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Speaking Engagements

Keynote, Jury Chair, Moderator, Presenter

*2023 AUREA Award, Kathleen Cohen, Keynote Speaker & Jury Chair
Speaking Engagements Icon

Speaking Engagements

Keynote, Jury Chair, Moderator, Presenter

Kathleen speaks around the globe about tech humanism, tech immersion and the value proposition for all of us engulfed in this new definition of “reality”, as we head into the near future. Kathleen addresses the stampede of new ideas with respect to interaction / immersive design, experience design, AI and world building whether it's spatial computing, digital twinning or the “m" word (metaverse). General themes include: human values, sustainability development, inclusion, and responsibility.

AWE Panel: The City of Los Angeles and Immersive Innovation

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.

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Interested in booking Kathleen for your next event?

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2021 Aurea Award Keynote, Present Future

On January 22 and 23, a group of ten masked individuals bumped elbows at an empty theme park in Southern Germany. It was the beginning of the third AUREA Awards & Conference, an two-day event that brings together almost 300 creative professionals, Tech Humanists, Futurists, crypto-artists, cartoonists, a virtual DJ and more from all over the world.

Over the past two years, AUREA has created a tight-knit community through its two-day event. People network. Participants trade ideas. They ride Europa Park’s famous roller coasters together.

Yet this January, due to the unprecedented global pandemic, the Mack family behind Germany’s famous Europa-Park hosted an online-offline event. How to describe this unparalleled and unique conference? To put it in words, it was something like: watching the Oscars, but unlike the Oscars, you can ask the host questions, direct message the presenters, meet the artists in your own SIMS-like character on AltspaceVR and even have a spontaneous zoom call with a celebrity or two in a Chat Roulette style networking session.

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Immerse Global Summit VRARA, Metaverse 2.0

Get ready for two days of disruptive ideas and ground-breaking insights as we bring together the most revolutionary minds and reflect on best practices for entertainment and business.

Join our virtual event!

We’re here to collaborate for a better metaverse!

Learn what the best minds in the industry are focusing on

Skip the cliches and dive deep into the real issues

Get an insider view on how the leading companies see the future, and how they’re planning to get there

Connect & network with others

Our previous METAVERSE event had an audience of 10K+

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AWEXR – Does Medium Matter? Storytelling in XR Vs. IRL

Does it matter whether a momentary event is physical, digital, virtual OR is an experience an experience? Our panel brings together leading designers from both the traditional experience world (e.g. theme parks) and the immersive experience world (e.g.,VR) to debate this exact topic and determine whether each needs its own tools or whether—and how—the same definitions, toolsets, taxonomies and frameworks might be applied to both. Where do they fall short? Where do they reach too far? Is “experience” already the same but merely without a shared language? How can we best use what already exists so that, as we create in XR, we’re standing on the shoulders of giants? Our panelists will conclude with concrete answers, providing tools you can use today to create the experiences of tomorrow.

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FMX Online 2021 – Reimagine Tomorrow

FMX Online 2021 – Reimagine Tomorrow

For the 25th time, FMX assembles the very best of animation, effects, games and immersive media in 2021. Join us for the first online edition of FMX on May 4-6 and meet professionals and students from around the world virtually!

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RealTime Conference: The Rise of the Metaverse – Merging Physical and Digital Worlds

RealTime Conference: The Rise of the Metaverse – Merging Physical and Digital Worlds

The RealTime Conference brings together leaders and innovators in real-time across industries and around the globe to share and spur the myriad ways in which real-time is changing how we work, play, and live.

The RealTime Conference features live keynote presentations, panel discussions, Q&As, chats, networking breaks, and our Virtual Meet-With-The-Speakers Lounge which offers our real-time community the opportunity to interact with each other in multiple ways, generating a unique sense of togetherness and camaraderie despite the physical distance.

