Alexa Clay
AUTHOR & CO-FOUNDER at THNK School of Creative Leadership
Schools
- THNK School of Creative Leadership
Links
Biography
THNK School of Creative Leadership
I am a regular commentator on topics related to economic transition, wisdom, disruptive innovation, black market and fringe economies, and technology angst. I am the co-author of The Misfit Economy. I have written and appeared in Fast Company , Forbes , Wired , Dazed and Confused , VICE , Harvard Business Review , the New York Times , the Guardian, and on MTV. I am also the founder of Wisdom Hackers. When not operating in the world as Alexa, you can find me playing the Amish Futurist, an alter ego bringing Socratic inquiry to the tech scene. I am a writer, provocateur, economic historian, author, steward of Wisdom
From a young age, I was in direct contact with so-called misfits: my mother worked with Harvard psychiatrist Dr. John Mack, conducting research on those claiming to have experienced UFO abductions. My father spent time in the Amazon rainforest working with indigenous groups and building sustainable markets for smallholders, while my stepmother was one of the first franchisees of the Body Shop in the U.S.
With this misfit spirit, I enrolled at Brown University where I majored in Development Studies, and continuing my studies with a MSc. in Economic History from Oxford University. I spent my time studying poetry and philosophy - which are essentially meccas for misfits and those who are pushing boundaries and questioning society’s rules.
My professional career began at the Watson Institute for International Studies where I interviewed communities around the world that had been impacted by military toxics surrounding US bases. After a brief interlude living in a windmill in Portugal, I moved to London and began working as a consultant for SustainAbility on the sustainable energy of several Fortune 500 companies.
I conducted a three-year managerial experience at Knowledge and Learning, where I helped leading social entrepreneurs develop grassroots innovation. I later became the Director of New Economy, Ashoka, where I mapped out new economy innovations. Around that same time, I co-founded The League of Intrapreneurs and The Human Agency, two agencies that worked towards bringing change from within with multidisciplinary LEARN/DO collectives.
In 2014, I founded Wisdom Hackers, a platform incubator for public-interest philosophy and co-wrote the book Misfit Economy, with Simon & Schuster, out in 2015. It has already been listed* in The 15 New Books to Read in 2015.
Videos
Wish I was in Australia with you : ) (part 1/2)
Alexa Clay & David Kyuman Kim - Radical Love: Making and Unmaking Worlds - OuiShare Fest 2015 [Eng]
Alexa Clay on how to use alter egos to gain perspective
Alexa says "There is a danger in trying to always do the impossible"
Alexa Clay, An Anatomy of Misfit Philosophies: How to Hack Systems
Alexa Clay (antropóloga) - O poder da subcultura
Public Lecture Alexa Clay
KES - Session Misfit Economy com Alexa Clay
Meraki Collective - Patmos, Summer 2014 VIDEO SUBMISSION
The Misfit Economy | Alexa Clay | Talks at Google
Interview with Alexa Clay discussing her book: “Misfit Economy”
Alexa Clay at THNK Vancouver
CASE STUDY: THE MISFIT ECONOMY - Alexa Clay, The Misfit Economy
Entrepreneurship Alexa Clay - from Misfit Economy To Wisdom Hacker
Who is at the steering wheel of our future? Alexa Clay,Marek Tuszynski,Andrea Bauer,Boris Moshkovits
Alexa Clay – O perfil humano do empreendedor
Welcome from Alexa (part 2/2)
Alexa Clay and The Misfit Economy
Alexa Clay: The Misfit Economy - The story of underground innovation // Future Day 16
Alexa Clay – O perfil hacker
Alexa Clay - Misfit Subculture: Learning from Hermits, Gangsters, and Occupiers
Alexa Clay on the upside of IP theft.
Alexa Clay - Utópicos e a realidade alternativa
EP92 Alexa Clay on Intentional Communities
Pirates, Hackers, and the Sharing Economy: Alexa Clay, Micky Metts, and Janelle Orsi
Alexa Clay on what can conventional businesses learn from the Latin Kings
Lessons from the Creative Misfits with Alexa Clay
Crowd2Crowd: a panel from many to many
Alexa Clay: The Informal Economy: Lessons from Pirates, Hackers and Dissidents
CPH:CONFERENCE 2014: Alexa Clay - Hermits, Hackers and Gangsters - Lessons from The Misfit Economy
Alexa Clay - Portland State University Elevating Impact Summit
re:publica 2014 - Alexa Clay: The Amish Futurist and th...
Alexa Clay: Could Hackers be the Next Bankers? | WIRED
Alexa Clay - O poder da subcultura
HEC Paris Creativity Talks: Alexa Clay
Interview with Alexa Clay, Founder, The Misfit Academy, Author, The Misfit Economy
D.DAY | In conversation with Alexa Clay, Marek Tuszynski, Andrea Bauer and Boris Moshkovits
re:publica 2016 – Alexa Clay: Neo-Tribes: The Future is Tribal
Alexa Clay, Sihle Tshabalala, and Tramayne Monaghan on Discovering Ingenuity – YPO EDGE 2019
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