Keynote Speakers

Professor Yuko Aoyama is an economic/industrial geographer with expertise in globalization, industrial organization, technological innovation, and cultural economy. Her research interest lies in developing geographic understandings of global capitalisms from institutional and comparative perspectives. Her work demonstrates how various industrial sectors and entrepreneurs sustain economic distinctiveness in spite of globalization, in the USA, Japan, Spain, and India. She has conducted research in a variety of industries, ranging from electronics, video games and logistics to autonomous vehicles, wind energy, and tourism. Her recent work on India focused on cross-domain collaborations between for-profit and nonprofit organizations that induce social innovation. She is currently interested in advancing research on technological and institutional aspects of the mobility revolution.

Professor Aoyama received her PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. She has been awarded an Abe Fellowship from the Social Science Research Council, Bellagio Academic Residency from the Rockefeller Foundation, as well as research grants form the National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society, and the Association of Asian Studies. She has taught at University of Georgia prior to joining faculty at Clark University in 2000. She has taught courses on economic geography, globalization, Asian development, and internet geography.

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Clarence Edwards serves as the Executive Director, U.S. for E3G – Third Generation Environmentalism, in Washington DC. In that role, he works on policy issues related to the intersection of climate change, politics, and U.S. foreign policy.

Previously, Mr. Edwards served as the Legislative Director for Sustainable Energy and Environment at the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), where he lobbied on legislation supporting clean energy, environmental justice, and international climate finance. His extensive background in the international policy advocacy includes representing the Australian Government’s interests in the United States, advocating for global health funding on behalf of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, the ONE Campaign, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Mr. Edwards has served in the U.S. government, working on budget and appropriations for the U.S. Department of Energy and on public diplomacy for the Department of State. He began his career by working as a Staff Assistant in the U.S. Senate. Mr. Edwards holds a Master’s in international public policy from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).