Fellows

Emily Esfahani Smith

Bestselling author of The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters | Journalist

In times of great challenge, search for meaning, not happiness.

Edward Burtynsky

World-renowned photographer | Winner of the TED Prize

Photographs are the reflecting pools of our time.

Megan Phelps-Roper

Former Member of the Westboro Baptist Church | Author of Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church

We must extend empathy and compassion to the people who show us hostility and contempt.

Isabel Allende

Most Widely Read Spanish-Language Author Ever | Author of The House of the Spirits and The Wind Knows My Name | Winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Write what should not be forgotten.

Adam Alter

NYU Marketing Professor | New York Times Bestselling Author of Irresistible and Anatomy of a Breakthrough

In an era of irresistible products and experiences, you can use the psychology of choice to command attention and stand out from the crowd.

Martin Ford

New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the Robots and Rule of the Robots

To adapt to machine learning, we'll need to come up with unprecedented solutions.

Angela Duckworth

Author of Grit, the #1 New York Times Bestseller | Pioneering Researcher on Grit, Perseverance, and the Science of Success

Grit, more than talent, IQ, looks, or wealth, is a powerful indicator of success.

Nathan Wolfe

Founder of Metabiota Risk Managment | Expert on Global Pandemics

The pandemic has affected everyone. Here’s what you need to know, and what’s next.

David Eagleman

One of the World's Foremost Neuroscientists | Host of PBS’s The Brain | Host of the #1 Science Podcast Inner Cosmos

In an increasingly technological world, we must tap into the uniqueness of the human brain to set us apart.

Bill Strickland

An Extraordinary Business and Community Leader | MacArthur Genius | Founder, Bidwell Training Center

Give people the tools they need, treat them with respect, and they will perform miraculous deeds.

LaToya Ruby Frazier

Award-Winning Photographer | Member of the TIME100 | MacArthur Genius

Art is a weapon. Photos can change society—our view of ourselves and our communities.

Douglas Rushkoff

One of the World's 10 Most Influential Intellectuals (MIT) | Bestselling Author of Team Human and Program or Be Programmed

AI can help us flourish creatively and collaboratively—if we dare.

Candy Chang

Urban space artist behind the "Before I Die" walls

Creative ways of engaging communities can help us foster hope and belonging together.

Titus Kaphar

Award-Winning Painter and Sculptor | Writer and Director of Exhibiting Forgiveness | MacArthur "Genius" | Author of Redaction

Art has the power to reframe our history—revealing the past we've lost and the future we're working towards.

Tom Wujec

World Renowned Expert on Innovation | Former Chief Disruptor at Autodesk | Author of The Future of Making

An era of continuous disruption is changing, forever, how we design, manufacture, and consume.

Eman Mohammed

Award-winning photojournalist | TED Senior Fellow

We need to bring the other’s side into focus to recognize our shared humanity.

Jessica Jackley

Co-Founder of Kiva, the microlending site, and Author of Clay Water Brick

The connection between two individuals is a powerful agent for social change.

Steven Pinker

One of the world's top public intellectuals | Author of Rationality, Enlightenment Now, and When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows . . . | Harvard Professor

Common knowledge—what we assume everyone knows—can help us make sense of life's biggest social, political, and economic questions.

Jared Diamond

Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel, Collapse, and Upheaval

Nations and individuals share the same techniques to survive a crisis—and thrive beyond it.

Andrew Marantz

New Yorker Writer | Author of Antisocial

Social media is what we make it—here’s how we can use it to create a kinder, more imaginative world.

Salman Khan

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Khan Academy | Vision Steward at TED

AI won't destroy education. It'll save it.

Speaker on Democracy, Civil Rights, and American History | Pulitzer Prize-Winning Creator of The 1619 Project | Executive Producer of the Emmy Award-Winning 1619 Project Hulu Docuseries | MacArthur Genius

Our history can illuminate the future we're fighting for.

Annette Gordon-Reed

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author of The Hemingses of Monticello and On Juneteenth | Harvard Law Professor | MacArthur Genius

The American Revolution and the founding generation continue to influence our present—and our future.

John Maeda

Microsoft VP Engineering, CoreAI Computational Design & Research | Author of How to Speak Machine

The combination of creativity and technology is what gives humans an edge in the AI era.

Ashton Applewhite

Anti-Ageism Activist | Author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism | Co-Founder of the Old School Hub

Ageism is prejudice against our future selves. What if we were free of it?

Vijay Gupta

Violinist | Artistic Director | Founder, Street Symphony | Author, Restrung (Grand Central Publishing, 2026)

Music speaks to people—touches people—in ways words alone cannot.

Susan Pinker

Psychologist and Author of The Village Effect and The Sexual Paradox

Even in our digital world, human connection is the key to learning, happiness, resilience, and longevity.

Jer Thorp

Author of Living in Data | Former Library of Congress Innovator in Residence | Former NYT Data Artist-in-Residence

The future of data is about to be written—and it’s up to us to imagine a more just data democracy.