Our Authors

Peter Joseph is an American-born social critic and activist who has lectured around the world on the subject of cultural sustainability. Once deemed “The Herald of Occupy Wall St.” for his tacit prediction of inevitable global uprisings against inequality and economic injustice, his extensive media work has been translated into over a 130 languages and experienced by a quarter of a billion people.

Working in concert with numerous NPOs and grassroots organizations, Joseph’s core focus is on socioeconomic structures that undermine progress in the areas of ecological and social justice. He has been featured and profiled in numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Free-Speech TV, TED, and has given over a thousand hours of interviews via radio shows and podcasts in the past decade. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

Kaela Joseph (they/she) is a licensed clinical psychologist living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area as a program manager, clinic director, and clinical supervisor. Kaela earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from the University of Colorado Boulder and a PhD in clinical psychology, with an emphasis in LGBTQ psychology, from Palo Alto University. Kaela has published and presented at professional conferences and Comic-Cons on the topic of fan activism, as well as on fandoms and sexuality. Works by Kaela in these areas can be found in Lynn Zubernis’s book There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done: Actors and Fans Celebrate the Legacy of Supernatural and in April Vian, Melissa Kenedy, and Shani Irvine’s book, CONventional Wisdom: Every Con Has a Story. Kaela also regularly presents on health care equity, systems improvement, and gender-diverse care at professional conferences, as well as in health care settings to clinicians and clinical trainees. Kaela has additionally published in academic journals on the topic of lived experience of mental health challenges among mental health care providers. Kaela attributes much of their own identity development as an activist, as well as their coming out as queer and nonbinary, to participation in fandoms, including many years of taking part in the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt (GISH), which benefits the nonprofit Random Acts and other causes.

Felicia Joy (pictured left) is an adjunct professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and an executive vice president of business transformation and U.S. head of behavioral science at Edelman. She advises Fortune 500 CEOs and leaders when they are facing risky business challenges or opportunities. Her strategies have helped clients make measurable improvements in profitability, employee retention, and culture. She has also led highly acclaimed pro-bono work, like the mental health advocacy campaigns, “Silence Isn’t Treatment” and “Unspoken Curriculum”, for Taraji P. Henson’s Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation. Felicia earned a master’s degree in behavioral science from Harvard and undergraduate degrees in Journalism and Political Science from the University of Georgia. A globetrotter, she enjoys hiking, mountain climbing, and outdoor sports around the world.

Hawon Jung is a journalist and former Seoul correspondent for the AFP news agency with more than a decade of experience writing about the two Koreas. She covered the 2011 death of then-North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, the rise to power of his son, Kim Jong-Un, South Korea’s presidential impeachment, and K-pop’s rise on the world stage. Her coverage of South Korea’s #MeToo movement was shortlisted in the 2019 Awards for Editorial Excellence by the Society of Publishers in Asia. Born and raised in South Korea, she earned a Master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Jung currently divides her time between South Korea and Germany.

Steven Mark Kahan is a successful technology executive, bestselling author, and growth strategist who has helped grow seven start-up companies from early stage to successful exits, collectively generating over $5 billion in shareholder value. Creating Urgency reveals how making problems visible, personal, and immediate drives growth at scale. Steven’s work bridges the worlds of business leadership, behavioral psychology, and communication strategy to help organizations accelerate impact.