Rebecca Ryan is a noted top 50 professional futurist, economist, best-selling author and entrepreneur. She is the founder of NEXT Generation Consulting through which she partners with government leaders across the country. Looking a generation ahead, she outlines strategies in urban planning, economic development and workforce development to ensure communities are well equipped for future trends and challenges.

Ryan is the author of Live First, Work Second: Getting Inside the Minds of the Next Generation, which discusses the increased importance of keeping and attracting young talent because of impending demographic shifts. It is also a helpful how-to guide for anyone interested in building a better community or business as we look to the future. Dr. Richard Florida, author of the bestseller The Rise of the Creative Class and The Flight of the Creative Class wrote the book’s forward, saying, “I am a HUGE Rebecca Ryan fan,” and that he considers “NGC one of the most reliable sources for CEOs, mayors, legislators, economic developers, and nonprofit leaders who want to attract and retain the next generation of creative workers.” Ryan’s newest book is ReGENERATION: A Manifesto for America’s Future Leaders.

Ryan was named one of the Top 100 Most Influential People by Accounting Today, the 2006 Communicator of the Year by Women in Communication, and a Woman of Influence by the Business Journal of Greater Milwaukee. She was named the 2004 Entrepreneur of the Year by the US Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, as well as one of the Most Powerful Women in Public Accounting by CPA Practice Advisor.

Rebecca is a graduate of Drake University with a certificate in Strategic Foresight from University of Houston; she is the Resident Futurist at the Alliance for Innovation and on the Executive Committee of the global Association of Professional Futurists. She’s also attended the Kozgaz University in Budapest, Hungary – where she played professional basketball – and the Institut fur European Studiern in Freiburg, Germany.

Ryan lives in Madison, Wisconsin. Her favorite coffee mug says, “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” Read Less ^