Jo is a design and organizational anthropologist whose professional work is at the intersection of organizational culture and design futures. Jo works in industry, specializing in the design of complex, leading-edge technologies and helping organizations create user experience (UX) programs.

Most recently, Jo worked directly for Planet Labs, Apple, and Google. Before joining Google, she worked for over 20 years at the NASA Johnson Space Center in various roles from Mission Control to human factors engineering to executive leadership consulting. Jo is also a research fellow on the ETHNO-ISS project at University College London (UCL).

Sherri is a medical anthropologist specializing in aging, disability, end-of-life issues, and global health. She is Professor of Anthropology at Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN and a Past President of the Society for Applied Anthropology. Her professional interests extend to anthropologists’ education, career development, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

She and her colleagues were recently awarded a National Science Foundation grant that will investigate teaching and learning processes in a transdisciplinary undergraduate design and innovation program. Sherri has conducted research in Mongolia and the U.S.

Ken built a career as an anthropologist-entrepreneur and business school professor. For 14 years, Ken was CEO of Pacific Ethnography, a boutique consulting practice focused on consumer insights for clients like The Boeing Company, Wendy’s International, Lowe’s, and Epson America. In 2014, he moved to academia, becoming Associate Professor of International Business at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.

Since 2023, Erickson has been working in North East New Mexico, doing participant observation and historical research on ranching practices in the Hi-Lo Country. He is presently serving as Secretary of the Folsom Museum and as an Adjunct Professor at Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, NM.

Kimberly is the CEO of Relations Research, a firm that combines social science research with proprietary tools to help organizations and the people within them transform, innovate, and thrive. Kimberly has extensive experience advising clients and leading complex organizational transformations across many different industry sectors such as big box retail, healthcare, insurance, energy, and manufacturing.

Her early engineering career involved innovations in decentralized robotic systems inspired by natural intelligence patterns; inventions in digital spherical photography at a Motorola-funded new venture; and designing mission-critical subsystems for DoD satellites. This technical foundation now informs her approach to understanding complex organizational systems and relationships. Kimberly has a BSEE and an MSEE from Virginia Tech.

Adam is an award-winning cultural anthropologist, entrepreneur, and storyteller who transforms how we share knowledge and tell stories. As co-founder of Mindshare, he's creating AI research tools that accelerate human insights by combining the speed of technology with the depth of expert knowledge, enabling organizations to navigate culture and complexity with confidence. This work represents his latest evolution in bridging anthropology, technology, and human connection.

Adam has built a portfolio of ventures that bring anthropological insights to mainstream audiences worldwide. Through Anthrocurious, his social impact storytelling collaborative, This Anthro Life podcast, his role as interim Editor-in-Chief at Anthropology News, and co-founding the Centre for Ethnography and Journalism, he equips those dedicated to understanding people develop the skills and platforms to translate their insights into compelling narratives with meaningful impact.

Dawn Lehman, Ph.D., is a cultural anthropologist and principal of Pathways21, a grant training organization. Her experience includes conducting grant writing workshops for university faculty/staff and nonprofit leaders and guiding interdisciplinary teams in the development and delivery of educational programs.

Dawn serves on the advisory board of SkillYah and Leader Education Group, an e-learning and knowledge-sharing company that collaborates with international educational institutions to redefine knowledge exchange across diverse cultural contexts. Dawn is the co-founder of Kids Korps USA, an award-winning 501 (c)3 youth volunteer organization that engaged 100,000+ young people, ages 5-18, and college students in service to 350 community organizations in CA, MI, and NC. Dawn’s research interests include youth volunteerism, corporate social responsibility, and corporate health.

Tim is a business anthropologist specializing in marketing, advertising and consumer research. In his early career, he was employed at D'Arcy, Masius, Benton & Bowles advertising in Detroit where he worked on Cadillac, and later at BBDO Worldwide as Vice President, Director of Consumer Insights, where his clients were AT&T, Gillette, FedEx, HBO, Hyatt, Pepsico, New Balance, and Campbell's soup.

In 2012, he accepted a position as Clinical Professor of Marketing at the Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University, New York, NY, where he continues to teach and conduct research.

Bob is an anthropologist with a career in advertising and market research and, since 2015, a Lecturer at Columbia Business School. Morais was a Principal/Co-owner of a marketing research firm for 11 years, preceded by 25 years with advertising agencies rising to Chief Strategic Officer.

He has worked with Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, WD-40, Coca-Cola, Post, Danone, Safeway, Wyeth/Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Dentsply Sirona, Freshpet, Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissôtel hotel group, and many other corporations. Among his five books are two focused on business anthropology: Advertising and Anthropology and Ethics in the Anthropology of Business.

Riall is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN. After completing his graduate work, he spent 20 years abroad as a development anthropologist at U.S.A.I.D., World Bank, and other organizations, and another 20 years as a senior university administrator in charge of international programs at University of Pittsburgh, University of Cincinnati, Golden Gate University, and Purdue University.

Today, he is primarily focused on helping to improve the training of anthropologists for applied and practice work. He is Co-Chair of the Anthropology Career Readiness Network.

Susan is associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of North Texas. While she is best known for her expertise on customer insights research, she is currently using social network analysis for a “one place study” in Newfoundland fishing outports. Previously she was a Senior Researcher and Team Lead at Trinity College Dublin where she conducted research on the impact of loneliness on the overall health of older Irish adults.

Past customer insight projects include evaluating science education for the Department of Education; mapping workflow of computational scientists for the Department of Energy’s next generation supercomputer; and leading ethnographic research for a range of technology companies. Her edited book, Creating Breakthrough Ideas (2002), chronicles the application of her research theory and methodology as used by anthropologists in business and design.

Jennifer is a business anthropologist and a PMP® certified project manager based in Kansas City, MO. She is the owner and founder of Studebaker Consulting, LLC, where she specializes in process design and consumer research. Studebaker is also Interim Executive Director of the Women, Food and Agriculture Network, which engages women in building an ecological and just food and agricultural system.

She is also Co-Chair of the Anthropology Career Readiness Network. Studebaker has worked with a variety of nonprofits, foundations, and companies to improve their processes and customer engagement.

Phil is a cultural anthropologist and innovation consultant whose scholarly work ranges from the evolution of social media to organizational culture in technology development. As a consultant, he collaborates with Fortune 500 companies, startups, and nonprofits across technology, automotive, media and entertainment, consumer goods, and services industries.

He applies mixed-methods research to challenges in product design, brand strategy, and organizational transformation. His recent work includes creating tools that integrate rigorous research with emerging technologies like generative AI.