I Spy Like A Dragonfly Anthology
Project Overview
What happens when we invite people from around the world to speak to children about the future, not through fear, prediction, or certainty, but through wonder, care, imagination, and possibility?
The I Spy Like a Dragonfly Crowdsourced Project brought together artists, futurists, educators, parents, storytellers, musicians, dancers, and dreamers across cultures and generations to respond to a simple but profound prompt –>
What emerged was something far greater than a collection of submissions. It became a tapestry of voices offering children a different relationship with the future:
empathy instead of fear
connection instead of separation
imagination instead of limitation
becoming instead of simply doing
Inside this digital anthology, you’ll discover heartfelt letters, poems, songs, dances, stories, paintings, illustrations, videos, and reflections from contributors around the world. Each submission carries its own rhythm, culture, wisdom, and way of seeing. Together, they form a many-eyed whole, an ecosystem of perspectives inviting us to dream beyond dominant narratives and into more life-giving possibilities.
Collection & Discussion Guides
Every contributor featured here answered the call to help nurture a new generation capable of sensing beauty, coherence, transformation, and hope amid complexity. As you explore the gallery below, we invite you to slow down and experience each contribution not simply as content, but as an offering. A glimpse into the kinds of futures we may cultivate when we choose cooperation over competition, curiosity over certainty, and love over fear.
Whether you are an educator, parent, librarian, artist, community leader, or fellow traveler on The Dragonfly Journey, we hope these creations inspire meaningful conversations with the children in your life and awaken new ways of seeing within yourself as well.
To aid in these discussions, we’ve developed two conversation guides: adults and children. Let us know about your discussions at info@tfsx.com!
Note: TFSX has digitized all written submissions to the project.
amalia deloney
Founder & Principal, Regenerative Futures (Point A Studio)
USA
amalia deloney is a practitioner of regenerative futures whose work weaves foresight, design, and collaborative imagination. Through Point A Studio, she supports communities and organizations to sense what’s emerging, release what’s ending, and build futures rooted in equity and belonging.
Asma Yousuf Zainal
Founder, The Futurista
UAE
Asma Yousuf Zainal is a futurist, researcher and global foresight voice whose work bridges strategy, culture and long-horizon thinking. Alongside her futures practice, she works within Dubai Government in a leading pre-hospital emergency institution, bringing a grounded systems perspective to her approach. As founder of The Futurista, she develops futures frameworks that enable institutions to move beyond short-term urgency toward informed and intentional decision making. Author of Foresight and Futures Design and contributor to peer-reviewed research in innovation and emerging technologies, Asma’s influence spans government systems, youth futures education and innovation ecosystems. She has received multiple local and international distinctions in futures thinking, entrepreneurship and educational innovation, including the Global Women of Influence Award in Futures Thinking 2025. She advances futures literacy as a globally relevant, culturally grounded and deeply human discipline.
Camila Mozzini-Alister
Community Services Senior Lecturer, Acknowledge Education, Australia; Adjunct Research Fellow, University of the Sunshine Coast - UniSC
Australia
I am a creative heart futurist who loves research and is passionate about social media education. She has completed a double PhD in Communication (UERJ-Brazil) and Arts (UPV-Spain), a Research Master in Social and Institutional Psychology (UFRGS-Brazil) and a Bachelor’s Degree (Honours) in Social Communication and Journalism (UFRGS-Brazil). I am interested in the interfaces between body, technology, social media, spirituality, migration and desire for omnipresence and have published the books Transitional Selves: Possibilities for Identity in a Plurified World (2023, co-authored with Bussey and Chakravorty), Phenomenologies of Grace: The Body, Embodiment, and Transformative Futures (2020, co-authored with Bussey), and Impressions of a Connected Body: How Advertising is Inciting us to Digital Connection (2019). In 2021, I published the book “Does Social Media Have Limits? Bodies of Light & the Desire for Omnipresence”, by Palgrave Macmillan, where I studied the hidden link between mediation and meditation, mind and screen, as the germs for understanding the current forms of technical expansion of our body substrate. I take writing as a field of poetic experimentation and the body as our first and ultimate creative substratum.
Dr. Cheryl Doig
Futurist, Think Beyond Ltd.
New Zealand
Futurist and foresight practitioner committed to exploring trends and opportunities and applying them to a local context. Focused on using the future now and supporting others on their futures journey in f2f and digital spaces. A background in governance of not-for profit boards and leadership provides unique expertise across industries. Known by her colleagues as the #futuresaunty who encourages others to #acceptthenudge.
