Cynthia selin

Dr. Cynthia Selin is a pioneering social scientist and strategic foresight expert who develops innovative methodologies to navigate complex change and explores the theoretical frontiers of anticipation.

Dr. Selin is an Associate Fellow at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, where she is core faculty in the Oxford Scenarios Programme and teaches executives worldwide. She is a former Associate Professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University, USA, where she founded the Center for the Study of Futures and remains a Faculty Fellow at the Center for Science and the Imagination.

In 2017, Dr. Selin founded Scenaric, a consulting firm that creates cutting-edge tools empowering diverse organizations to navigate uncertain futures and manage innovation effectively. Drawing on over two decades of experience in strategy, engagement design, and scenario planning, she partners with clients to clarify challenges, test strategies, identify opportunities, and shape policy options.

Dr. Selin's consultancy and research focus on how we envision and respond to rapid, novel change. Her work explores the transformative interplay between emerging technologies and society, examining innovation's social, political, environmental, and ethical implications. She specializes in developing future-focused methodologies that unravel the socio-political uncertainties, ambiguities, and complexities surrounding emerging technologies, from nanotechnology to AI.

Throughout her career, Dr. Selin has pioneered new approaches to foster deeper, more imaginative thinking about alternative futures, aiming to cultivate more sustainable, equitable, and just systems. Her substantial body of work includes over 40 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, edited volumes, and special issues on foresight, innovation, and sustainability.

Dr. Selin is a sought-after speaker and thought leader who delivers keynotes and presentations globally. She holds a PhD in Knowledge and Management from Copenhagen Business School's Institute for Politics, Philosophy and Management, an MA in Science and Technology Studies from Roskilde University (Denmark), and a BA in American Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
 

A copy of Dr. Selin's CV may be found here.