Theo Edmonds
Culture Futurist®

BRIEF BIO

Theo Edmonds is a Culture Futurist®, merging three decades of leadership in diverse sectors with a passion for cultural wellbeing and transformational creativity. A nontraditional “pracademic” and scholar operating at the confluence of creative industries, brain science, and the future of work and wonder, Theo’s journey embodies a relentless pursuit of bringing arts, science, and business into alignment to harmonize the human creative potential of organizations.

As an analyst, Theo skillfully identifies cultural opportunities to evolve and deepen impact agendas. As an entrepreneur, Theo believes in the power of imagination and storytelling to drive large-scale change. As a catalyst, Theo has co-created novel methods for measuring and visualizing critical skill sets, like creativity and social wellbeing, that help organizations thrive through change.

A nine-generation Appalachian, recognized artist, poet, and researcher, in 2015, Southern Living Magazine named Theo one of "50 People Changing the Face of the South" for the futurist arts leadership demonstrated in co-founding and leading IDEAS xLab with husband, Josh Miller.

Today, Theo stands ready to launch the most ambitious project of their career: Creativity America, an initiative that brings together arts and science with business to boost America’s creativity skills by 25% within the next decade.

LONG-FORM BIO

Theo Edmonds, a dynamic Culture Futurist® and innovator, encapsulates nearly three decades of strategic leadership across a spectrum of sectors. Their career is a kaleidoscope of roles that span the private, public, and nonprofit realms, each underpinned by a commitment to cultural well-being and creative innovation. At the heart of Theo's work is a unique ability to bridge a wide scope of scholarly research with pop culture, synthesizing insights across research disciplines, data analytics, and creativity sciences. Their pioneering approach makes them a popular public speaker for organizations and industries seeking to enrich the environments where people work, learn, heal, and explore.

Incorporating the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Jobs Skills Report into their practice, Theo enables organizations to discern culture trends and translate these insights into actionable, scientifically modeled strategies. Their approach encompasses three primary action roles: Analyst, Entrepreneur, and Catalyst.

As an Analyst, Theo skillfully identifies cultural opportunities to evolve and deepen impact agendas. They champion the art and science of being human in problem-finding and solving.

As an Entrepreneur, Theo believes in the power of imagination and storytelling. They support organizations in crafting and living their best narratives, staying curious enough to follow novel ideas that articulate cultural value propositions and create wonder model canvas designs to drive business growth and improve mental wellbeing.

As a Catalyst, Theo has co-created novel methods for using scientific research diagnostics. Their approach to data analytics catalyzes change by measuring and visualizing specific cultural signals, which are critical for creativity and social wellbeing in organizations.

As the Directing Co-founder of Imaginator Academy, Theo stands as a creative vanguard in cultural analytics, strategy, and futurist innovation. Their role transcends traditional boundaries, weaving a network that connects entrepreneurs, scientists, artists, and change-makers globally. Their expertise lies in uncovering latent opportunities, often missed by others, and transforming them into impactful initiatives.

Theo's influence extends through their service on prestigious boards such as the national board of directors for Americans for the Arts, the advisory board for the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association, and as a co-lead for the creativity sciences work group of the global Brain Capital Alliance. They are also the lead culture strategist for Energize Colorado’s Small Business Resiliency Index. Their contributions to industry-university collaborations have been widely acknowledged, earning them accolades, including the “Trailblazer” award for culture analytics innovation in a National Science Foundation-sponsored research lab.

Over the past decade, Theo successfully led fundraising efforts to secure millions of dollars in national grants and awards across diverse areas ranging from public health and social innovation to nonprofit arts and the creative industries.

Born into a nine-generation Appalachian family in southeastern Kentucky, Theo's journey has taken them from France to New York, Hawaii, Louisville, and New Orleans, before landing in Denver, Colorado. Having served the 2021-2022 academic year as Associate Dean for Transdisciplinary Research & Innovation at CU Denver College of Arts & Media, Theo returned to a hands-on creative works and innovation role as a research faculty team member in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences’ Master of Humanities and Master of Social Science programs (MHMSS). 

A recognized artist, poet, and entrepreneur, in 2015, Southern Living Magazine named Theo one of "50 People Changing the Face of the South" for the futurist leadership demonstrated in launching the arts and culture innovation non-profit IDEAS xLab, with husband Josh Miller, for which Theo served as CEO for its first half-decade.

Operating at the confluence of creative industries, brain science, and the future of work and wonder, Theo’s journey embodies a relentless pursuit of integrating creativity into every facet of the human experience. Today, Theo stands ready to launch the most ambitious project of their career: Creativity America, an initiative that ambitiously aims to boost American creativity skills by 25% within the next decade. A marriage of artistic vision, entrepreneurial action, and scientific research, this innovative program is designed to transform organizational culture and strategy, focusing on enhancing the human experience of innovation.