Dr. Aaron McKain, MSL

MY CAREER IS BLACK MIRROR + DEAD POETS SOCIETY BANANAS

Heads up: We tell all this funny because the "straight" version made cops and reporters cry.

In 2018, I became an "echo chamber diversity hire" at a MAGA Bible college to stop civil war.

It worked: Got left/right + Christian, Muslim, and Jewish orgs to partner together on fixing AI and the tech dividing us.

Then our city blew up. Twice

But for 20 years I've been leading teams of top experts -- plus hundreds of students, lawyers, citizens, and artists, -- on a "Manhattan Project" to align AI, disinfo, privacy, & free speech (and stop civil war) in time.

Secret sauce? I'm a multi-industry "showrunner."

PROFESSOR + EXEC DIRECTOR + SPEECHWRITER

Started grad school on 9/11/01 to solve this crisis of

code, culture, and law.

Used The Daily Show to predict 2025’s reality crisis in '05.

Co-built 1st multi-campus disinfo-fighting network

w/ a Fortune 500 (‘07)

Co-founded an internationally recognized

free speech art collective (‘17)

see the story/book pitch here

a very particular set of skills

EXPERIENTIAL ED PLATFORMS + THINK TANKS + GOVERNANCE SYSTEMS + CIVIC NETWORKS

POLITICAL MOBILIZATION and CIVIC CRISIS MANAGEMENT

BIPARTISAN COALITIONS

(AND CIVIL CROSS-CULTURAL CONVERSATIONS)

Two decades of working with ALL students, advocates, lawmakers, and experts to get people programmed to hate each other to

remember that they don't.

HIGHER EDUCATION REFORM and POST-AI EDUCATION

SCALABLE SOLUTIONS: K-CEO + CAMPUSES ON "BOTH SIDES" OF REALITY + COMPANIES

Award-winning higher ed leadership: Whether directing a school, teaching students how to build internationally-recognized think tanks as homework, or speechwriting. forTime's University

President of the Year.

ARTS ADVOCACY

THE INSTITUTE FOR AESTHETIC ADVOCACY

CO-FOUNDER /CREATIVE DIRECTOR

BECAUSE ART IS THE ANSWER WHEN WORDS STOP WORKING

Action-oriented cross-cultural events and platforms (on all the 3rd rail issues) to forge new political alliances.

BOOKING: NEWS/PODS + Consulting + trainings + SPEAKING

I keep things simple. Just email me.

NEWS APPEARANCES:
Same day or remote is fine: Currently in Minneapolis.

SPEAKING

1st crowd of 1000s at 17. Should have been a game show host.
Speak "both sides" fluently.

CONSULTING:

Send me the gist. If I'm into it, the first meeting is free.

TRAININGS/WORKSHOPS:

Can get your team up to speed in an hour, on the same page in a day, and make 'em rockstars in a week.

RESILIENCE + CONFLICT RESOLUTION
My "off-menu" specialties.