“I am inspired by my vision of Zoetic (Life-Affirming) Futures for Humankind and sustainable planet.”
Dr. Claire Nelson is Chief Ideation Leader of The Futures Forum, a research and education practice specializing in bringing the power of strategic foresight, and the discipline of sustainability engineering to challenges facing organizations and communities. Nelson, named on Forbes as one of the top 50 female futurists in the world, is author of the game-changing book “SMART Futures for a Flourishing World: A Paradigm for Advancing Global Sustainability”. She is Convenor of the Space Futures Forum, a Community of Practice to bring together diverse voices from around the world to participate in shaping humanity's future in space. In this regard, she founded the Caribbean Space Society to focus on developing foundational capacity for teaching Space for the SDGs. She is also a Co-Founder of Irradianz.
A sought-after consultant and speaker, Nelson’s engagements have included: BET/CENTRIC; World Bank; and the US Air Force. Dr. Nelson is a Member of the Board of the World Futures Studies Federation as well as Editor-At-Large of its flagship publication Human Futures Magazine.
A social entrepreneur, Dr. Nelson is Founding President of the Institute of Caribbean Studies, the leading Caribbean American Diaspora organization and celebrated as the Convening Chair of the Campaign for June as National Caribbean American Heritage Month. She is Curator of the Caribbean American Legislative Forum on Capitol Hill and White House Briefings, the National Caribbean American Heritage Awards, and the Caribbean Space Society.
Dr. Nelson, an award-winning writer and storyteller, has performed her one woman show ‘Moon Runnings: The Life & Times of the First Jamaican on the Moon’ at the ASU Emerge Festival of the Future, UNESCO, and the Museum of Science Fiction.
The only Black female in her graduating class, she holds a Doctorate in Engineering Management from the George Washington University (1990). Dr. Nelson was named a White House Champion of Change in 2012.