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]
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]