Kathleen Cohen is known as a Tech Humanist and an XR Immersive Strategist with over 25+ years building both user and guest experiences.
Founder of The Collaboratorium, a consultancy focusing on XR Research, XR Strategy & Production, as well as Public Engagement, Kathleen's clients range from Megacity, Gigacity projects to Health & Wellness implementations, as well as Media & Entertainment. Her XR Research focuses on key learnings from both the Indigenous Science and the Neurodivergent communities.
Kathleen’s background as a Creative and a Producer includes: DreamWorks Interactive, IBM Centers for Innovation and Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. Kathleen also was the former Vice President of Digital Innovation & Integration for The National Constitution Center helping to tell the contemporary story of the U.S. Constitution. Kathleen sits on the Advisory Board of holoride (Munich); a spinout of Audi innovation, think passenger entertainment, or XR in your car. For the past five years, Kathleen has also been the Jury Chair and Keynote Speaker for the AUREA Award, a conference and awards show, focusing on global excellence in immersive XR entertainment, hosted by Europa-Park.
Kathleen's past talks include: Presentense®, A Place Called Now®, Being Human, Becoming Human and Beyond Human® IRL vs. XR®, The Future and Present Converge(s)®. and Meet Your Digital Twin®, a talk about the land rush to recreating humans.
SXSW 2025: Reclamation City: A Digital Twin Project
Digital twins, a virtual tool used to simulate real environments, are being used by professionals across industries; but what if we took the technology out of the board rooms and into our community centers? The Reclamation digital twin project trains community partners to create sensor-monitored digital twins, and uses the designs to transform blighted urban areas into immersive green spaces. By creating replicable workflows, workshops, and an educational toolkit, the project teaches meaningful tech skills to the community and nurtures a sustainable future for their neighborhoods. Hear from stakeholders about how to implement digital twins for your communities and businesses.
SXSW 2025: Featured Speaker: Kathleen Cohen
Kathleen Cohen is known as a Tech Humanist, an XR/AI Immersive Strategist and Educator with over 25+ years building both user and guest experiences in media, gaming, world-building, theme parks and location-based entertainment.
Her consultancy, The Collaboratorium, focuses on three areas; XR/AI Research, Client Projects and Public Engagement. Kathleen’s clients range from megacity, gigacity projects to media & entertainment and health & wellness implementations. Her XR/AI Research focuses on key learnings from indigenous wisdom, neurodivergence and conscious leadership.
Currently, Kathleen is teaming up to build a City of Los Angeles Reclamation project – helping to turn abandoned parcels of land into immersive, urban sanctuaries.
AWE Panel: The City of Los Angeles and Immersive Innovation
This panel gathers several key thought leaders representing the Mayor’s Office of The City of L.A, LA-based Arizona State University and LA Trade Tech College to discuss immersive XR projects happening around town. The discussion will be led by Kathleen Cohen, Tech Humanist and XR Strategist who has brought these brilliant minds together to reflect the current perspectives of local programs.
The City of L.A. uses innovative technologies to address a wide variety of real-world challenges. Dawn Comer and Rachel Kornak from the Mayor’s Office of Finance, Operations and Innovation will discuss several initiatives that focus on providing equitable access to City services, reducing the digital divide, supporting small businesses, training youth for jobs of the future and advancing digital transformation of government services.
Aurea Award 2022
AUREA is the leading European conference in VR, AR, XR, MR, and immersive entertainment. It’s a global community of leaders at the intersection of immersive technology, a forum for creators to build the products of tomorrow, and a space for for innovators to interact, engage, and learn. We strive to highlight the latest trends, celebrate excellence, and kickstart collaboration. Building on the success of our digital event last year, the 4th annual AUREA Award will combine physical, virtual, and digital formats. The event is presented by Europa-Park, whose industry-leading expertise offers attendees a chance to experience the latest entertainment.
AUREA Award: MackNeXT Honours International Pioneers of AR/VR Technology
January 19-20, 2021
Panel Discussion – The Essential Role of Storytelling in a Pandemic and Post Pandemic World. A passionate discussion from women in XR during Covid.
Moderator: Kathleen Cohen
Panelist: Cathy Hackl, Emily Olman and Amy Jupiter
Meet The Digital Embalmers Helping Celebrities, Brands And Individuals Plan Their Digital Afterlives
What happens when a company’s CEO who’s active on social media passes away? Does his family or the brand own what he said, tweeted, uploaded while he worked in the c-suite? Can the CEO be brought back as a hologram for a shareholders meeting?
