MELANIE SWAN is a Philosopher and Economic Theorist at the New School for Social Research in New York NY. She is the founder of several startups including the Institute for Blockchain Studies, DIYgenomics, GroupPurchase, and the MS Futures Group. Ms. Swan's educational background includes an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, an MA in Contemporary Continental Philosophy from Kingston University London and Université Paris 8, and a BA in French and Economics from Georgetown University. She is a faculty member at Singularity University and the University of the Commons, an Affiliate Scholar at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, and a contributor to the Edge's Annual Essay Question.
Ms. Swan's career has focused on academic research, finance, and entrepreneurship. She served as the Director of Research at Telecoms Consultancy Ovum RHK, and previously held management and finance positions at iPass in Silicon Valley, J.P. Morgan in New York, Fidelity in Boston, and Arthur Andersen in Los Angeles. Ms. Swan serves as an advisor to research foundations, government agencies, corporations, and startups. She designs collaboration simulations including "Discontinuity Futures," "Being an Entrepreneur" and "The Trader's Pit." Ms. Swan is the former Treasurer of San Francisco-based non-profit Equal Rights Advocates, an Advisory Board member of the Foundational Questions Institute, Lifeboat Foundation, and Accelerating Studies Foundation, and a workshop presenter at the Expanding Your Horizons math and science conference.