Claire A. Nelson

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”.

A sought-after speaker and consultant, Nelson’s engagements have included: BET/CENTRIC; World Bank; the US Air Force; World Steel; UNESCO; Scotia Bank; and the Pacific Summit. 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. She also serves as an Advisor to Humans for AI, Global Carbon Reward, Engineering One Planet, and Morgan State University International Vice-Presidency. 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, and Founder of 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, the Museum of Science Fiction, and Salzburg Seminar.

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.