Jessica Thornton Email & Phone Number

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Creative Futures helps municipalities, hospitals, universities, and nonprofit organizations plan and prepare for their future. Using applied futures research, we help organizations navigate complexity and embrace uncertainty, arming them with the tools to think beyond present-day issues and imagine, prepare for, and navigate multiple potential futures.While we tailor every project to the needs of our clients, services may include: * Strategic planning or strategy development support;* Strategy stress-testing and refinement;* Trends and futures research; * Scenario development and/or vision setting;* Workshop or retreat facilitation; * Strategic foresight training and capacity-building programs;* Keynote presentations, and more.To date, we have had the pleasure of working with the following clients: Region of Waterloo, City of Calgary, CERIC, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, McMaster University, Canadian Medical Association, North York General Hospital, Novartis, Galleries Ontario, Mass Culture, University of the Fraser Valley, Mothercraft, Evergreen, University of Calgary, YES Montreal, WSIB, Ontario Creates, and The Dias.

Canada

Sample of recent presentations include: * Navigating 2040 and Beyond: The Futures of Careers and Career Developer Roles, CERIC Virtual Webinar (March 2024)* Healthcare 2040: Making Future-Informed Decisions, Keynote Presentation, Novartis BIOME Summit ‘24 (February 2024), Toronto, ON * Career Development in 2040, Conference Presentation at CANNEXUS2024 (January 2024), Ottawa, ON * Bold New World: Futures of leadership in 2030, Keynote Presentation at ORION’s Think Conference 2022 (Nov 20, 2022), Toronto, ON * The New Normal, Keynote Presentation at Cybera’s Cyber Summit 2021 (Nov 9, 2021), Virtual * Yesterday’s Gone, Presentation at WSIB’s Customer Care Leadership Conference (June 2, 2021), Virtual * Imagining Our Urban Futures, Future Cities Canada Forum (July 27 - Aug 5, 2020), Virtual * Turn and Face the Strange, Closing Keynote Presentation at Tech Manitoba’s Disrupted 2020 (Jan 30-31, 2020), Winnipeg, MB * Strange Ideas about the Future of Work, Presentation at DesignTO symposium (Jan 25, 2020), Toronto, ON * Employment in 2030: Changes impacting the future of employment, Keynote at CPA Ontario Conference (Jan 22, 2020), Ottawa, ON * Strange Ideas about the Future of Employment, Keynote at Our Future Hamilton Annual Summit (November 5, 2019), Hamilton, ON * Strange Ideas about the Future of Work, Keynote at Victoria Foundation Event (October 1, 2019), Victoria, BC * Exploring the Future of Work: 13 Trends impacting the future of employment in Canada, Keynote at the Institute of Internal Auditors National Conference (September 15, 2019), Toronto, ON* Exploring the Future of Work: 13 Trends impacting the future of employment in Canada, Closing Keynote at Advance Ontario Conference (May 16, 2019), Toronto, ON

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Provide ongoing strategic foresight expertise and support for various initiatives including Future-Focused Calgary, Our Urban Futures, and more.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Oversaw the development of Evergreen’s next generation of programming, using strategic foresight and systems thinking to ensure new initiatives were responsive to emerging trends. Co-led continuous planning cycles to ensure programmatic shifts were made as needed, while emergent opportunities were actioned, and provided strategic guidance on business strategy, revenue model design, strategic plans, and internal culture building.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Collaborator on the Employment in 2030 initiative, focused on futures research, workshop design, facilitation and report writing.

Toronto, Canada Area

The Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship (BII+E) is a policy-focused institute committed to making Canada the best place in the world to be an innovator and entrepreneur. As a Senior Projects Designer, I work on a range of projects that explore the future of skills, using strategic foresight and design research methods.

Toronto, Canada Area

Forsati was a start-up mobile platform that allowed users to monetize their existing skills. Initially developed to build economic resilience for families living within refugee camps, Forsati was for all users looking to increase and diversify their work experience.

Toronto, Canada Area

Toronto, Canada Area

I helped environmental and city building projects get off the ground and embedded in communities across Canada. This entailed a broad range of activities, with a specific focus on revenue model strategies and program development. I specialized in mobilizing emergent ideas, which means I had the pleasure of working on some of Evergreen's newest and exciting projects, such as Evergreen CityWorks' portfolio (which included Tower Renewal, Housing Action Lab, We Are Cities, among others), and Special Projects.

Toronto, Canada Area

I led a full range of activities, from project management, communications, marketing, fundraising, strategic development, human resource and volunteer management. Depending on the day, I wore a different hat. I first became involved with LFP as a student, completing an applied research project that helped launch Local Food Plus' local sustainable institutional food procurement program at the University of Toronto in 2005. After graduating, I spent some time working on an LFP certified farm near Kitchener, then for an LFP retail partner in Toronto. These experiences helped me develop a strong understanding of the food system challenges LFP seeks to remedy each day.

Toronto, Canada Area

Toronto, Canada Area

Toronto, Canada Area

I reviewed 100s of applications a year for my full time gigs. Some were amazing, and some were so terrible I want to respond with suggested edits. After one particularly terrible resume in 2011, I decided to start mentoring food passionate youth seeking jobs in the good food sector. Entering the job market can be challenging and stressful, and sometimes you just need someone to share ideas with. My services included: career visioning, job acquisition planning, application proofreading and polishing, interview preparation and career consultation.

Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Master Of Design, Strategic Foresight And Innovation

B.A., Anthropology, Equity Studies

Certificate, Fundraising And Volunteer Management

Certificate, Food Security