“Innovations That Blow Your Mind…”

A brief reflection on how the Near Futurists of today are already solving tomorrow’s challenges

Epibone, a Brooklyn-based startup, utilizes your own stem cells to create custom bone grafts. Pictured above is Nina Tandon, CEO and co-founder, kicking off the Near Future Summit’s “Health 3.0” capsule, focused on personalizing medicine and optimizing biology with gene editing, on-demand body parts, and machine diagnoses.

I’ve now had some space to distance myself from the emotionally taxing and intellectually challenging process of planning the Near Future Summit, an intentional convening of people passionate about creating a more beautiful and resilient world. And despite — or maybe because — it requires so much of my energy to execute, I can introspectively say that the end result this year was a culmination of everything that drives me — revelation, collaboration, inspiration, and celebration.

The second annual Near Future Summit came at a time when many of us were feeling somewhat hopeless about the direction our world seems to be heading in. This three-day deep dive into today’s headiest topics left everyone feeling reinvigorated and optimistic. As one attendee mused,

“Near Future is a fresh perspective, ahead of the curve in sharing innovations that blow your mind.”

Our capsules this year focused on timely and critical conversations: real news, personalized health, resource regeneration, criminal justice, and more. Every presentation, whether delivered by a household name or a burgeoning innovator, was an opportunity to learn… but more importantly, to co-create.

We kicked off with an exploration of “Real News”, which focused on how our once-trusted pillars of journalism are under attack. From left to right, Jessica Yellin, former chief White House correspondent for CNN; Jessi Hempel, who leads editorial for Backchannel; and Norman Lear, the legendary television producer and free speech advocate.

In between capsule sessions, attendees had opportunities to connect and share their ideas, like Fran Drescher (left). Investors and entrepreneurs get real: entrepreneur and software engineer, Narendra Rocherolle; Steve Simon of Simon Equity Partners; and Josh Felser, founder of Freestyle VC (right).

Valerie Jarrett, who served as a senior advisor to President Obama, curated “Justice League”, highlighting the work of innovators addressing issues of injustice: Cat Hoke, Scott Budnick, Connie Nielsen, Kelly Jin and Lynn Overmann.

Near Future successfully connected a group of innovators who share the fundamental goal of implementing smart, effective, and business-focused solutions to today’s most exasperating problems. I’m grateful to all of the curators, presenters, sponsors and attendees that made this astonishing thing happen. Thanks the wonderful city of San Diego for welcoming us with open arms. Let’s do this all again next year!