Who am i?

I’m a polymath, participatory futurist, sociotechnical architect, and ontological designer — learning how to live, design, and build with and for life.

In response to today’s metacrisis — a convergence of ecological, cultural, and existential challenges — my career has unfolded not as a linear progression but as a mycelial exploration, guided by curiosity, deep inquiry, and a dedicated practice of cultivating coherence, care, and transformative possibility. My intention is to foster [r]evolutionary thinking rooted in post-tragic, protopian audacity.

Over the past 18 years, I’ve fluidly navigated diverse disciplines, industries, and geographies, shaping platforms, protocols, and communities along the way. Whether collaborating with global institutions, visionary artists, innovative technologists, or cultural stewards, my work consistently aligns purpose with process, values with structure, and imagination with implementation.

My transdisciplinary approach informs my identity as a polymath and my role as a participatory futurist — helping groups collaboratively envision and prototype regenerative futures. As a sociotechnical architect, I design frameworks attuned to cultural nuance and systemic integrity. As an ontological designer, I explore how form and structure influence meaning and behavior, recognizing these as essential leverage points for navigating complexity and fostering polycentric governance.

Ultimately, my work centers on asking transformative questions and cultivating environments — systems, stories, and spaces —where trust deepens, imagination flourishes, and protopian possibilities naturally emerge.

Current Roles


OpenCivics
Co-founder & Steward

a network and design framework empowering open civic innovators, organizers, and patrons

Far Field Farms
Village Steward

a local land project rooted in land-based community care and relational wisdom.

Luminary Society
Experience Director

a series of social experiences exploring the fusion of sacred and satirical participatory play

Kosmic Gardener
Curator

a knowledge gardening practice for organizing and sharing my thinking and research

Future Historic
Metadesigner

a design studio exploring possible futures and creating frameworks for protopian pathways

Open to Collaboration
Message me →

Always open to new opportunities
and potential synergies

Current Fascinations & Areas of inquiry • Explore garden


Community-Led
Placemaking

Regenerative Economics &
Sustainable Development

Open Civic
Innovation

Knowledge
Commoning

Organizational Design
& Self-Governance

P2P Networks &
Web3 Technologies

Systems Thinking
& Complexity Science

Bioregionalism
& Rights of Nature

Metamodernism &
Cultural Emergence

Imagination Activism
& Meta Narratives

Transformative
Human Experiences

Cognitive Liberty &
Ontological Design

A few favourite Creations • Explore full Archive →


kind words from collaborators


“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete”

– Buckminster Fuller

my mission


Spark [r]evolutionary thinking and transformative practices that reshape relational, cultural, and systemic conditions — cultivating coherence, participation, and regenerative possibilities within decentralized, polycentric, and care-centered systems.

Attune Being

At the personal scale, I nuture personal transformation through ontological clarity, embodied coherence, and reflective practice.

Cultivate Relationship

At the collective scale, I support teams and networks in shaping participatory structures that foster trust, reciprocity, and mutual agency.

Design with Life

At the systems scale, I develop protocols, practices, infrastructures that align with living systems for planetary well-being.

my vision


A future where thriving communities, resilient systems, and planetary well-being emerge naturally from cultures of participation, shared stewardship, and regenerative self-governance.

I believe humanity stands at the threshold of a great unraveling — a time when exponential change and existential reckoning converge. Some call it the polycrisis, others the metacrisis: a tangled convergence of systemic breakdowns across ecology, economy, governance, and culture. But beneath every collapse lies a deeper wound — a forgetting of our belonging to the living systems that sustain us. In severing ourselves from nature, we have not only lost resilience but also the imaginative capacity to dream futures worthy of life itself.

To move beyond collapse, we must turn toward the principles that life itself teaches: regeneration, reciprocity, emergence. Nature is not a resource to be exploited, but a masterwork of design to be honored and emulated. Reweaving our systems — of governance, economy, and culture — into alignment with these living principles may allow us to heal what has been broken.

This is not a moment for incremental reform. It calls for a renaissance of imagination, a renewal of participation, and a radical remembering of our interbeing with all life. It asks us to listen more deeply, to experiment more honestly, and to make space for new patterns to take root.

By evolving how we imagine, organize, and relate, I believe we can ignite a cultural shift — one that restores meaning, reveals new possibilities, and builds systems rooted in care. In the ruins of the old world, a more beautiful future is already stirring — waiting to be remembered, reimagined, and made real.

