Alexa Clay (born March 21, 1984, in Cambridge, Massachusetts) is an American writer, public speaker and researcher with a focus on subculture, informal economy, and new economic thinking. ^[1]

Biography

Clay grew up the daughter of two anthropologists. She has written about her experience growing up with psychiatrist and alien abduction research Dr. John E. Mack for Aeon magazine. ^[2] Clay received her BA from Brown University and an MSc in economic history from Oxford University. ^[3]

In 2013, Clay started performing as "the Amish Futurist", an alter ego she developed to bring more existential reflection into the tech scene. ^{[4] [5]} The Amish Futurist has performed at SXSW, re:publica, Tech Open Air Berlin, and the DEAF Biennale. ^[6]

Clay led work focused on scaling social innovation at Ashoka ^[7] and co-founded the League of Intrapreneurs, a network focused on scaling the movement of social intrapreneurship. ^[8] Along with John Elkington and Maggie de Pree she was the co-author of The Social Intrapreneur: A Field Guide for Corporate Changemakers, a report sponsored by the Skoll Foundation. ^[9]

Clay is the co-author of The Misfit Economy, a book published by Simon & Schuster ^[10] in 2015, that examines the role of creative thinking and ingenuity among society's "misfits". ^[11] The Economist called the book "a paean to the quirkier members of society." ^[12] The book was named a top business book to read by The Telegraph ^[13] and the World Economic Forum. ^[14] The Misfit Economy has also been reviewed by the Financial Times, ^[15] Salon.com, ^[16] the New Statesman, and the BBC. ^[17] Clay has appeared in Dazed Digital, ^[18] Vice, ^[19] on public radio's Marketplace, ^[20] The Takeaway, ^[21] Australia's morning show Weekend Sunrise ^[22] and the Laura Flanders Show. The Misfit Economy loosely inspired the NatGeo show Underworld Inc, for which Clay was a consulting producer. ^[23]

Currently, Clay leads the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce in the U.S. working on topics like universal basic income, inclusive growth, and creativity in education. ^[24] Clay has been active in the fields of social business, technology studies, and social change. ^{[25] [26]} She has been an advocate for "inclusive innovation", examining the ways in which entrepreneurs in the black market and informal economy are given access to economic opportunity. ^[27]

References