John Werner

John Werner
Born John Kellogg Werner
May 12, 1970
New York City, US
Residence Boston, US
Alma mater Harvard University, Hamilton College, Trinity School (New York City)
Occupation Head of Innovations and New Ventures, Camera Culture Group, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge MA, USA.
Board member of
 President, Hamilton College Boston Alumni Association.
Spouse(s) Erika Alavarez (m. 2001)
Children Javier Sidney Werner
Lucia Dora Werner
Mateo Kellogg Werner
Website
http://web.media.mit.edu/~jwerner/

John Werner is an American non-profit executive, photographer.[1] He is the founder of Ideas in Action and curator of TEDxBeaconStreet,[2] an independent event licensed by TED as part of TEDx. He is a member of the founding team (1 or 4) of the non-profit organization Citizen Schools in 1995.[3] In July 2013 he left Citizen Schools to be the Project Innovator and now is the Head of Innovation and New Ventures for the Camera Culture Group at the MIT Media Lab [4] for Ramesh Raskar, director of the Camera Culture Group at MIT Media Lab.

John Werner was born in New York City. His father is the chief clerk of the Supreme Court in New York County, and his mother is the Assistant Attorney General in New York State[5]

He received a degree from Hamilton College in 1992. "At Hamilton, Werner became particularly interested in the history of the College and he spent extensive time in the Burke Library Archives researching individual buildings and learning about Hamilton architecture and history. This knowledge allowed him to give historical tours on the weekends."[6]

He worked at a school for emotionally disturbed children in New Hampshire, then worked on a gubernatorial campaign. When he was teaching special education in a Boston public school, he crossed paths with Eric Schwarz as he was developing the program that would become Citizen Schools.[7] Werner was the first employee hired by Schwarz and co-founder Ned Rimer and directed the program at Dever Elementary School, Woodrow Wilson Middle School and Garfield Elementary School.[8] He earned the New England Isuzu Afterschool Hero of the Year award,[9] sponsored by the Afterschool Alliance in Washington DC and the Entertainment Industry Foundation.

Fellowships and awards

Werner was a recipient of the Loeb Fellowship (1 of 10) at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2008.[10] He served as the Executive Curator (1 of 5) of TEDxBoston in 2010 and 2011 where he piloted Adventures, “a series of excursions to local start-ups, well-established companies, research labs, and universities,” which continued in 2011[11] and are a component of TEDxBeaconStreet, which he founded in 2012.

In 2014 he was recognized as top 50 on Fire in Boston by BostonInno.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "JohnWerner Photography". Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  2. ↑ Clark, Dorie. "Is This The Future Of TED?", Forbes.com, 30 April 2014.
  3. ↑ Moser, Kate. "Early Visits Lure Poor Into College", The Christian Science Monitor, 8 March 2006.
  4. ↑ Epstein, Barbara. "John Werner Heads To MIT Media Lab", LOEBlog, 19 August 2013.
  5. ↑ "Model Citizen", Boldfacers, 3 April 2012
  6. ↑ Villa, Antonia. "Alumni News & Notes", Hamilton.edu, 11 August 2011.
  7. ↑ Steindorf, Sara. "How To Be A Hero? Find out, after school", The Christian Science Monitor, 23 January 2001.
  8. ↑ "Solid Citizens", Vermont Quarterly, Fall 2001.
  9. ↑ Steindorf, Sara. "How To Be A Hero? Find out, after school", The Christian Science Monitor, 23 January 2001.
  10. ↑ Epstein, Barbara. "John Werner Heads To MIT Media Lab", LOEBlog, 19 August 2013.
  11. ↑ Villa, Antonia. "Alumni News & Notes", Hamilton.edu, 11 August 2011.
  12. ↑ "Announcing the 2014 Winners of BostInno's 3rd Annual 50 on Fire Awards". Retrieved 9 March 2015.