Rhea Alexander Author

Rhea Alexander spearheads this project. She’s a designer, innovation strategist, and educator, with expertise in interdisciplinary approaches to entrepreneurship and social impact. She’s a full-time faculty member at Parsons School of Design Strategies and Founder and Director of the Parsons Entrepreneurs Lab (Parsons Elab). Prior, Rhea spent 25+ years as an award-winning designer, and founder of D.I.G.S., Currently she is a board member of N.Y.C. Innovation Collective, and co-founder of MakeOurFuture.coop. (ORCID 0000-0003-1914-9086)

Rose W. Pember is a builder by design. She is co-founder of a design studio, and mostly recently Hodge, a circular waste management solution for cities. She facilitates for Cornell’s Entrepreneurship Department, an Affiliate Faculty at Parsons Elab, and teaches part-time at Parsons School of Design. (ORCID 0000-0002-0948-3868)

Dr. Joseph Press is a co-founder of MakerOurFuture.coop and Futures Architect at Institute For The Future, where he recently co-authored Office Shock (2023). He co-founded the IDeaLs research group and co-authored Innovation, Design, and Leadership (IDeaLs): Transformation in the Digital Era (2021). He continues to teach as a Visiting Professor at the Politecnico di Milano, Adjunct Faculty at Parsons School of Design and is Affiliate Faculty at Parsons Elab. (ORCID 0000-0002-8193-2592)

Kiely Sweatt is a coach and innovation consultant specializing in transition management through experiential learning. She is Director of Experience and Enablement for Oracle North America Applications Sales, on the board for The Poetry Society of NY, and co-founder of The Wild. She’s Adjunct Faculty at Parsons School of Design, the College of William and Mary, and Affiliate Faculty with Parsons Elab. (ORCID 0000-0002-1728-3268)