“It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be... This, in turn, means that our statesmen, our businessmen, our everyman must take on a science fictional way of thinking.”

– Isaac Asimov

my professional career


Short Bio

Patricia Parkinson is a polymath, participatory futurist, sociotechnical architect, and ontological designer whose work explores how systems, stories, and spaces shape our identities and our collective futures. With nearly two decades of transdisciplinary experience spanning civic innovation, decentralized technology, cultural strategy, and participatory design, Patricia creates environments that nurture trust, coherence, and collective capacity — ranging from governance frameworks and civic protocols to immersive experiences and digital infrastructures.

As co-founder of OpenCivics, Patricia stewards living experiments in participatory governance, decentralized coordination, and cultural architecture. She collaborates closely with visionary artists, technologists, and community organizers to prototype regenerative futures. Patricia’s practice is deeply rooted in creating conditions where coherence naturally emerges, care becomes cultural, and the future is actively practiced into being.

Career Highlights

  • Started using computers in 1990, building on the web since 1998.

  • First entrepreneurial endeavor launched at the age of 11.

  • Began career at 16 as a broadcast journalist on community television.

  • Worked in fintech and financial news during the 2008 global financial crisis.

  • Advised major banks and service firms on early digital transformation.

  • Organized and led remote collaborative teams for over 15 years.

  • Helped design national-scale financial and digital literacy programs.

  • Co-designed the world’s largest blockchain encyclopedia.

  • Supported the first U.S. election results announced on the blockchain by AP.

  • Designed a digital content marketplace for a Chinese school pilot program.

  • Designed and executed the first online global event for MAPS.

  • Supported Burning Man’s transition to decentralized and digital experiences.

  • Pioneered a $100M film partnership between Chinese and American studios.

  • Built one of the first metaverse platforms to support NFTs.

  • Advised Esalen Institute on hybrid event strategy evolution.

  • Incubated the southern hemisphere’s largest professional speaking institute.

  • Led a pandemic-era digital campaign engaging 15M+ participants

Past Clients & Collaborators

I've had the privilege of collaborating with an extraordinary range of organizations across various sectors, including:

ANZ Bank · ATYP (Australian Theatre for Young People) · BioFi Project · BlockOne · Burning Man Project · Buckminster Fuller Institute · Center for Humane Technology · China Mobile · Clever · Commonwealth Bank · Consciousness Hacking · Design Science Studio · Esalen Institute · Everipedia · EY · Football Federation Australia · Gitcoin · Google · habRitual · Indigenous Commons · Johnson & Johnson · Kwaxala · Lionsgate · MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) · Mondelēz International · MS Research Australia · Netflix · Optus · Pegasus Pictures · Pumpables · Rackett · Regenerate Cascadia · Rhizome Springs · Seven Seven Six · Shimano · Singtel Optus · Speakers Institute · Telos · Topia · Vision 2030 · Vogue · Westpac

professional experience


Skills

    • Leadership Development & Coaching

    • Stakeholder Engagement & Relationship Building

    • Capacity Building & Talent Development

    • Vendor & Partner Management

    • Workshop Design & Facilitation

    • Talent Acquisition & Onboarding

    • Culture Building & Community Engagement

    • Customer Experience & Relationship Stewardship

    • Conflict Mediation & Resolution

    • Employee Retention Strategy

    • Product Design & Innovation

    • Brand Strategy & Identity Development

    • UX/UI Design & Gamification

    • Research, Discovery & Concept Development

    • Graphic Design & Visual Storytelling

    • Immersive Experience & Transmedia Design

    • Content Creation & Campaign Development

    • Art Direction & Creative Strategy

    • Vision & Values Definition

    • Organizational Design & Modeling

    • Strategic Planning & Execution

    • Project & Program Management

    • Financial Planning & Resource Management

    • Metrics, Evaluation & Reporting

    • Change & Transformation Management

    • Scaling & Growth Strategy

    • Roadmap Development & Delivery

    • Sales, Negotiation & Partnership Development

    • Digital Strategy & Transformation

    • Systems Architecture & Integration

    • Data Analytics & Visualization

    • Enterprise & Workflow Automation (ERP/CRM)

    • Content & Knowledge Management Systems

    • Ecommerce & Digital Platforms

    • SaaS Tools & Integration

    • IT Operations & Cybersecurity Awareness

    • Process Development & Automation

    • Media & Video Production

    • Web & Interface Design

    • Data Organization & Management

    • Educational & Training Technology

organizations & Roles

  • Currently under the name “Future Historic”

  • OpenCivics is a civic innovation network empowering civic innovators, organizers, and patrons to collaboratively reimagine governance, community-building, and civic life.

