In her political advocacy work, she has helped end the careers of some of the most corrupt members of Congress, targeted the NRA and its allies, exposed front groups covering for corporate interests, and rooted out conservative misinformation in the media.
Naomi was the media force behind the defense of outed undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson and her husband, Ambassador Joseph Wilson — and built and directed the communications operations for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and Media Matters for America.
She has worked extensively on Capitol Hill and has continually fought for those who needed a voice throughout her career.
Smith was vice president at Google for eleven years leading new business development where she managed early-stage partnerships, pilot explorations and technology licensing across the global engineering and product teams; she led acquisitions of Google Earth, Maps, and Picasa; and later was a VP at Google[x] where she co-created SolveForX and Women Techmakers. Earlier, Smith served as CEO of PlanetOut, worked on early smartphone technologies at General Magic and at Apple Japan. Smith is an advisor to the MIT Media Lab, Vital Voices, Thinkof-Us, the Malala Fund, which she co-founded and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the National Academy of Engineering. She was selected as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT, where she serves on the board as a life member. She completed her master’s thesis work at the MIT Media Lab.
Matt began his career as a pirate radio and club DJ in London. He worked in the music and advertising industries at companies including Warner Music, Saatchi & Saatchi, and Mediacom. At age 23, he became the founding Editor-in-Chief of RWD, helping grow it into the largest music magazine by circulation in the UK. Matt was selected as one of the faces of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Start Talking Ideas campaign, and RWD was presented the Prince’s Trust London Business of the Year Award by Prince Charles.
Over the years, Matt has written, produced and created TV shows, films, comic strips, apps and records, as well as award-winning global advertising campaigns. His journalism has appeared in The Guardian, The Independent, The Observer Music Monthly, Dazed & Confused, Adweek, VICE, Complex, Libération, and other publications in more than 20 countries. His short story Hard Times was published by Penguin as part of the We Tell Stories project, which won Best in Show at SXSW and was shown in the Talk To Me exhibition at the MOMA in New York. Matt regularly speaks on creativity, disruptive innovation and the promise of distributed technologies all over the world. He is based in Austin, Texas.
Prior to her tenure at Bennington, Dr. Silver served as Acting Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Policy in the United States Department of Homeland Security under President Obama, as Policy Advisor to Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, as Senior Advisor to the President of Arizona State University, and at Columbia University.
Dr. Silver holds a BA in History from Yale University, an MSc in Science and Technology Policy from the University of Sussex, a Ph.D. in Economic Geography from the University of California at Los Angeles, and an honorary Ph.D. from Hofstra University.
Dr. Silver is married to musician Thom Loubet and is the mother of two children.
Ms. Garver is a Co-Founder of the Brooke Owens Fellowship, an educational organization providing internships and mentorship to collegiate women pursuing degrees in aerospace fields. She serves on the Board of Directors of Maxar Technologies (NYSE: MAXR) and is a former President of Women in Aerospace and the American Astronautical Society.
Lori is the recipient of three NASA Distinguished Service Medals and an Honorary Doctorate from Colorado College. She holds a B.A. in Political Economy from Colorado College and an M.A. in Science, Technology and Public Policy from George Washington University
In 2017, Derek was awarded a scholarship from the Oculus Launchpad Program and received funding to complete a VR project called “I Am A Man.” This VR project centers on the Civil Rights, the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Worker’s Strike, and last days of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The VR experience has been broadly celebrated for its achievement in the use of this new technology to communicate history in a meaningful way. The project has been shown in film festivals nationally and internationally including the SIGGRAPH 2018 Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality Program. “I Am A Man” won the Perspectives Award for Immersive Storytelling at the 42nd Cleveland International Film Festival and won VR Best of Show at the 2108 Nashville Film Festival, and was the winner of the 2018 FoST Prize for the category, “Bridging the Divide.” The project is contracted for installation as a part of a permanent exhibit at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN at a later date.
Derek’s next venture Logic Grip Inc. is a NC State University sponsored startup company that looks to continue the production of VR content as it develops new VR hardware and peripheral devices.
Gelber served as Ed Bradley’s producer at 60 Minutes® for twenty-five years during which he won every major journalism award, including a Peabody, two DuPont Awards and eight Emmy® Awards. He and his wife Kyoko live in Garrison, NY, with daughters Maya, 14, and Clara, 10.
In 2017, Chris authored After the Mass-Age in collaboration with designer Fredrik Averin. The book marks the 50th anniversary of Marshall McLuhan’s era-defining The Medium Is the Message and aims to start fresh conversations after the mass-age.
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