I’m most excited to work on projects that… inspire diverse groups of people to come together and use their individual strengths in order to collectively collaborate for a common goal.

I’m looking for partners that can help me… leverage companies’ internal creative cultures in order to strengthen their external influence and impact.

A moment when I felt most inspired in my work was… when our thesis team repositioned the American Dream through the lens of The Pursuit of Happiness.

Innovations in my field I’m most excited to work on… involve the increased importance of internal culture and network dynamics — including tools and methods that foster strong cultures and create purpose in the professional and personal lives of employees.

Ariel is director of media and outreach for the Future of Life Institute. She heads collaborations with various organizations, and she oversees all online outreach and communication efforts, covering a range of fields, including the safety of artificial intelligence (AI), AI policy, autonomous weapons, nuclear weapons, biotechnology, and climate change. She holds bachelor’s degrees in English and physics and a master’s in geophysics, and has nearly two decades of experience mixing advertising, marketing, and scientific research. She’s worked with NASA, the Idaho National Laboratory, the National Energy Technology Laboratory, MIT, and Virginia Tech. Ariel also recently founded Mag10 Media, an organization dedicated to improving science communication.

Brett is an education architect and storyteller for the future. He leads a global research lab on the future of learning and serves on the faculty of Singularity University, where he has led global K12 initiatives and speaks on the business and social implications of technological disruption. Early in his career, Brett spent nearly a decade in international development as head of an NGO working in global security, weapons reduction, and civil society. His work since has included lecturing at a private university in Russia, publishing research on the evolution of human psychology through periods of social change, and launching educational programs that have reached more than a million people in over 75 countries. Brett recently launched his first book for kids to solve global challenges and is currently designing the Museum of Solutions, a new 10-story children’s problem-solving museum being built in central Mumbai.

Brian Finlay is president and CEO of the Stimson Center, a nonpartisan public policy think tank in Washington, DC. His areas of expertise include nonproliferation, transnational crime, counter-trafficking, supply chain security, and private-sector engagement. Brian is also an adjunct instructor in the School of International Service at American University in Washington. He previously served as a researcher at the Brookings Institution, and a program officer at the Century Foundation. He was also a project manager for the Laboratory Center for Disease Control/Health Canada, and worked with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He chairs the board of directors of iMMAP, an information management and data analytics organization focused on improving humanitarian relief and development coordination. He also serves on the advisory board of Black Market Watch, a Geneva-based NGO that works to raise awareness around illicit global trade, and on the editorial board of Global Security, a journal of health, science, and policy published by Routledge, Taylor & Francis.

Brian Payne works on projects that communicate complex ideas and concepts through graphic design, illustration, and objects. This includes designing printed publications, creating original artwork, prototyping products, developing graphic identities, and other tools for interpretation and learning. Brian has an MA in industrial design from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and a BFA in illustration from Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). He is based in Providence, RI, and his clients include RISD, University of Maryland, the Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, the Center for the Advanced Study of Language, and the National Consortium for the Study and Response to Terrorism. He is also a visiting lecturer at RISD and has exhibited work in Baltimore, New York, and Philadelphia.