Melissa Jun Rowley delivers a powerful presentation with the use of personal achievements and inspirational stories. By the end, she will have everybody wanting to rewrite their own narrative.

Melissa Jun Rowley is a journalist, entrepreneur and activist focused on the intersection of storytelling, technology and social justice. As the founder and CEO of Humanise, Inc., she is developing The Toolbox, a data-driven humanitarian initiative created by the iconic musician Peter Gabriel. Having secured a partnership with the World Economic Forum, Melissa is leading efforts to alleviate the socio-economic divide in urban environments and emerging marketings through collaborating with local communities to bring them the most empowering technology and smart city solutions.

As a journalist, Melissa writes about gender issues, race, youth advocacy, and how emerging technology can be be harnessed to instigate social change. Her online work includes features for Fast Company, CBS News, Mic.com, Huffington Post, Mashable, Village Voice Media, Discovery News, BlogHer, MTV Act, Cisco's Technology News Network and the Smart+Connected Communities Institute.


This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx