My piece for NPR's The Academic Minute was selected as one of their best of the year. Yay! https://academicminute.org/best-of-the-academic-minute-in-2025-johanna-smith-california-state-university-san-bernardino-finding-the-courage-to-demand-delight/

New keynote available! If you want to be inspired to find innovation everywhere, bring me in to present "Think Like a Puppeteer!" Perfect for anyone who wants to think more creatively using the awesome, puppety power of limits. Includes a walk through some of the innovative (and silly) thinking I've learned from 30 years of solving puppet problems. Also perfect for Theatre students! Email me at johanner@gmail.com to set up your event.

I had the pleasure of facilitating a debate between an AI expert and... AI! It was fun to come up with the idea for this event. More here: https://www.csusb.edu/inside/article/593016/ai-debate-csusb-highlights-promise-pitfalls-and-need-critical-thinking?fbclid=IwY2xjawOG40pleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyCGNhbGxzaXRlAjMwAAEeRx7VcOnVnVM7MdNjgkyAJtdpNe0VGd2A5SFp72CBptkCF_v6FIAiD8Ff-EE_aem_lIYpZUuYf3LYHXu0OsDuIg

I'm busy prepping for this exciting event in Konstanz, Germany next week: https://kilometer1.de/bodensee-startup-school/ ...

I'm beyond excited to be presenting a talk and a workshop at this exciting conference in Bochum, Germany in September. Here's the link to...

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/matata/matata-and-friends-on-safari