I began my professional storytelling career as a filmmaker, way back in the Age of Blockbuster. That work led, by chance, to a writing gig for Walt Disney Imagineering. What I thought was a temporary assignment turned into a twenty-year career that led to my current passion, helping others imagineer better tomorrows.

The path was anything but direct. As a show writer and later show producer, I helped to develop attractions visited by millions of guests to Walt Disney World and the Disneyland Resort in California. Much of that work involved creating “serious fun” by combining storytelling with the latest technology to enlighten, empower, and inspire guests. It was, in so many ways, a dream job.

Early in my Disney career, I got the chance to dig into the history of Epcot. Disney’s theme park dedicated to the future was originally conceived as a showcase for stories about great, big, beautiful tomorrows. It was through that assignment that I got my first glimpse of the power of stories to help create the future. It’s also how I got introduced to the world of professional futurists. One trip to the World Future Society’s annual gathering and I knew I had a skill theses prognosticators needed. What began as a series of workshops designed to help futurists become better storytellers led to the creation of my Strategic Narrative Foresight Technique.

Recognized for my work combining story and futures thinking, I was invited to join the Association of Professional Futurists. As part of Walt Disney Imagineering’s elite Blue Sky Studio, I led the teams that explored possible futures for The Walt Disney Studios, Disney Parks and Resorts, The Disney Company’s Corporate Citizenship Group, and Walt Disney World Operations.

In 2015, I left Disney to form Unique Visions, Inc, to help others imagineer their best tomorrows. At first, I leaned heavily into traditional futures practice, consulting for major corporations and speaking at business conferences.

By 2018, I was ready to take the next step in the prescribed consultant’s ladder to success. It was time to write my first book. The outcome of that experience was another unexpected twist in my own story. By the time I had finished Reimagining Our Tomorrows, I realized that there was an immense need for strategic narrative practices at the community level.

I shifted my focus to work with nonprofits, activist groups, community organizations and social entrepreneurs. Since then, I’ve had the good fortune to work with amazing people who are not only dreaming about better tomorrows but dedicated to making them a reality. It is their commitment and generosity that makes this phase of my work the most rewarding I have ever known.

I’ve served on the boards of directors of the Global Future Forum, Association of Professional Futurists, The Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, The Blue Community Consortium, and the Whale Center. I am currently a community fellow at the Center for Global Economic and Environmental Opportunity at the University of Central Florida. My essays and speculative fiction have appeared in professional foresight journals and popular environmental and business periodicals. 

I graduated from Emory University with a B.A. in English and received my M.A. in Communication from Florida State University. I live in Central Florida, where if current trends continue, my future grandchildren just might inherit beach front property after all.