Swarming over and under the currents
The Global Swarm
Board of Directors
You can find us all across the globe, from Nairobi to Mexico City and Taipei. We work in academia, civil society, and local communities to support people-led futures.
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As a co-operartive and a community platform, we focus on doing good work and having a strong community. As members join the co-op they will be featured here (if they wish). For now, we’re showing the folks who are putting the work to initiating and sustaining the community. We hope you will join us in our efforts.
Steven Lichty has over 25 years’ experience with strategic foresight, international development, research, evaluation, consulting, and humanitarian response across Africa, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Americas. Steven completed his doctoral studies in African studies, anthropology, and political theory; with a graduate degrees in futures studies, international relations, development, and political science; and an undergraduate education in business, economics, and communications.
– Co-founder and Managing Partner of REAL Consulting Group
– Social architect and founder of The Frontline Group
– Founder/Director of REAL Studio
– Founder/Director of Frontline Futures
– Global experience in over 80 countries
Barbara Bok’s most recent focus as a strategic foresight researcher and facilitator focuses on the built environments, their governance and technologies, evolution and futures. She aims to advance responsible strategic foresight and futures studies (FS) at collective levels. Her research has explored this interest from postgraduate education and futures methodology perspectives. Barbara has previously worked at Swinburne University of Technology in the low-carbon living urban studies at the Centre for Urban Transitions and in the digital technology and foresight studies utilising morphological scenarios at the Faculty of Business and Law. Barbara is passionate about the intersection of FS with STS and the creative and generative effects of using the future and what that means for more-than-human lives. Prior to her academic career, she worked in engineering and technology roles in the process manufacturing and minerals processing industrie
Jose Ramos is a social innovator, researcher, advocate for the commons and a mutant futurist. He has 20 years as a futures thinker / advocate, writer and organiser. He has a great passion for exploring who we are as planetary beings, which includes ethnographic study of alternative globalizations, writings on planetary stigmergy / collaboration, and research on cosmo-localization. This line of work connects him to the truth that we are all brothers and sisters on a planet that we mutually depend on for our survival and wellbeing – our shared commons.
He is originally from California of Mexican ancestry. Born in Oakland, he grew up in a very multi-cultural suburb of Los Angeles. After living in Japan and Taiwan, where he studied Japanese and Mandarin, he moved to Melbourne Australia to be with his wife, De Chantal. They have two children, son Ethan and daughter Rafaela.
Chun-Yin San is a long-time contributor to the participatory futures field, with a decade of experience applying inclusive foresight approaches across public, multilateral, and community sectors. He was involved in the early scoping work that led to Nesta’s Our Futures report in 2017 and continues to stay active as a member of the Participatory Futures Global Swarm. He has shared reflections on participatory practice through invitations to speak at TEDNext, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and the UNDP Thailand Policy Lab.
Chun-Yin currently leads the Strategy, Foresight & Futures practice at ThinkPlaceˣ, where he supports a team of 10 and manages a portfolio of foresight and strategy work spanning Australia and the Asia-Pacific. His work focuses on creating space for diverse voices to shape the future – from national volunteering strategy to agricultural reform – and has been recognised through Australian Good Design Awards.
He holds degrees in science communication and biomedical science from Imperial College London and is completing an Executive MBA at UNSW AGSM. He is keen to support the continued growth of PFGS as a shared platform for learning, experimentation, and community building in participatory and transformative futures.
Donna Dupont is a Foresight and Design Strategist with a focus in disaster risk management. She explores emerging and potential future risk. I use strategic foresight and design methods to identify opportunities for preparedness, recovery, adaptation and transformation, to enhance the future well-being and resiliency of communities.
After years of working in health care and emergency management and dealing with complex systems, Donna became interested in learning about design methods that support a holistic approach, help navigate complexity and engage with uncertainty in order to support innovative and sustainable solutions.
Member: Association of Professional Futurists (APF), International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), Canadian Risks & Hazards Network (CRHNet); Archipelago of Design / Innovation Methodologies for Defence Challenges (IMDC) DND MINDS collaborative network; Special Operation Forces (SOF) Hive Minds Project
Daniel Riveong is an academically trained futurist and was a 2018 Emerging Fellow for the Association of Professional Futurists on Global South issues. Daniel’s foresight work includes use of gaming for participatory foresight, workshop facilitation, foresight tools development, futures-related research, and report development. In his previous career, Daniel was the Asian region GM for a digital consultancy in Kuala Lumpur. He co-led digital transformation workshops for Yves Saint Laurent to Fitness First. He has also co-presented papers with the Indonesian Statistics Agency.
- Diverse foresight experience – from foresight toolkits for innovation teams to futures-focused reports on complex multi-domain systems
- Led foresight and digital transformation workshops in Asia, Europe, US
- Researched Global South economies with APF & Indonesian Government
Abril Chimal is a curious mind who found a perfect playground for exploration between creative design and academic knowledge within futures. She has a graphic design background and a specialization in Design of Tomorrow at CENTRO in Mexico City. At present, she is the Chief Pollinator for the Participatory Futures Global Swarm. In her position, she creates an intersectional space to foster Participatory Futures projects around the globe. Abril has been a speaker, facilitator, collaborator, and mentor with UNDP Panama, UNDP RBAS, and UNDP Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is also professor of Futures Thinking & Creativity at CENTRO in Mexico City and also serves as the Technical Editor for the Journal of Futures Studies. To catch a glimpse of the past, presents and future of Mexico City, check out her Instagram: @abrilchimal
Elaine France brings together 30 years of experience in social change to catalyze flourishing futures for all, capacity-building through foresight to develop inclusive and responsive innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems reconnected with Nature as a Stakeholder. She works with multi-stakeholders in intergenerational, multi-cultural settings, including with the UN, Governments, Public Sector, Private Sector and Civil Society. She is the Founder of Flow In Action (https://www.flowinaction.org) – a boutique consultancy – and the Flourishing Futures Collective, Guest Lecturer at Geneva Responsible Entrepreneurship Center (GREC) at the University of Geneva and Co-Chair of the Millennium Project – Swiss Node.
Jeanne Hoffman is an experienced foresight practitioner, strategist, and educator with over two decades of global leadership in futures thinking, organisational transformation, and participatory governance. She has worked across government, education, and the nonprofit sectors, guiding boards and executive teams through complex strategy development, scenario planning, and innovation processes.
Jeanne is the founder of Anticipating Futures, a consultancy that helps organisations build future-ready cultures and capabilities. She co-led the Oceania Futures and Foresight Symposium and regularly facilitates strategy workshops. Her governance work is grounded in insight, inclusion, and long-term impact, with a deep commitment to ethical leadership and systems transformation.
Jeanne has held academic positions in Australia and Asia, edited peer-reviewed journals, and is known for shaping conversations and practices in public sector strategy, emergency services, and peacebuilding. She is particularly skilled in engaging diverse stakeholders and aligning strategy with purpose and possibility.