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Previous Engagements

AWE Nite LA
  • 9/2020: Virtual Panelist: AWE Nite LA – Digital Democracy 2020, LA, CA
  • 7/2020: Virtual Panelist: AWE Nite LA – Ethical Considerations of Immersive, LA, CA
Perkins&Will
  • 4/2020 – LA Forward Seven “The New Now” – Immersive Panel
  • 5/2019: E(x)plore Lunch Series – AR / VR / MR / XR in Architecture
VRTO ( Virtual Reality Toronto)
  • 6/2020: Virtual Speaker: VRTO – Digital Twins, Toronto, Canada
ULI (Urban Land Institute)
  • 5/2020: Virtual Speaker: Urban Land Institute (ULI) – Entertainment Development Council, LA, CA
  • 2014-2017: Speaker: (ULI) The Future of The Experience Vancouver, Canada & NYC, NY
FMX2020
  • Invited to Keynote: FMX2020 – Meet Your Digital Twin, Stuttgart, Germany
NAB
  • 4/2020: Invited Panelist: NAB – USC’s vETC, Virtual Beings, Las Vegas, NV
Treefort / Storyfort / Hackfort
  • 3/2020: Invited: Speaker: Treefort / Storyfort – Immersive Storytelling, Boise, ID
  • 3/2020: Invited: Moderator: Treefort / Hackfort – From Burning Man to Ready Player One, Boise, ID
  • 2019: Speaker: Treefort / Hackfort, The 5 Personas of You – Boise, ID
AR / VR Aurea Awards
  • 2020: Jury Chair / Keynote: AR / VR Aurea Awards, Europa-Park®, Rust, Germany
  • 2018: Jury Chair / Keynote: AR / VR Aurea Awards – Europa-Park® & Mack Media – Rust, Germany
Institute For The Future
  • 2019: Panelist – Institute For The Future, 10yr. Forecasting Summit, SF, CA
The I/O Summit
  • 2019: Speaker: The I/O Summit, Meet Your Digital Twin, Lincoln, NE
USC's vETC
  • 2019: Speaker: USC’s vETC Grand Convergence: Virtual Beings, LA, CA
Gray Area Festival
  • 2019: Speaker: GrayAreaFestival.io, Meet Your Digital Twin, SF, CA
The Guardians
  • 2019: Speaker: The Guardians, Meet Your Digital Twin, LA, CA
AIShow.Biz Summit 3.0
  • 2019: Speaker: The Guardians, Meet Your Digital Twin, LA, CA
Combat Brigade Radio One
  • 2019: Podcast: Combat Brigade Radio One – Universal® – Host: Ethen Dettenmaier
MiceChat - Disney® Legend
  • 2019: Interviewer: MiceChat – Disney® Legend, Buzz Price – Buzz at Thirty Thousand Feet
World IA Day
  • 2019: Speaker: World IA Day – Design For a Difference – The Future is.. – LA, CA
BU Alum
  • 2019: Panelist: Emerging Tech: The Evolution of AR / VR Tech – BU Alum
ProductCon
  • 2018: Speaker: ProductCon – The Future is Overrated Compared to Human Ingenuity, LA, CA
CIO Summit
  • 2018: Speaker: CIO Summit – The Future is Overrated Compared to Human Ingenuity, SF, CA
Storytek / Estonia
  • 2018: Mentor / Speaker: Storytek / Estonia – Content & Media – Tech Accelerator
  • 2017: Speaker: StoryTek / Estonia – AV, Tech, Entrepreneurs & Content Creators, Tallinn, Estonia
Tallinn Music Week, Estonia
  • 2018: Speaker / Panelist: Tallinn Music Week (TMW) Creative Impact Conference, Tallinn, Estonia
Themed Entertainment Assoc.
  • 2018: Moderator / Speaker: Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) Future of Engagement, LA, CA
General Assembly
  • 2018: Speaker: General Assembly – UX / UI, Gaming & Experience Design, LA, CA
SpaceTech Summit
  • 2018: Speaker / Panelist: SpaceTech Summit – Panelist – Draper U, From Corp. to Citizen, SF, CA
AI.LA
  • 2017: Panelist: AI.LA – Interactive Exploration of Art + Technology, LA, CA
Product School
  • 2017: Speaker: Product School – Gaming, Story & Experience Design, LA, CA
A4LE
  • 2014-2017: Speaker: Architecture, Association for Learning Environments, Make>Play>Learn Tempe, AZ
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