TED Community » Todd Porter

About Me

Co-founder of IMPACT Foundation Japan and TEDxTokyo -
Starting TED Salon Tokyo before there was TEDx, then launching the first international and second TEDx, I have been supporting the TEDx movement as one of the inaugural TEDx Ambassadors, including helping organize the first regional organizer summit on the Great Wall of China--what an experience that was!

To develop a more dynamic ecosystem for supporting action after inspiration, I co-founded IMPACT Foundation Japan as a platform for impact organizations and individuals to cross-fertilize and collaborate year round, including the launch of physical hubs in both Tokyo and Tohoku.

TOHOKU – 3.11 Disasters
The scale and impact of the triple disasters in the north of Japan are hard to describe to anyone who has not been there in person, but it has also activated many people to begin working across traditional boundaries to collaborate on Tohoku renewal. We are playing a connecting and catalyzing role to help build momentum during this unique window of opportunity.

(Back story - What led me here...)
Being fascinated by the photos in my dad's collection of National Geographic magazines before I could read, and with Jacques Cousteau as my first hero, I saw a vibrant, diverse world I wanted to experience. Starting with my first international homestay in my early teens, I later won a full university scholarship that allowed me to study human and natural systems around the world.

I got an initial overview to the corporate world as a strategy consultant at Bain & Company, and then soon followed my interest in social innovation to work with the pioneer in the field, Ashoka: Innovators for the Public. Next, as Organizational Development Director of Public Allies, I co-wrote the proposal that won a major government grant to become a national pilot program in cities around the country, with now First Lady Michelle Obama leading the Chicago pilot.

Seeing the potential of the internet in the early 90s, I spent time as a fellow at The Meta Network, one of the first online social networks, before heading to Silicon Valley to focus on entrepreneurship and innovation at Stanford Business School. While a student there I co-founded a learning company and co-taught with Stanford Professor of Creativity and Innovation Michael Ray, whose legendary class Personal Creativity in Business hosted unconventional role models as Steve Jobs and changed lives.

Next I worked as the Venture Catalyst at Imagine Media for Chris Anderson who introduced me to TED when he began exploring buying the conference through his Sapling Foundation. When I later relocated to Japan with my Japanese wife, I felt TED could be the perfect trigger in Japan and began prototyping initial elements of a new platform with TEDster Patrick Newell, starting with TED Salon Tokyo (the precursor to TEDxTokyo).

While continuing to support the expansion of the TEDx movement in Japan and Asia, I began adding strategic projects for developing the fuller ecosystem including the launch of a new catalyst organization, IMPACT Foundation Japan to be a “can do” community and platform for innovators and entrepreneurs.