The Femme Futurists Society Podcast

How do we lead, live, and learn—when nothing feels certain, but everything is possible?

In this deeply insightful conversation, we sit down with Ewa Pasternak, systems thinker and transformation guide, working at the intersection of systems thinking, quantum perspectives and emergent leadership to help individuals and organizations navigate liminal spaces where the old no longer fits and the new is still taking shape.

She holds a clear and grounded vision: that leaders must co-create with the emerging future guided by curiosity, courage and a deep sense of purpose. Her philosophy is rooted in beautifully powerful beliefs:

• That the questions we ask shape the realities we build
• That new vocabularies are essential for imagining new worlds
• That authenticity, fun, and essentialism are non-negotiables for flow and connection
• That ancient wisdom can illuminate our most modern dilemmas
• And that leadership is, at its heart, the art of energetic alignment and awareness

By inviting us to shift our gaze from the obvious to the unobserved, Ewa shows us that we can learn how to lead in harmony with what’s unfolding.

 Ewa Pasternak: https://ewapasternak.com/

▶️ Watch here: https://youtu.be/2i8RtmqcGr8?si=iyK9natIj7o0h_kr 

• (00:00) - Femme Futures Ewa Pasternak

Kenyan-born storyteller and global thought leader Wakanyi Hoffman explores the role of ubuntu, indigenous wisdom, and inner development in shaping a future that is more connected and compassionate - the embodiment of what it is to be human.

Erica Orange is EVP and COO of The Future Hunters, who in her new book AI + the New Human Frontier, is reimagining the future of time, trust, and truth in the Femme Futurists extraordinary women podcast series. 

INGRID LaFLEUR is founder of The Afrofuture Strategies Institute (TASI), merging foresight methodologies with the cultural movement of Afrofuturism to cultivate Afrofuture consciousness and inspire transformative action toward a just and harmonious future.

As the Founding Director of the Creative Industries Blockchain Lab and Director of Media Entrepreneurship at Georgia State University, Elizabeth is helping shape the future of media innovation, teaching students how to harness the power of technology, digital transformation, and the metaverse to tell immersive stories and launch successful businesses.

Co-Founded by Ila Colombo and her partner, world-renowned product designer Ross Lovegrove, DEOND, an AI & 3DPA practice in Dubai, are revolutionizing what’s possible in design and architecture by combining technology with human expertise and creativity to craft cutting-edge, innovative environments and advanced designs that are not only functional and beautiful, but also sustainable and responsibly tech-driven.

“By 2050 there will be more plastics in the ocean than fish”. That headline and more were what spurred Nuha Siddiqui & Kritika Tyagi to tackle what they saw as a massive opportunity: to reimagine the building blocks of plastic by pioneering new regenerative biomaterials that are now revolutionizing the plastics industry. 

This is not a new story - other companies have attempted sustainable materials to rival their conventional counterparts - however, erthos stands out for having made mind-blowing strides forward as a beacon of innovation and progress in an extremely short amount of time. Using proprietary ML/AI technology along with their team & expertise, they’ve managed to:

• exponentially change the trajectory of sustainable materials

At some point we’ll stop talking about the fact that they’ve accomplished all of this at the age of 28 yrs-old but it really is such an extraordinary achievement that it has to be said!! So we hope you’ll share, like, comment and celebrate this incredible leap forward along with us. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Episode #39. Design is not just about products and things; it applies to systems, to life, it is human. As Carissa Carter, Stanford d-school Academic Director says, “if you care about what you put out there into the world you are a designer. Everyone has the capacity to create positive change”. 

A former geo-scientist, Carissa teaches courses on the intersection of data and design for multiple sectors including climate change, emerging tech, and her work on designing with machine learning and blockchain has earned multiple design awards. 

Her just launched second book — co-authored with creative director Scott Doorley and titled: Assembling Tomorrow: a guide to designing a thriving future — is a thoughtful read (whether you consider yourself a designer or not), that offers us all a path to both “mend the mistakes of our past and shape our future for the better”. Bonus: it weaves in many speculative short stories and the most beautifully crafted illustrations.

Tune in to hear Carissa delve into: 

… the forces changing the design world

… how everything breaks but it’s what we learn from the cracks that matters

… the importance of intuition

… how there are no absolutes and embracing the in-between is key to building better

We hope it inspires you as much as it inspired us 🙌🏻

Love what you hear? Please consider sharing, liking, commenting and subscribing to our podcast.

👩‍⚕️Learn more about Carissa Carter here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carissalcarter/

📖 Learn more about Carissa’s book here: https://dschool.stanford.edu/book-collections/assembling-tomorrow

👩🏻‍💻 Our Website: www.FemmeFuturists.com

Most of us are likely very familiar with the ideas of dystopia and utopia as framing for what the future might look like, but Monika Bielskyte would submit they are still two sides of the same coin. Instead, she wants us to consider the in-between space that embodies all of the living world and consciousness—nature and human—where a different narrative takes place; a Protopian future that embodies livable & inclusive visions and is ever evolving.

As a positive world builder, speculative designer and futurist, Monika has traveled and engaged with unfolding futures in more than 100+ countries - having left her homeland that no longer exists to explore the world that does. 

Being blessed (and cursed) with what she describes as “pathological curiosity”, her fascinating journey spans academia (CCA, CSM, Lund to name a few), to Hollywood (helping world-build the vision for Wakanda & working with directors like Ridley Scott), to time in Silicon Valley, where she experienced and witnessed dysfunctional and exploitative behaviors over and over again and realized the huge knowledge gaps among those shaping our current futures. 

Believing that there is a better way, she founded Protopia Futures, a platform for showcasing how transcultural, interdisciplinary and life-centric design approaches alongside disability and neurodivergence inclusion, can help us design a better world for most of humanity, and foster regenerative economies of the future. 

Monika is not only fascinating, but in spending time with her you quickly realize that her vision of a Protopian future is one we all need; and in our case, want. 

Love what you hear? Please consider sharing, liking, commenting and subscribing to our podcast.

👩‍⚕️Learn more about Monika: https://za.linkedin.com/in/monikabielskyte

Music from Uppbeat: uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/transcend License code: D5M95QR3OT6UNHQY

Everything we do digitally is controlled or facilitated by third parties who then aggregate and monetize our data and interactions without any benefit to us. How then, do we build something that gives the person using it complete control? How do we create a more human internet?

Mary Camacho is CEO for Holo + Holochain, championing the integration and adoption of innovative peer-to-peer application infrastructure to facilitate truly independent communication that transforms how we interact digitally. Think of it as a blockchain alternative, only spectacularly better across the board; for energy consumption, for business applications and for the humans using it.

Heads up… this topic is pretty lofty but don’t be intimidated. Mary has an ability to clearly and simply describe what the next digital revolution looks like and by the end of our conversation you understand why it’s infinitely more appealing than what we have now. So the only question left to ask is, how fast can we get there?! 🤩💃🏻

Love what you hear? Please consider rating our podcast!

👩‍⚕️Learn more about Mary: https://www.holochain.org + https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryfcamacho/

Music from Uppbeat: uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/transcend License code: D5M95QR3OT6UNHQY