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CLEMENT BEZOLD

Founder and Chairman of the Board

Clement Bezold is founder and chairman of the Institute for Alternative Futures.  Dr. Bezold established IAF in 1977 and in 1982 he started IAF’s for-profit subsidiary, Alternative Futures Associates, to assist corporations in their strategic planning using futures methods.  He has been a major developer of foresight techniques, applying futures research and strategic planning methods in both the public and private sectors.  As a consultant, Dr. Bezold has worked with many Fortune 500 companies along with major organizations, including the World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health, the Rockefeller Foundation, AARP and the American Cancer Society.

Dr. Bezold has published numerous books and reports on the future of government, the courts and healthcare.  He is a consulting editor of the Journal of Futures Studies and is on the editorial or advisory boards of Technology Forecasting and Social Change, foresight, and World Future Review.  Dr. Bezold received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Florida.  He has been assistant director of the Center for Governmental Responsibility at the University of Florida Law School and a Visiting Scholar at the Brookings Institution.

JONATHAN PECK

President

Jonathan Peck provides a wide range of research, consulting, speaking, meeting design and facilitation services.  A certified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) practitioner, Mr. Peck has integrated psychological patterns and insights into his facilitation of vision, mission, and strategic processes for corporations, organizations and government agencies.  He led IAF’s 2019: Health Care That Works for All project, which has sketched out a visionary outcome of ten years of U.S. healthcare reform.   His work on the future of health spans scientific, economic, political and social changes that can be addressed with an understanding of complex systems dynamics.

Mr. Peck has co-authored two books and written numerous articles which have been published in Business and Health, Pharmaceutical Executive, Food & Drug Law Review, Clinical Cancer Research, The Monitor, Futures Research Quarterly and many other publications.  Mr. Peck received his Master’s degree at the Futures Studies Program in the Political Science Department of the University of Hawaii.

WILLIAM ROWLEY, MD

Senior Fellow

Dr. Bill Rowley is a subject matter expert and frequent keynote speaker on possible futures for a full range of health care issues.  He has analyzed trends and developed forecasts and scenarios for specific diseases, advances in biotechnology, the evolution of health systems, and the future of various health professions.  He has written articles for numerous publications including U.S. Medicine, Surgery, Stroke, Managed Care, foresight, and Naval Institute Proceedings.
 
His extensive leadership experience includes being chief operating officer of one academic medical center and executive officer of two others.  He led the start-up of a managed care organization with 900,000 members.  At one medical center he oversaw half a billion dollars of new construction and renovations while making the transition into a regional managed care system.  He achieved the rank of Rear Admiral in the United States Navy.

Dr. Rowley received a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and a Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Minnesota.  He has attended courses of study at the University of Southern California, Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, George Washington University and Webster University.

ERIC MEADE

Vice President & Senior Futurist

Eric Meade has developed forecasts and scenarios for a variety of clients, including AARP, the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD), the Rockefeller Foundation, and others.  He was a panelist on “The Futures of China” at the 2009 annual conference of the World Future Society.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Meade worked as a business executive and entrepreneur in Asia, where he set up the China sourcing operation of Melissa & Doug, Inc., a major U.S. toy manufacturer.  He speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese and has a deep understanding of Chinese culture and business practices.  Previously, Mr. Meade served as a nuclear submarine officer in the U.S. Navy.

Mr. Meade has a Master’s in Business Administration from INSEAD, where he was awarded the Marakon Associates scholarship, and a Bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Virginia, where he graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa and was selected to live on Thomas Jefferson’s historic Lawn based on his contribution to the University.

BEN SHEPPARD

Senior Associate

Ben Sheppard, Ph.D. designs and runs war game simulations using IAF’s futures tools.  These scenario planning exercises, which are based on war gamingk and customized for corporations, NGO's, and governments, examine the robustness of current and alternative decision making and of organizational structures under various internal and external environments.

Dr. Sheppard also consults on resilience planning on man-made and natural disasters, with a particular focus on terrorism and pandemic flu strategies. His work examines how the public responds to terrorist attacks and what authorities can do in such situations, combining international relations and risk analysis techniques (risk communication and risk perception) to enhance homeland security policy development and decision making.  Sheppard is the author of The Psychology of Strategic Terrorism: Public and Government Responses to Attack (published by Routledge, 2009).  He received his Ph.D. from the War Studies Department at King's College London in the U.K. and is also an Adjunct Fellow of the Potomac Institute, in Washington DC. Sheppard regularly publishes articles on terrorism including for Jane's Defence Weekly.  He is also a Professorial Lecturer at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Relations where he teaches the graduate course Political Risk Analysis.

CRAIG BETTLES

Associate

Craig Bettles has contributed to a diverse array of IAF projects from healthcare to rural land use.  Mr. Bettles is also an accomplished speaker and facilitator for clients such as the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).  He was the lead researcher and writer for IAF’s bold look at the future of biomedical R&D, The 2029 Project: Creating an Ethical Future for Biomedical R&D.  He was deeply involved in the development of reports on the future of technology for reducing health disparities through the Biomonitoring Futures Project and the Disparity Reducing Advances Project.  He has also been involved in foresight and strategy development for Fortune 500 clients as a member of AFA.

Mr. Bettles offers a wide-ranging perspective that covers issues in science, technology, energy, and the environment with an emphasis on their relationship to public policy and international affairs.  He has a Master's degree in International Science and Technology Policy, with a concentration in Energy and Environmental Policy, from the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University.