Advisory Board

 

Ben Kacyra

Ben Kacyra

Founding Director and President

Mr. Kacyra is founder and President of Human Energy. He is also co-founder and President of the Kacyra Family Foundation. Read more about Mr. Kacyra here. Watch his TEDGlobal Talk here.

Dr. Sheila Hassell Hughes

Dr. Sheila Hassell Hughes

Dr. Hughes is Professor and Dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Saint Mary’s College of California. Read more about Dr. Hughes here.

Dr. Paul Turnbull

Dr. Paul Turnbull

Dr. Turnbull is President of Mid Pacific Institute and past superintendent of St. Ynez Valley Union High School District. Read more about Dr. Turnbull here.

Dr. Brian Thomas Swimme

Dr. Brian Thomas Swimme

Dr. Swimme is a Professor of Evolutionary Cosmology at the San Francisco California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). Read more about Dr. Swimme here.

Dr. David Sloan Wilson

Dr. David Sloan Wilson

Dr. Wilson is Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences and Anthropology at Binghamton University. Read more about Dr. Wilson here.

Dr. Francis Heylighen

Dr. Francis Heylighen

Dr. Heylighen is a professor at the Free University of Brussels (VUB). Read more about Dr. Heylighen here.

Dr. Terrence Deacon

Dr. Terrence Deacon

Dr. Deacon is a Neuroanthropologist, Professor of Anthropology, and member of the Cognitive Science Faculty at UC Berkeley. Read more about Dr. Deacon here.

Research and Development Team

 

Dr. Michael Pirson

Dr. Michael Pirson

Dr. Pirson is a professor for Global Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship at Fordham University, New York and a Research Fellow at Harvard University. Read more here.

Dr. Michael Jacob

Dr. Michael Jacob

Dr. Jacob is a Neuroscientist, Psychiatrist and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences. Read more here.

Dr. Ellen Rigsby

Dr. Ellen Rigsby

Dr. Rigsby is a Professor of Communication at Saint Mary’s College of California, teaching Theories of the Public Sphere and Qualitative Research Methods in the Communication Department. Read more here.

Dr. Clément Vidal

Dr. Clément Vidal

Dr. Clément Vidal is a philosopher eager to tackle big questions, bringing together areas of knowledge such as cosmology, physics, astrobiology, complexity science or evolutionary theory. Read more here.

Dr. Carolyn Peterson

Dr. Carolyn Peterson

Dr. Peterson is a research associate at Saint Mary’s College working with Professor Ellen Rigsby on the HEP Techno-Social Dilemma study.

Monica DeRaspe-Bolles

Monica DeRaspe-Bolles

Monica is a PhD student at the California Institute of Integral Studies working with Professor Brian Thomas Swimme.

Parham Pourdavood

Parham Pourdavood

Parham is a senior data scientist working on the Global Brain analysis project where he builds computational and visualization tools to investigate underlying neural mechanisms in societal data. Read more here

Dr. Shima Beigi

Dr. Shima Beigi

Shima is the founder of Mindfulness Engineering™ an international Resilience, Sustainability Engineering and Design House whose approach stems from Dr. Beigi doctoral thesis, a cutting-edge integration of STEM sciences, smart cities, neuroscience, Sufism and Mindfulness.

Dr. Marta Lenartowicz

Dr. Marta Lenartowicz

Marta is an interdisciplinary researcher and educator based at the Free University of Brussels (VUB) and Buckminster College in Belgium. She holds a PhD in humanistic management, with backgrounds in social epistemology, theory of language, and educational leadership. Read more here.

Consultants, Staff & Associates

 

Alan Honick

Alan Honick

Alan has been producing, writing, and editing documentary films for more than 35 years, and has been working with Professor David Sloan Wilson. Read more here.

Devin O’Dea

Devin O’Dea

Devin is a video producer, director, and editor working with Professor Brian Thomas Swimme.

Landon Silla

Landon Silla

Landon is a software engineer who has worked in Bay Area internet startups for 14 years in industries ranging from heritage preservation, advertising, home fashion, and recruiting.

Nancy Topp

Nancy Topp

Chief Financial Officer
Nancy is a CPA who has worked in a variety of public accounting firms, for profit and non-profit organizations for over 35 years.  Her work in the non-profit sector includes support for organizations involved in heritage preservation and promotion of environmental awareness.