Narrated by Frank Spencer
Diane Edwards
Human Resources Executive
New Zealand
Diane’s career spans roles in a diverse range of positions including teaching, management, accounting, business reengineering, IT, L&D, HR, and change management. She has worked within multiple sectors and has overseas experience in the UK, USA, Australia, India and Tanzania. She is the recipient of multiple national and international awards including the 2016 Australasian Award for Culture Creation, The HRNZ National HR Specialist of the Year for Change Management and Women in Governance award for Gender Advancement. Her particular futures interest area is taking foresight to those with minimal access to education or formal training and leveraging indigenous thinking to enhance traditional futures practice.
Ellen Hjelm
Author; Master student - Uppsala University
Sweden
Ellen Hjelm explores language as a space for reflection and connection. She writes from intuition and curiosity, inspired by the inner child, nature’s balance, and the pursuit of mental and emotional sustainability.
Dr. Gregor H. Mews
Lecturer - School of Law and Society, University of the Sunshine Coast
Australia
Dr. Gregor H. Mews MURP (TU-Berlin), PhD EnvirDes (University of Canberra), MPIA, ISOCARP, is currently an academic at the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) and senior leadership figure in the international NGO space. His multidisciplinary research focuses on urban healthy, regenerative design, emphasising the convergence of public health, public space, ontological design theory, spatial justice, and more-than-human urbanism.
Jenny Asp
Master student - Implementation, Transformative Learning and Sustainability, Uppsala University
Sweden
Change agent with a passion for transformative learning, social sustainability and health promotion
John McCabe
Senior Manager - Design Operations, General Motors
USA
20 years building design teams that take new technology and make it tangible for people
Karem Coronel
Author; Founder, Turtle&Co
USA
Karem Coronel is Founder of Turtle&Co, a company focused on empowering youth through storytelling and values based learning. In addition, Karem works at Mastercard in roles across strategy and operations, product innovation and GTM, and events management. Prior to that, she worked in healthcare, consulting, and risk. Karem is also a peer coach, enjoys dance, practices mindfulness and meditation, loves to travel and volunteering for organizations that focus on animal rescue and youth education.
Kelsey Volkmann
Senior Manager, Integration + Strategy, External Affairs, Edward Jones
USA
Kelsey’s motto is “Let’s design better futures together” as she works to make financial services more accessible to more people. She leads External Affairs integration, strategy and innovation at Edward Jones, a Fortune 260 firm with more than 9 million clients and 20,000 financial advisors across North America. Kelsey previously led teams in Design Consulting, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, and User Experience. She’s pursuing her Master’s in Business Innovation at Savannah College of Art & Design, where she’s led several innovation and design efforts for global and small companies alike, including Samsung Mobile and a coffeeshop in Atlanta’s historic Sweet Auburn neighborhood. Before joining Edward Jones as a news editor in 2011, Kelsey worked as a newspaper reporter and editor in St. Louis, Baltimore and Pittsburgh. She lives with her partner Pesach in Chicago, where they love dancing and watching movies.
Pesach Weinstein
USA
Pesach Weinstein loves bringing out the best in others. He studied world religions and has a master’s degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School. He enjoys dancing, reading and playing chess.
Khary Jackson
USA
Khary Jackson is a writer, dancer and musician. Khary has been a recipient of several generous grants, including the 2019 Jerome Artist Fellowship and the 2022 and 2016 McKnight Artist Fellowships in Writing. Khary is an alum of Cave Canem, the esteemed writing fellowship for Black writers. Khary‘s poetry book, Any Psalm You Want, was published with Write Bloody Publishing in the spring of 2013.
Kimberly Sheerin
Associate Instructor - Choreography, Kinetic Expressions Dance Academy
USA
Kimberly has trained extensively in many forms of dance for over 40 years, studying on Long Island, New York and at the Broadway Dance Center in Manhattan. She attended Adelphi University as a dance major and has been teaching and choreographing throughout New York and Florida since 1998. She has created award winning choreography recognized with multiple first place national titles. She feels that “Dance is a full expression of who I am and what I feel. When I dance, I allow the music to take control, letting go of everything around me and becoming fully present in the moment.”
Claire Whitley
Assistant City Manager & HR Director, City of Ormond Beach, FL
USA
Krystina Hatcher
USA
Krystina Hatcher holds a BFA in Acting and Dance from Calvin College. A passionate performer and choreographer, her favorite style of dance is tap. Krystina specializes in musical theatre choreography, with recent productions including 9 to 5 and Anne of Green Gables: The Musical. Outside of dance, Krystina enjoys CrossFit, coaching her sons’ baseball teams, and performing in local community theatre productions.
