Martha Thorne is Dean of IE School of Architecture & Design, part of the innovative IE University in Madrid/Segovia, Spain. She also is Executive Director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, a position she has held since 2005. From 1995 to 2005, she worked as a curator in Department of Architecture at The Art Institute of Chicago. She has written numerous articles for books and journals on contemporary architecture and the city. She served on the Board of Directors of the International Archive of Women in Architecture and the Graham Foundation for Fine Arts. She has participated on juries for the new National Museum of Chinese Art, Zaryadye Park in Moscow and ArcVision – Women and Architecture Prize, among others.Ms. Thorne received a Master of City Planning degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Affairs from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She undertook additional studies at the London School of Economics.

After his studies of Environmental Engineering in Germany, Frank Rogalla obtained an MSc degree as a Fulbright student in the US and has worked at major companies in the private utility sector worldwide, primarily in research and innovation, for nearly three decades. Specialized in advanced technology for water treatment and reuse, Frank holds a handful of groundbreaking patents and was instrumental in bringing high rate treatment systems to full scale for the first time in Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Spain, UK, US, and Venezuela. Currently, Frank leads a group of 30 researchers at Aqualia, Spain, in association with over 50 universities and research centers around the world in the development of processes in nutrient and bioenergy recovery, algae biofuel or fertilizers, sustainable desalination or reuse as well as smart management of infrastructure. His role is to bring concepts from the lab to full, reducing the environmental footprint and improving the sustainability of water cycles.

Mu Sochua is a member of the National Assembly of Cambodia, representing Battambang for the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), and is also the Vice-President of the CNRP. She previously served as Cambodia’s Minister of Women’s and Veterans Affairs from 1998 and 2004. In addition to her work in government, she has spend decades as a human rights advocate, particularly for marginalized groups, including migrants, workers, and women, and is a Board Member of ASEAN Parliament for Human Rights (APHR), a regional network of lawmakers from ASEAN member states.

Clara Bütow is the founder of Impact Revolution, a podcast and event platform for social impact and sustainability. Besides co-founding the first European B Impact team that supports social enterprises to obtain B Corp certifications, Clara is also the president of makesense in Madrid, a growing global network of social entrepreneurs, businesses and civil society. Together with her partners, Clara organizes events focused on topics like waste, inequality, migration, and tech for change; and teaches design thinking workshops on impact maximization strategy. In July 2018, Clara will finish her dual degree in business and international relations at IE.

Catharina Doria is a Brazilian first-year student at the Bachelor in Communication and Digital Media Program at IE University. Though only 19 years old, she is heavily invested in social causes. She has been elected as representative of the State of Sao Paulo in the “Girl Guide Movement” and was part of the Brazilian delegation for the United Nation’s COP21 and the Youth Conference in Paris. At the tender age of 16, Catharina developed a mobile app to map sexual harassment in Brazil. In a matter of a few weeks, “Sai Pra Lá” became viral. It caught the country’s media’s attention and, since, Catharina has made several appearances on national TV to discuss gender-related issues.

Dr. Karen Nelson is a Jamaican-born American microbiologist noted for her research on Thermotoga maritima at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) which demonstrated the existence of horizontal gene transfer. Her team published the first ever human microbiome study in 2006. Dr. Nelson has authored or co-authored over 190 peer reviewed publications, edited three books, and is currently Editor-in-Chief of the journal Microbial Ecology. Karen is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and serves on their Board ofLife Sciences. Other honors include being named ARCS Scientist of the Year 2017; elected to the Indian Academy of Sciences in 2018; a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology; an Honorary Professor at the University of the West Indies; and a Helmholtz International Fellow. Moreover, Scientific American named Dr. Nelson as one of biotechnology’s “leading lights” in its 2015 “The Worldview 100.” Dr. Nelson was educated at the University of the West Indies and earned a Ph.D. from Cornell University.

Creative and strategic consultant currently working for Barrabés Group, as well as Strategic Design Teacher (IE, IED), Design Director of Zentre, Donostia Design Institute and contributor in a number of creative, social and technology initiatives. Former Chief Experience Officer of Grupo Prisa, Alberto spent the last 20 years exploring the relation of people with digital media as artist, designer, entrepreneur, business consultant or media executive, working for global digital media players (Yahoo!, ITV, Prisa), technology companies and banking, but also starting new businesses in the fields of media, technology and creative consultancy. Alberto is always driven by the aim of trying to make the world slightly more beautiful, useful and meaningful.