    As co-founder, I steward the vision, frameworks, and living experiments in participatory economies, decentralized systems, and civic infrastructure.

  • Design Science Studio is a global learning community inspired by the work of Buckminster Fuller, dedicated to life-affirming systems change.

    As an advisor, I support regenerative artists, designers, and futurists in navigating complexity, refining their visions, and architecting transformative projects aligned with planetary flourishing.

  • Item description
  • Kwaxala is a cultural and ecological initiative rooted in Indigenous wisdom and regenerative stewardship.

    I designed and advised on organizational structures to support self-governance, decentralized leadership, and place-based community resilience.

  • Habritual is an interdisciplinary studio integrating art, technology, and nature to catalyze systemic change through immersive experiences.

    I led collaborative think tank design processes informing the masterplan of a 430-acre regenerative eco-village project, blending participatory design with living systems principles.

  • Liminalia was a digital-first experience design studio born in response to the pandemic-era need for transformative online connection.

    I co-led projects ranging from large-scale digital events to strategic consulting for organizations like Burning Man Project, Esalen Institute, and MAPS, crafting immersive formats that bridged technology and human connection.

  • Topia is a pioneering social metaverse platform fostering participatory, collaborative digital environments.

    I led major UX/UI redesigns, creative processes, partner experiences, and branded world designs, including producing best practice case study worlds and hosting major events like Virtual Burning Man.

  • BlockCollab was a year-long think tank of global designers, developers, and technologists exploring decentralized collaboration systems.

    I curated the cohort, facilitated collective inquiry, and synthesized emergent insights around ecosystem-driven innovation and collective intelligence infrastructures.

  • Decrypted was a design and strategy studio specializing in the blockchain space, supporting startups to bridge early adopter and early majority markets.

    I led end-to-end design projects across UX, branding, and digital strategy, helping shape user-centric platforms like Everipedia and Telos. Our work emphasized simplicity, strong calls to action, and practical pathways to adoption.

  • Details

    • Role: Co-Founder & Movement Multiplier

    • Year: 2018-2019

    About

    Blockchain Babes was a global blockchain community created for women by women. Our goal was to foster the conditions where women can feel confident, competent and capable of designing a regenerative society, based on understanding of and appreciation for Blockchain technology.

    Over six months, we established in-person communities in 8 cities around the world and supported hundreds more women online in their exploration of the topic space.


    Projects


    Responsibilities

    • Vision & Strategy

    • Identity & Marketing

    • Curriculum Development

    • Hosting Meetups

  • Chestnut developed smart account technology designed to improve blockchain security and usability for mass adoption.

    I led product design, identity development, and market strategy, culminating in winning Best UX and 2nd Place at the EOS Global Hackathon London and competing as a finalist at the Cape Town Grand Finale.

  • SteemSmarter was an analytics and reporting tool created to support user growth and engagement on the Steem blockchain.

    I directed product strategy, UX development, branding, and operations, helping simplify complex blockchain interactions and deliver actionable insights to platform users.

  • Reidefine Media was a media and technology venture focused on entertainment-driven eCommerce and eLearning for the Asia-Pacific market.

    I co-developed product designs, digital platforms, and partnership strategies, collaborating with Pegasus Media Group and China Film Co. on cross-continental initiatives including a $100M film fund and pioneering digital education pilots.

  • Karrikins Group (formerly ChangeLabs) is a global behavior change consultancy focused on leadership alignment and organizational transformation.

    As a member of the senior leadership team, I managed a creative department, led strategic content development, supported facilitator training programs across Australia and New Zealand, and helped design award-winning financial, digital, and active play literacy programs for major corporate foundations like Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, Singtel Optus, and Mondelez International.

  • Funke Labs was a creative agency specializing in brand strategy, digital experiences, and transmedia campaigns for Australian arts, education, and media sectors.

    I led brand transformation initiatives, developed digital strategies, managed cross-disciplinary teams, and supported client projects for organizations such as Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP), MS Research Australia, WotOpera, ABC Music, and Luna Park.

  • Concep is a global B2B relationship marketing technology company focused on professional services firms.

