services and IP networks for rural and remote regions, and...
Miriam Lueck Avery is a research manager in the Health Horizons program and across other projects at the Institute, contributing to a broad range of research and project management tasks. She began interning with the Institute in 2003. As an ethnographer, her overarching interest lies in how the rhythms and choices in people’s everyday lives individually and collectively shape the future. More specifically she explores how food connects people to each other, to their health and...
Rachel is a research director in the Health Horizons Program. Her research interests include migration and health, the global trade of health services, the global portability of health and pension benefits, and the international movement of health professionals. After joining IFTF, Rachel has applied trends in new media and mobile technologies to her health systems expertise to study how personal technologies are informing health care practices and delivering care. Much of her...
Jane McGonigal takes play seriously. She studies the power of games to impact the real-world -- and she creates games that do just that. A pioneer in the field of "alternate reality gaming", her previous projects include The Lost Ring, World Without Oil, Cruel 2 B Kind, and I Love Bees. She is an expert on applying game design and game theory to real work and real business, and has consulted and developed internal game workshops for leading technology companies in Asia, Europe, and...
Lisa serves as the assistant producer in IFTF's production department and program coordinator for the Ten-Year Forecast. She provides a bridge between research and production, edits various deliverables, and helps to organize the flow of projects that runs through IFTF at all times. Her interests lie in all things language-related: literature, editing, writing, etc. Lisa holds a BA in English literature, with a specialization in 18th Century British fiction, from Mills College...
A self-described nerd growing up, Sean read all he could about science as a kid, and immersed himself in maps for hours at a time. He also set his chemistry set on fire a few times, took junior high computer classes on a TRS-80, and was on his high school ecology team. In college, he switched from mechanical engineering to polymer science when he learned that polymer grads often went on to technical sales. The idea of technical sales piqued his interest, and an entrepreneur was...
Neela manages the Health Horizons program while working closely with the Health Horizon research team to facilitate the logistics of project planning and deliverables. She also assists the program director with managing the execution & planning of projects, budgets and conferences.
Neela's interest in health lies in a commitment to help others by providing knowledge and assistance about their health and health care. Before coming to IFTF, Neela worked as a volunteer,...
A native of New Delhi, India, Mani, brings an international perspective to IFTF. She has extensive experience conducting surveys in the US and India. She has designed large-scale surveys looking at technology usage, health and food habits, work and career among US adults. She conducted a comparative survey looking at technology usage and work and career aspirations among youth in India, China and USA. She has also conducted focus groups with high school and college students, and...
David Pescovitz is co-editor of the popular weblog BoingBoing.net and also editor-at-large for MAKE:, the DIY technology magazine. Pescovitz co-wrote the book Reality Check (HardWired, 1996), based on his long-running futurist column in Wired magazine where he remains a correspondent. He has also written for Scientific American, Popular Science, New York Times, Washington Post, Salon, and New Scientist, among many other publications. In 2002, he won the Foresight Prize in...
Jody's design career began when he was hired to airbrush surfboards for Stüssy Designs in Laguna Beach, California. Along the way he's designed men's surfwear and branding for Gotcha Sportswear, rave flyers for events in San Francisco, a magazine called Morph's Outpost on the Digital Frontier, web design for various early net startups, advertising for defense contractors and a magazine for a rifle company, finally coming to rest in the IFTF production department, where he...
Joining the Institute in 1998 Chris Sumner directs the IFTF's MIS/IT dept. and leads our technology direction and implementation strategies providing new innovative collaboration systems and platforms. Prior to joining IFTF, Mr. Sumner was developing new technology systems for Department of Defense applications and has extensive experience as both a technologist and systems integration consultant. He currently holds several technology certificates in Linux, Cisco, OSX, Microsoft,...
Jason Tester's interests in interactive technology began the old-fashioned way, tinkering one-on-one with the equipment he had at hand. With his work on technological voting, however, he saw the possible effects of computer-human interaction on the future of society as a whole.
At IFTF, Jason focuses on three areas: research into how people use emerging technologies, the application of design to futures research, and facilitating groups to stimulate insights and implications...
Anthony has been researching the implications of new technology on cities and public institutions for over a decade. At IFTF, Anthony's work focuses on several inter-related topics: mobility and urbanization, innovation systems and innovation strategy, science and technology parks and economic development, and sustainability and telework.
Anthony is active in public policy networks. He testified at a United States Senate hearing on "Research Parks and Job Creation" on...
Kathi Vian leads IFTF's Ten-Year Forecast Program, which is a broad scan of the emerging global environment, focusing on the intersection of new economic forces, changing environmental realities, and new social practices. She is the author of the annual Map of the Decade, which summarizes the most important trends and insights from each year's research across the Institute.
Kathi is also an active participant in the Institute's Technology Horizons Program, where she has been...
