Susan Cox-Smith

Partner, Changeist

Susan Cox-Smith leads Changeist's work in capacity building, experiential design, and public engagement. A writer, designer, creative director, and researcher with two decades of practice, she specializes in translating foresight research into narrative and experience — the work of making possible futures tangible enough for people to engage with, question, and act on.

Her projects range from global capacity programs for executive teams to participatory platforms for policymakers and practitioners. In 2021 she led the design and delivery of a global online platform exploring feminist futures post-COVID for the International Women's Development Agency, engaging more than 200 practitioners and policymakers. She co-leads Changeist's strategic simulations practice, including Foom, the firm's flagship simulation on AI futures. She designed and co-delivered the How to Future capacity-building programs at Dubai Future Academy and has shaped narrative and experience strategy for exhibitions and installations in Europe, Australia, and the Gulf.

Susan is contributing editor of How to Future (Kogan Page, 2020) and co-author of Future Cultures (Kogan Page, 2023). She was named one of Forbes 50 Leading Female Futurists in 2022. Her writing has appeared in How We Get to Next, The Next Web, and Medium.

Selected engagements

  • Institutions and agencies — UNDP, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, International Women's Development Agency, Nesta.

  • Media and communications — BBC R&D, Comcast.

  • Financial services — AXA, JPMorganChase.

  • Architecture and exhibition design — Atelier Brückner, Buro Happold, Aedas, MOD. Adelaide.

  • Gulf — Dubai Future Academy, Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development.

Teaching and affiliations

Visiting Research Fellow, University of South Australia, Instructor, Dubai Future Academy, Consultant and mentor, IED Barcelona, Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development Co-leader and project leader, 10F Consortium.

Selected speaking

Media Evolution (Malmö) · ArtScience Museum Singapore · Sibos · FACT 2025 (ACMI Melbourne) · Dubai Future Forum · UNDP Futures Series · Marató DHub (Disseny Hub Barcelona) · Earth Institute / Columbia University · A/D/O Brooklyn

Recognition

Forbes 50 Leading Female Futurists, 2022

Contact

To discuss a project, email Susan at scoxsmith@changeist.com or see what we do.

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