    I led creative and technical projects across email marketing, microsites, content automation, and digital transformation, during a pivotal time when enterprises began integrating social media into formal marketing practices.

    Clients included: Google, Ernst & Young, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, Capgemini, Randstad, CommInsure, Westpac, NAB, Colonial First State, MLC, Bankwest, and JBWere.

  • Brookeshire Media operated a financial news network during the global financial crisis.

    I supported the rapid scaling of DEX.tv from a 10-person startup to a 100+ person 24/7 broadcast operation, developing digital asset management standards, creating branding materials, and assisting newsroom operations — a formative experience in startup adaptability and crisis-driven media environments.

  • Drive Strategic was a boutique digital agency based in Toronto, specializing in brand-driven digital storytelling.

    I contributed to social media campaigns such as “Blog Your Way to Antarctica” for Quark Expeditions (15k+ participants) and supported national campaigns for brands like Shimano, developing my early expertise in integrated marketing strategy and creative leadership.

  • Tiens is a global health products and biotechnology company operating with a direct selling model.

    At Tiens, I helped establish North American operational systems, developed member acquisition strategies, and built early digital infrastructure including an eCommerce portal — an important foundational experience in building systems from scratch.

  • Quirk Solutions was my first registered entrepreneurial venture, launched while still in high school, producing local music events and film screenings to support emerging independent artists.

    This experience sparked my lifelong dedication to creating platforms and ecosystems for creative collaboration and community development.

Awards

  • Silver Winner – Website / Art & Design (for "Bicycle Night – A Virtual Bicycle Day Experience")

  • 2nd Place (for "Plan of Attack" – a visual strategic planning tool for entrepreneurs)

Speaking

  • What is the future of virtual connection? In this time of quarantine and seclusion, what does it look like to push the boundaries of technology and experiment with new ways to experience authentic, meaningful human contact, relationship and play? We have barely begun to see what is actually possible in this space and how we can hack virtual interaction to help us make it through the age of isolation.

    Erica, Patricia and Scarlet are the three visionaries behind Liminalia, disruptive event producers who are hacking virtual connection by creating unique participatory online experiences that blur the line between the physical and digital.

    Their Immersiverse gatherings combine virtual connection with storytelling, theater, science fiction, absurdism, self-awareness, satire and humor to offer a brilliant meta-reflection on the insanity of the current state of the world, and transcend the limits of what is possible in the virtual space.

    On Wednesday, September 9th, join us for a special interactive Consciousness Hacking event, where Scarlet, Erica and Patricia will share about their experience hacking connection and bringing people together in new and creative ways during quarantine. This event will be highly participatory, and will invite you to join in activities that demonstrate some of these innovative connection technologies.

    View Talk

  • We explore the self organizing, decentralized nature of our response to the Pandemic — the social, scientific, activist, innovation and government response. We often use wartime analogies for COVID, but in traditional war the troops await instructions from their commanders. For much if the pandemic response, the commander is us!

    Quaranteams – with Patricia Parkinson. How a global group of activists, and super nodes self-organized and deployed campaigns for COVID safety that are reaching millions and are developing coping mechanisms that promote connection and well-being in a time of physical distancing.How a global group of activists, and super nodes self-organized and deployed campaigns for COVID safety that are reaching millions and are developing coping mechanisms that promote connection and well-being in a time of physical distancing.

    Watch talk

  • Exploring the thought process behind Telos rebranding.

    Watch talk

  • Talk on playa at Camp Decentral

  • The way we think about our genius is changing; our capacity for multiple talents is our true nature and greatest strength. Those who embrace and leverage their zealous minds will find a path to integrated lives and make a resounding impact on our future.

    In this talk Patricia will aim to deliver new perspective into our specialist-focused conditioning, integrating our true capabilities as human beings, the challenges we face with this predisposition and how we will shape the future.

    Speaker : Patricia Parkinson

    Patricia lives at the intersection of design, technology and entrepreneurship, transforming ambitious ideas into practical realities. She's on a mission is to empower others to embrace their multi-dimensionality.

  • Contributed within this panel discussion on the subject of reaching audiences through digital media, serving as a subject matter expert to discuss trends and tactics to enhance engagement in the digital age.

Education

“I believe that we, that this planet, hasn't seen its Golden Age. Everybody says its finished ... art's finished, rock and roll is dead, God is dead. Fuck that! This is my chance in the world. I didn't live back there in Mesopotamia, I wasn't there in the Garden of Eden, I wasn't there with Emperor Han, I'm right here right now and I want now to be the Golden Age … if only each generation would realise that the time for greatness is right now when they're alive ... the time to flower is now.”

