Stanford lecturer to speak on ‘Leading Like a Futurist’ at Aurora University Sept. 24

After a summer hiatus, Aurora University’s Celebrating Arts and Ideas main stage series resumes at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24.

Lisa Kay Solomon, a bestselling author, strategic foresight designer, speaker and award-winning thought leader, will explore “Leading Like a Futurist” in the Crimi Auditorium at the Institute for Collaboration, 1347 Prairie St. in Aurora. The public is invited. Admission and parking are free.

Advance registration is required by calling (630) 844-4924 or visit auartsandideas.com.

Solomon is a designer in-residence and lecturer at Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (known as Stanford d.school), where she leads their futures work. She teaches popular classes that help leaders and learners learn skills to build agency and navigate ambiguity amid increasingly complex futures.

She is the co-creator of award-winning civic initiatives like “Vote by Design: Presidential Edition,” The Team’s “All Vote No Play” civic programming for student athletes, and, most recently, “The Futures Happening: Democracy Edition.” Her work has reached tens of thousands of students and next-gen voters.

Solomon recently joined the board of The Long Now Foundation, serving on their executive committee, and helped build the K12 Futures Library at Stanford to help infuse long-term thinking and empathic decision making for the future into both classrooms and board rooms. She is an experienced host, moderator and interviewer of senior leaders and authors around complex ideas.

The applied future thinking expert co-wrote the bestselling books “Moments of Impact: How to Design Strategic Conversations that Accelerate Change,” and “Design a Better Business: New Tools, Skills, and Mindset and Strategy for Innovation,” which has been translated into over a dozen languages. She created the popular LinkedIn learning class, “Leader as Futurist,” and contributed a chapter of the same name for Des Dearlove’s “Certain Uncertainty: Leading with Agility and Resilience in an Unpredictable World.”

Aurora University's “Art and Ideas” features comprehensive arts and cultural programming, including free public lectures, musical performances and exhibits by renowned speakers and artists; the Schingoethe Center, a museum with a focus on Native American and Latin American art, offering exhibitions, collections and educational programs; and the AU Presents series, showcasing the talents of its students and faculty through various performances and events.

Call (630) 844-4924 to register or for more information.