WHAT MY STORY BRINGS TO THE TABLE
PHILOSOPHY ROOTED IN ACTION
In this portfolio I am sharing a few highlights of projects I have been developing for the past several years. Although I have been based in Asia since 2012, with a recent relocation to Europe, I've worked across cultures and continents for many more- from Southern Africa, to Central and South America to Europe, the Middle East and North America. My passion and focus sits at the intersection of applied systems transitions design, sustainable and regenerative development, and inclusive (social, environmental, policy) innovation. I am also an active practitioner of circular design and economy - striving to find pathways where upstream and downstream change can take shape. My work is sparked by an intention to contribute to the conscious awakening of society so that our earth and future generations may thrive.
SHORT AND LONG HORIZONS OF CHANGE
I believe that the aggregate of positive social and climate impact efforts made by local leaders across the world will result in the systems change society needs to calibrate for the imbalances- environmentally, economically and socially. For the past several years I have been experimenting and testing various hypotheses through public sector and market based solutions, and co-enquiry with global academic networks. NESTA's 'Stages of Innovation' (image) is a great quick visual that puts my work into context and serves as an underpinning approach to innovation. To continue this enquiry, one of my current 2021 projects includes the coleading and authorship of a book on Inclusive Innovation. You can see (and join) our latest community of practice based initiative from theory, to field to policy through the The Inclusive Innovation Learning and Stories Lab. These labs will be leveraged and collated into a guide to be published in the Routledge Innovation and Technology Horizons Series.
INNOVATION IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Examples include work with the UNICEF Global Innovation Team working on climate innovation R+D, UNDP Asia Pacific Regional Innovation Center, as Head of Exploration, cofounding the Bangkok based Circular Design Lab , or previously founding the Designing for Systems Innovation and Leadership (DSIL) Course- a pilot turned into a scaled global endeavor. Prior to this, I launched Green Loop Nashville, a campaign to restructure an old ironworks factory into a circular economy hub for closed loop systems and green sustainability entrepreneurs in 2011. Other important stops along the way include working with Ashoka's Full Economic Citizenship initiative in the Washington, D.C. area and teaching at the university level in Japan. Today, I see my executive committee and board experiences as being equally influential- they have been moments where the value of governance, policy and generative thinking have been powerful shape shifters to dynamic organizations. My article, Why the Next Generation of Designers Will Save the World, published in the Design Management Review's social innovation issue has more on the intersection of practical strategies and international development. And my more recent piece in the G20 Dossier From Climate Emergency to Climate Asset: Leveraging Transition System Dynamics and the Circular Economy speaks to the intermediary innovations required for large scale societal shifts
