Trista will MacGyver her way into the most unexpected situations to discover the signals of the future that will help you make the world a better place.

She once negotiated her way into an interview with Sir Richard Branson and was later invited to his home on Necker Island. During this adventure, she got her DNA sequenced, was mobbed by a conspiracy of lemurs, watched Richard kitesurfing in a tuxedo, and gave a speech on the future of doing good. She'd have thought it was a fever dream if she didn't have pictures.

Trista has worked in nonprofits since she was 13 years old. Her last job was the president of a community of grantmakers that gave away $1.5 billion a year. She is now the President of FutureGood, a consultancy focused on growing a movement of visionaries dedicated to building a better future.

To develop her futurism skills she learned about scenario planning at Oxford University, hung out with the technologists at Singularity U, went to Amy Webb's Future History Festival, and trained with the team at the Institute for the Future. She also has a Magic 8 ball on her desk. 

Trista has recently spoke on Necker Island about the Future of Doing Good, at the Southern California Grantmakers conference on trends that will impact foundations, at Gateway Center for Giving’s annual meeting on how nonprofit and foundation staff can become future focused leaders, and at 1440 Multiversity on clarifying your future impact as a visionary leader.

Popular Talks

Talks are customized for each audience and can be given as a keynote or a 1/2 day to 3 day workshop

2024 Trends

The pace of change is accelerating exponentially and we have a responsibility to become future-focused leaders that can predict and shape those trends. Join Trista Harris in this fast-paced tour through trends (short-term and long-term) that will impact our ability to remain effective and relevant to the causes and communities we care about.

Future Started Yesterday

An increasing rate of change makes the already challenging work of doing good, even more difficult. NGO’s, foundations, donors and social entrepreneurs all are trying to make the world a better place but are often using yesterday’s information to do so. What if we could predict the future and prepare for the coming realities that will impact our communities? Join Trista Harris as she takes us on an interactive journey where she’ll uncover tools to create the future.

Creating an Equitable Future

Nonprofits and foundations have the power to create a Star Trek or a Hunger Games future, depending on how effectively we use an equity lens in our work. In this though-provoking keynote, Trista will help you better understand the 4 key roles of a social sector organization and show you how to apply an equity lens in your roles as a funder or a program provider, economic entity, employer, and community citizen.

See Trista in Action

Do you want super engaged audience members that are sharing their learnings on social media? Trista’s presentations are created to be memorable and tweetable.