Dr. Joann Halpern is an author, adjunct professor of International Education at NYU, and a Design Thinking coach. She directed the Hasso Plattner Institute, New York (2018-2025) and previously was the founding director of the German Center for Research and Innovation, New York. In addition to teaching and administrative assignments at universities in the United States and Germany, Dr. Halpern co-founded Knowledge Transfer Beyond Boundaries, an NGO with projects in Cameroon, Nigeria, Yemen, and Antigua. She received her B.A. from Dartmouth College, her M.A. from Harvard University, and her Ph.D. from New York University. She is a recipient of the Harvard University Award for Distinction in Teaching as well as scholarships from the Fulbright Association, German Academic Exchange Service, Robert Bosch Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Dr. Halpern serves on the advisory boards of the Ankh Impact Ventures, the German Center for Research and Innovation (NY and SF), Technical University of Dortmund, University Alliance Ruhr, and the External Advisory Board of the Tandon Institute for Invention, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship.