Rick Smolan, CEO of Against All Odds Productions, is a #1 New York Times best-selling author and a Time, Life and National Geographic photojournalist best known as the co-creator of the “Day in The Life” and “America 24/7” series. Fortune Magazine describes Against All Odds as “One of the 25 Coolest Companies in America.”Today, Smolan directs massive crowd sourced projects which combine creative storytelling with state-of-the-art technology. Many of his projects have appeared on the New York Times best-seller lists and have been featured on the covers of Fortune, Stern, Oggi, GEO, and Time.In May 2023 Smolan was awarded the "Ellis Island Medal of Honor” an annual award presented to individuals who "embody the spirit of America in their celebration of patriotism, tolerance, brotherhood and diversity.” Previous recipients include Ronald Reagan, William J. Clinton, Eric Schmidt; John Sculley; Indra Nooyi; Elie Wiesel; Muhammad Ali; and Rosa Parks.His latest book, THE GOOD FIGHT: AMERICA'S ONGOING STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE, is a powerful reminder of how much progress America has made over the past 100 years against hatred, bigotry, racism, misogyny, homophobia and injustice and what's at risk right now. It was sent by TED to all 1,500 attendees.Smolan has spoken at TED, EG, The Davos World Economic Forum, The Ford Foundation, The Wired Health Conference, TEDMED, Techonomy, DLD in Munich, IdeaCity in Canada, INK in India. His TED talk "Natasha's Story: An American Homecoming" has been watched by more than a million people. In the fall of 2012 Smolan released "The Human Face of Big Data" focusing on humanity's new ability to collect, analyze, triangulate and visualize vast amounts of data in real time. The project, sponsored by EMC, Cisco and SAP resulted in a large format book, an engaging iPad app, and a TV special. The book was delivered to 10,000 key influencers in 50 countries courtesy of FedEx. The project won a 2013 WEBBY award. In 2014 the Oscar Winning Producers of "The Kings Speech" released TRACKS. In the movie Robyn Davidson was portrayed by Mia Wasikowska. Smolan was portrayed by Adam Driver."AMERICA 24/7", a NY Times bestseller, enabled thousands of Americans to create a national family album during one ordinary week, and was featured as one of Oprah Winfrey's "Favorite Things."