JESSIE KAWATA

PLANETARY STRATEGY . SYSTEMS DESIGN . ECOLOGICAL FUTURES

From the far reaches of our solar system to the living systems that sustain life on Earth, my work explores humanity’s relationship with technology, nature, and the cosmos. I build new teams, practices, and frameworks at the intersection of science, design, and technology to help organizations imagine more connected and resilient futures.

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Strategist Catalyst Earthling

Highlights from the missions, systems, and ideas I’ve shaped across government, technology, science, and community.

PRESS & SPEAKING

WRITING & RESEARCH

Design for Disaster Response LA Founder & Lead
Mobilizing creative networks for disaster resilience — **Design for Disaster Response LA**
*Founder & Lead*
Mobilizing creative networks for disaster resilience

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Spacecraft in the Shot Co-Investigator & Co-Author Cinematography spacecraft payload concept — **NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Spacecraft in the Shot**
*Co-Investigator & Co-Author*
Cinematography spacecraft payload concept

Microsoft - Surface Principal Director, Design for Sustainability Circularity, repairability, and sustainable product strategy — **Microsoft - Surface**
*Principal Director, Design for Sustainability*
Circularity, repairability, and sustainable product strategy

NASA Jet Propulsion Lab - Drought Lab Project Design Director & Lead Drought indicator investigation for NASA & NCA — **NASA Jet Propulsion Lab - Drought Lab Project**
*Design Director & Lead*
Drought indicator investigation for NASA & NCA

Microsoft - Windows Principal Director, Design for Sustainability Energy-efficient experiences across Windows ecosystem — **Microsoft - Windows**
*Principal Director, Design for Sustainability*
Energy-efficient experiences across Windows ecosystem

NASA Kennedy Space Center - Strategic Culture Product Design Lead & Researcher Research & strategy for KSC influencing cultural paradigm shift — **NASA Kennedy Space Center - Strategic Culture**
*Product Design Lead & Researcher*
Research & strategy for KSC influencing cultural paradigm shift

NASA Jet Propulsion Lab - Innovation Foundry Lead Product Strategist Advanced concepts, design strategy, and mission innovation — **NASA Jet Propulsion Lab - Innovation Foundry**
*Lead Product Strategist*
Advanced concepts, design strategy, and mission innovation

NASA Product Design Symposium w/ ACCD Lead, Moderator, & Co-Host NASA’s first product design event convening 50+ scientists, engineers, designers, and students. — **NASA Product Design Symposium w/ ACCD**
*Lead, Moderator, & Co-Host*
NASA’s first product design event convening 50+ scientists, engineers, designers, and students.

NASA Jet Propulsion Lab - Mars Helicopter Design Strategist, Proposal First powered & controlled flight on Mars — **NASA Jet Propulsion Lab - Mars Helicopter**
*Design Strategist, Proposal*
First powered & controlled flight on Mars

NASA Jet Propulsion Lab - Perseverance Rover Product Design Lead Embedded spacecraft messaging — **NASA Jet Propulsion Lab - Perseverance Rover**
*Product Design Lead*
Embedded spacecraft messaging

Microsoft - Hololens Principal Director, Design for Sustainability Low-impact hardware & alias strategy for mixed reality — **Microsoft - Hololens**
*Principal Director, Design for Sustainability*
Low-impact hardware & alias strategy for mixed reality

NASA Jet Propulsion Lab - Venus Rover Proposal Co-Author & Product Design Lead Extreme-environment & autonomous rover — **NASA Jet Propulsion Lab - Venus Rover Proposal**
*Co-Author & Product Design Lead*
Extreme-environment & autonomous rover

NASA Jet Propulsion Lab - Europa Lander Proposal Lead Product Design Strategist Systems design strategy for robotic landing on Europa — **NASA Jet Propulsion Lab - Europa Lander Proposal**
*Lead Product Design Strategist*
Systems design strategy for robotic landing on Europa

Google SPAN Conference 2016 Speaker & Panelist — **Google SPAN Conference 2016**
*Speaker & Panelist*

Core 77 Conference 2016 Speaker — **Core 77 Conference 2016**
*Speaker*

NASA Jet Propulsion Lab - RoboSimian Product Design Lead Terrestrial robot demo for disaster recovery — **NASA Jet Propulsion Lab - RoboSimian**
*Product Design Lead*
Terrestrial robot demo for disaster recovery

Microsoft - Windows & Edge Principal Director, Experience Architecture Defined digital trust and privacy story — **Microsoft - Windows & Edge**
*Principal Director, Experience Architecture*
Defined digital trust and privacy story

TEDxArtCenter College of Design 2015 Speaker — **TEDxArtCenter College of Design 2015**
*Speaker*

Microsoft - Education Principal Director, Experience Architecture Shaped equitable learning at scale — **Microsoft - Education**
*Principal Director, Experience Architecture*
Shaped equitable learning at scale

Ilan Dei Studio - Radical Optimism 2017 Panelist — **Ilan Dei Studio - Radical Optimism 2017**
*Panelist*

AIGA Eye on Design Conference 2017 Keynote Speaker — **AIGA Eye on Design Conference 2017**
*Keynote Speaker*

Microsoft 2024 Environmental Sustainability Report Principal Director, Design for Sustainability & Contributing Editor — **Microsoft 2024 Environmental Sustainability Report**
*Principal Director, Design for Sustainability & Contributing Editor*

Microsoft - Xbox Principal Director, Design for Sustainability Advanced sustainable gaming hardware — **Microsoft - Xbox**
*Principal Director, Design for Sustainability*
Advanced sustainable gaming hardware

NASA JPL - Regional Hydrologic Extremes Assessment System Co-Author & Lead Product Strategist Modular hydrologic modeling framework — **NASA JPL - Regional Hydrologic Extremes Assessment System**
*Co-Author & Lead Product Strategist*
Modular hydrologic modeling framework

Strategic Partnerships

Strategic Advising & Consulting

Guidance for leaders, missions, and organizations working across science, design, technology, and climate resilience.
Systems Design & Future Envisioning

Cross‑sector envisioning and design shaping programs, missions, and responses across disciplines and scales.
Education, Speaking & Storytelling

Talks, keynotes, and thought leadership that explore the human condition and our place on a climate‑changing planet.

Get In Touch

Inquires, partnerships, or collaborations.

JESSIE KAWATA

Strategist Catalyst Earthling

Strategic Advising & Consulting

Systems Design & Future Envisioning

Education, Speaking & Storytelling

Get In Touch

JESSIE KAWATA