Explore
I help leaders turn the uncertainty of technological change into their most powerful competitive advantage. Scroll to learn more about some of the organizations and initiatives I am associated with. For a biography and photographs, or or social media links, please scroll to the bottom of this page. To get in touch, please send email to: jk @ jonathanknowles . com.
I help leaders turn the uncertainty of technological change into their most powerful competitive advantage. Below you will find some of the professional societies and organizations I am affiliated with. Biography, information, photos, social media, and LinkedIn can be found at the bottom of this page.
"People need a sacred narrative. They must have a sense of larger purpose, in one form or another, however intellectualized. They will find a way to keep ancestral spirits alive." E. O. Wilson
Professional Society Affiliations
American Geophysical Union - Link
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics - Link
National Defense Industrial Association - Link
American Association for the Advancement of Science - AAAS
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers - Link
Paleoanthropology Society - Link
American Anthropological Association - Link
Society for American Archaeology - Link
Archaeological Institute of America - Link
Marine Technology Society - Link
Animal Behavior Society - Link
American Society of Agronomy - Link
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers - Link
Western History Association - Link
Organizations
"Wisdom begins in wonder." Socrates
Mission Blue - The Sylvia Earle Alliance - Link
"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves." William Shakespeare
The Aerospace Corporation - Link
“Space is for everybody. It’s not just for a few people in science or math, or for a select group of astronauts. That’s our new frontier out there, and it’s everybody’s business to know about space.” Christa McAuliffe
John Deere - Link
"It's obvious that the key problem facing humanity in the coming century is how to bring a better quality of life - for 8 billion or more people - without wrecking the environment entirely in the attempt." E. O. Wilson
The Big Wild - Link
“There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew."Marshall McLuhan
STAC - Space Technology at Cal (University of California, Berkeley) -Link
“This I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world.” John Steinbeck
Schmidt Family Foundation - Schmidt Marine - Link
“Ocean, n. A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man — who has no gills.” Ambrose Bierce
Marine Conservation Institute - Link
"Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing." Wernher von Braun
The SETI Institute - Link
"By cultivating the beautiful we scatter the seeds of heavenly flowers, as by doing good we cultivate those that belong to humanity." Robert A. Heinlein
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." Walt Disney
MARS - Link
Press: New York Times link - Geek Wire link - Business Insider link - Fast Company link - QUARTZ link - TechCrunch link
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers - Link
"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." Martin Luther King, Jr.
eg - Link
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." The Dalai Lama
TED - Link
"You're never going to kill storytelling, because it's built into the human plan. We come with it." Margaret Atwood
World Building Institute - Link
"There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven't yet met." William Butler Yeats
Made In Space - Link
"Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray." Lord Byron
Aquaai - Link
"Thanks to generations of curious, daring, intrepid explorers of the past, we may know enough, soon enough, to chart safe passage for ourselves far into the future." Sylvia A. Earle
OpenROV - Link
"From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere." Dr. Seuss
National Geographic Open Explorer- Link
"Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things" Steve Jobs
SiliCon: Silicon Valley's Comic Con Link
"If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month." Theodore Roosevelt
Parks & Tech - Link
"The most worth-while thing is to try to put happiness into the lives of others." Robert Baden-Powell
The Turkana Basin Institute - AfricanFossils.org - - Link
"What is now proved was once only imagined." William Blake
Moffett Field Museum at NASA Research Park - Link
"I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts." Henry David Thoreau
Jazz on the Plazz by Los Gatos Music & Arts - Link
"To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity." Douglas Adams
National Policing Institute - Link
"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration. " Ansel Adams
The Royal Geographical Society - Link
"You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us." Robert Louis Stevenson
Explorers Institute - Link
"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you." Frank Lloyd Wright
The Explorers Club - Link
Biography
Business Leader - Explorer - Scientist - Technologist
Jonathan Knowles is a business leader, scientist and technologist with three decades of senior leadership experience in Silicon Valley, having held key positions at Apple, Adobe, and Autodesk — three of the most influential technology companies in the world. His career spans the full arc of the computing and AI revolution, giving him rare firsthand perspective on how transformative technologies are built, scaled, and adopted across industries. Beyond his software roots, Jonathan has extended his reach into industrial and agricultural innovation, serving on the Advanced Technology Council at John Deere, where he contributed to the company's push into precision technology and data-driven agriculture. This breadth of experience across consumer, enterprise, and industrial sectors, combined with his deep roots in the Bay Area's innovation ecosystem, has made him a sought-after board member, advisor, and strategic voice for organizations navigating rapid technological change. Jonathan serves as Exploration Director at the Frontier Development Lab (FDL), a NASA AI research accelerator that pairs AI/ML experts with space and Earth scientists for intensive research. FDL operates as a public-private partnership with NASA and the European Space Agency, with partners that include Google Cloud and NVIDIA, to accelerate discovery at the frontier of science and AI. Jonathan also serves on the boards of several space, ocean, technology, and exploration organizations, and brings his expertise to a remarkably wide range of sectors — from manufacturing and space systems to global energy companies — advising organizations across the full spectrum, from Fortune 100 enterprises to early-stage startups, as well as government agencies and academic institutions around the world. A popular speaker and moderator in formats ranging from high-profile keynotes to executive roundtables and workshops, Jonathan is passionate about helping audiences understand and act on the intersection of emerging technologies and long-range societal trends — making complex ideas accessible, urgent, and actionable. Jonathan serves on the Board of Directors of the Moffett Field Museum at NASA Ames Research Park as Chair of the Strategic Vision & Future Initiatives Committee leading the Moffett Field Heritage and Innovation Center project at NASA Research Park. In his Northern California hometown Los Gatos, he serves as President and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Los Gatos Monte Sereno Police Foundation and as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Los Gatos Music & Arts, producers of Jazz on the Plazz.
Photos
©2025 Jonathan Knowles