Patti Smith

my values


The values that guide my being

Curiosity

staying open to what I don’t yet understand

Presence

honoring what’s here, not just what’s next

Reverence

remembering my web of relations

The values that guide my doing

Coherence

aligning intention, action, and design

Plurality

welcoming many truths without losing clarity

Wholeness

designing for integrity, not efficiency

my gifts & growth areas


I bring the energy to activate possibilities, the strategic clarity to navigate complexity, and the futurist imagination to envision what does not yet exist. People describe me as having relational intelligence and a unique gift for synthesizing complexity into coherent, actionable systems. I make mistakes often and seek to learn and attune.

Activators make things happen by transforming thoughts, ideas, and concepts into action.

Gifts: I bring energy and momentum that helps things get moving.

Growth: I can move too quickly, mistaking motion for progress and skipping over necessary depth.

Strategists are at their best and most decisive when faced with multiple and uncertain options.

Gifts: I clarify options and help others act decisively in uncertain situations.

Growth: I can default to decision-making too fast — narrowing choices before others feel heard.

Futurists inspire a sense of what’s to come, & creatively plan for the future to solve today’s problems.

Essence: I inspire next steps and help imagine what's possible beyond the current stuckness.

Excess: I can get so focused on what’s next that I lose patience for the present moment or pace.

Relational Intelligence is cultivating meaningful connections, trust, and understanding across diversity.

Essence: I create spaces of deep trust and meaningful connection across difference.

Excess: I can overextend emotionally — taking too much responsibility for harmony or avoiding necessary friction.

Synthesizing Complexity involves making sense of interconnected systems and distilling clarity from chaos.

Essence: I distill insight from complexity and make systems legible and actionable.

Excess: I can overwhelm others with frameworks, or over-architect things before people are ready.

“The real problem of humanity is that we have paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and god-like technology.”

– Edward O. Wilson

my life story


I believe our story is a lens; a constellation of meaning through which we see and seek to be seen. It gives substance to our identity, direction, and purpose; we are a convergence of everything we’ve experienced, learned, and evolved through. By sharing this reflection, I shine light on my own evolving story and infuse meaning to my present.

I was born into the blur of suburbia, at the edge of industrial decay and digital emergence. From the start, I sensed I wouldn’t fit into a single role or follow a linear path. There’s a Maltese tradition (Il-Quċċija) where a child’s future is symbolized by the object they choose on their first birthday. I chose a machine gun and rosary beads. Even then, I was reaching toward something both rebellious and reverent.

By sixteen, life had already demanded I grow up fast. Loss shaped me. So did curiosity. I became a teenage activist and journalist, learning to move between stories and systems, behind and in front of the camera. In the years that followed, I carved my own path — through media, design, and technology — searching not just for success, but for meaning. My twenties took me across three continents and deep into corporate innovation, where I helped launch startups, advised financial giants, and navigated the tension between creativity and capitalism.

Eventually, the inner dissonance became too loud to ignore. I had spent a decade building things — brands, platforms, careers — but without a compass rooted in care, they began to feel hollow. So I walked away.

For seven years, I wandered the world as a digital nomad. I learned from elders and edge-dwellers, mystics and metaverse architects. I healed, studied, and listened. I lived in forests, founded collaboratories, designed participatory systems, and reimagined what governance, culture, and economy could feel like. I learned that regeneration isn’t just ecological — it’s ontological. It’s how we design ourselves, each other, and our shared worlds.

When I returned to the Pacific Northwest, I was no longer chasing titles or trends. I was in service — to something older, wilder, more whole. I found language for what had been guiding me all along: planetary regeneration, cosmolocal collaboration, civic imagination, and the sacred architecture of participation.

Today, I tend to experiments at the intersection of governance, culture, and care. Through my practice and participation in coordinated networks, I support those reimagining how we live, lead, and belong together.

But more than anything, I’m learning how to live in right relationship — with land, with time, with others, and with myself. I still follow the thread of curiosity, creativity, and care that’s guided me since the beginning. And I remain devoted to the quiet, daily work of helping a more beautiful world take root.

If you're navigating complex questions or stewarding something meaningful, I’d love to explore collaboration. I’m curious where our inquiries might meet.