Julia has more than 30 years of experience working for democratic change and conflict transformation around the world, and is best known for her ability to convene diverse coalitions and her facilitative leadership of global networks. Throughout her career she has been called upon to translate between theory and practice, while seeding new approaches, organizing principles, and mindset shifts for social change. After serving for almost 14 years as the President and CEO of PartnersGlobal, one of the preeminent international democracy and peacebuilding organizations – in 2022 Julia launched The Horizons Project to focus on the intersection of peacebuilding, social justice, and democracy in the United States. In her role as Chief Network Weaver there, Julia is committed to bridge-building across sectors, disciplines, and cultures. Julia also serves as board chair of the Alliance for Peacebuilding.
Biggest untapped opportunity to help advance a world safe from nuclear threat →
Building out broader constituencies for the mission, connecting to other adjacent movements, and continuing to support culture change against militarized solutions, diplomacy, and multilateralism (i.e., breaking down silos and helping build a network of networks)
Mbazor Jeremiah Chinonso is a nuclear engineer with a decade of experience in the field. Jeremiah’s research has spanned different areas, including the security of nuclear power plants in the decommissioning stage. He has also led youth groups to promote nuclear technology in Africa and globally. Born and raised in Nigeria, he also lived and studied in South Korea for more than half a decade. His goal is to see that the application of civil nuclear technology is safe, secure, and reliable for a better life.
Biggest untapped opportunity to help advance a world safe from nuclear threat →
Engaging youth; creating a regional index of security; developing a contributory scheme to show countries’ commitment to nuclear security, because a nuclear security threat anywhere is a nuclear security threat everywhere.
Elizabeth Kistin Keller is a systems analyst at Sandia National Laboratories, where she leads the Labs’ Strategic Futures Program. Her work is currently focused on the future of hyperconnectivity and analysis and design for strategic initiatives on climate security, cybersecurity, and crisis decision support. Before joining Sandia, Elizabeth spent several years working on water conflict and cooperation in North America, Southern Africa, and South and Southeast Asia. Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Elizabeth received her BA in political science and Latin American studies as a Morehead-Cain Scholar at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and her master’s and PhD in international development studies (a combination of political science, economics, and anthropology) as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. She is a member of the Association of Professional Futurists and an adjunct professor in the University of New Mexico’s Department of Geography and Environmental Studies. Elizabeth was a fellow in N Square’s inaugural Innovators Network cohort.
Biggest untapped opportunity to help advance a world safe from nuclear threat →
Great question and one I won’t do justice to here, but I think there are tremendous opportunities for continuing to expand the network and deepen the collaborative relationships and efforts underway.
Ed Finn is the founding director of the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University, where he is an associate professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and the School of Arts, Media, and Engineering. He also serves as the academic director of Future Tense, a partnership between ASU, New America, and Slate Magazine, and co-director of Emerge, an annual festival of art, ideas, and the future. Ed’s research and teaching explore the workings of imagination, digital culture, creative collaboration, and the intersection of the humanities, arts, and sciences. He is the author of What Algorithms Want: Imagination in the Age of Computing (MIT Press, 2017) and co-editor of several other books, including Future Tense Fiction (Unnamed Press, 2019), Frankenstein: Annotated for Scientists, Engineers, and Creators of All Kinds (MIT Press, 2017), and Hieroglyph: Stories and Visions for a Better Future (William Morrow, 2014). He holds a PhD in English and American literature from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University. Before graduate school, Ed worked as a journalist at Time, Slate, and Popular Science.
Biggest untapped opportunity to help advance a world safe from nuclear threat →
Seeing global security as a narrative challenge rather than a policy problem
Cat Tully is the founder of the UK-based School of International Futures (SOIF), which helps different communities and organizations engage with the future, applying strategic foresight techniques to create change. Previously, Cat was strategy project director at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and senior policy adviser in the prime minister’s strategy unit under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Before working in government, she worked in strategy and international relations across the not-for-profit and business sectors, including at Christian Aid, Technoserve, and Procter & Gamble. Cat has also worked for the UN, the EU Commission, and the World Bank. She is a trustee of the Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development (FDSD), a member of the UN Learning Advisory Council for the 2030 Agenda, a global board member of Academics Stand Against Poverty (ASAP), a nonresident fellow at the US Government Accountability Office’s Center for Strategic Foresight, a member of the advisory group of the British Foreign Policy Group (BFPG), and a member of the advisory committee of the Chilean Council of Foresight and Strategy. She holds degrees from Cambridge and Princeton universities.
Biggest untapped opportunity to help advance a world safe from nuclear threat →
Activate a clear narrative of future threat and a desired vision that connects to popular imagination
Cecili Thompson Williams is executive director of Beyond the Bomb, leading a team of campaigners and activists to mobilize against the threat of nuclear war and weapons. Cecili has nearly two decades of experience leading mission-driven campaigns with organizations including Amnesty International USA, RESULTS Educational Fund, and the National Partnership for Women & Families. Most recently she founded and served as chief strategist for We Divine Water, a consulting group helping smart and passionate changemakers build strategic and effective campaigns. A strong believer in continually building power and capacity, Cecili has trained thousands of campaigners on how to maximize their impact within their organizations and in the world at large. She also serves as a faculty member at the Center for Social Design at the Maryland Institute College of Arts, where she teaches a graduate seminar on campaign strategy. She is a former N Square Innovators Network fellow.
Biggest untapped opportunity to help advance a world safe from nuclear threat →
Unleashing the huge latent potential present across our movement that isn’t yet being leveraged—both by continuing to engage and gather professionals in our space and by exposing nuclear professionals to innovation and creative solutions that are happening outside of the nuclear space