Nicole Baker Rosa
Head of Human Design & Development, TFSX
USA
Nicole cultivates and strengthens diverse relationships across TFSX while helping drive culture change and build organizational capacity through foresight. With 10+ years of experience in the field, including work with The Walt Disney Company and Metro de Santiago, she is recognized as a skilled speaker and thought leader in foresight implementation. Prior to joining TFSX, Nicole worked in higher education with a focus on student engagement, program development, and industry certification, experiences that helped shape the creation of the Professional Foresight Certification in Natural Foresight. She holds a Master of Arts in Interpersonal Communication and Diversity Certificates from University of Central Florida and a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from University of Florida. Nicole has contributed to the field through both practice and scholarship, including publishing a case study chapter in a Palgrave Macmillan foresight textbook, with additional research appearing in the Journal of Organizational Change Management and Qualitative Research Reports in Communication. She has danced for more than 30 years, with a particular love for Fosse and Horton styles.
Lulu (Alisha) Drinkwater
Environmental Biologist
Canada
BSc. Biology / Mother of two
20+yr GOC Environmental Biologist / 5+yr Board Executive ENGO
Mental Health Champion
Dr. Marcus Bussey
Senior Lecturer in History and Futures School of Law and Society, University of the Sunshine Coast
Australia
Marcus is a passionate imagineer who explores transformative practices in the present through cutting edge Futures scholarship and embodied practice.
Narrated by Frank Spencer
Michelle James
Founder, The Center for Creative Emergence
USA
Michelle James is a pioneering applied creativity, applied improvisation, and emergence catalyst, facilitator, and coach. She’s been using universal creative principles and the process of emergence as the basis for her transformation work with thousands of people – individuals, corporations and communities – for over two decades. You can find her work at www.creativeemergence.com and her recent book, Pattern Breaks: A Facilitator’s Guide for Cultivating Creativity, at www.patternbreaks.com.
Narrated by 7-yr old, Zoë Rosa
Nan Carmack
Principle Consultant, C3 LLC
USA
Nan has spent 20+ years as a public servant, working in libraries and the public sector, where the intersection of social justice and intellectual curiosity arise. She holds a Doctorate and Masters degrees in Education as well as a Masters of Library and Information Science. She is interested in neuroscience in the arts and learning. She is married and has three adult children and lives in Richmond, Virginia, USA. She enjoys making art, reading, and knitting.
Ozioma Egwuonwu
Founder, World Dream Day & BurnBright International
USA
Ozioma Egwuonwu is an internationally recognized speaker, strategist, scholar, and expert in transformational strategy, serving as Chief Strategic Transformation Officer of BurnBright International. She advises governments, Fortune 100 companies, nonprofits, startups, and leaders on complex strategic and transformational initiatives, and has spoken at organizations and institutions including the United Nations, TEDx, SXSW, Singularity University, Oxford University, Howard University, and Columbia University. She is also the founder of World Dream Day, a global movement dedicated to activating ideas, goals, and dreams, and the creator of Visionary Futuremaking, a framework designed to help individuals and organizations imagine and build desired futures.
Narrated by Yvette Montero Salvatico
Peachie Dioquino-Valera
Co-organizer, VegFest Pilipinas; Climate Reality Leader, The Climate Reality Project; Co-founder, LightSeers; Independent Consultant; Freelance Writer, Foresight Facilitator, & Performance Artist
Philippines
Peachie Dioquino-Valera is a Climate Reality Leader of The Climate Reality Project. She is behind Peachie Keen & Green— a social media account where she posts her environmental activism and conservation works. She is a Co-organizer of VegFest Pilipinas, and a Co-founder and Council Member of LightSeers, a non-profit Spiritualism organization. Peachie is a Futures Learning Facilitator and Foresight Practitioner; and a co-creator of the Dreams & Disruptions game, which won the 2023 IF Awards. Peachie is also a writer, poet, and a contractual performance artist when she stays in the UAE.
Dr. Robert Leach
Founder, OCNUS Consulting
Australia
Dr. Rob Leach is a writer, strategist and educator with a PhD in Professional Writing and author of The Rope Dancer, praised for its psychological depth. Founder of OCNUS Consulting, he helps organisations think strategically and use AI for purpose-driven innovation. Formerly Principal at St Andrew’s College and lecturer at the University of Melbourne, he now explores AI, entrepreneurship and futures theory in his second PhD.
Samantha Willcocks
Author & Graphic Design; Researcher, UniSC; Eco-cultural Ceremonialist; Women's Group Facilitator
Australia
Samantha Willcocks holds a double degree BA/BSc from the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia, where she received the Chancellor’s Medal and Academic Awards. Samantha is currently studying her Masters/PhD with a focus on resilience and adaptive capacity through the lens of futures studies within a Luo community in village Alkebulan / Africa. Her research explores the human-nature-culture nexus with a focus on enhancing climate resilience and cultivating preferred futures.
Narrated by Nicole Baker Rosa
Shiela R. Castillo
Independent Consultant. Foresight. Social Development
Philippines
Shiela is a social development professional, foresight practitioner, and climate advocate with 20 years of experience in the Philippines and Cambodia. She is currently engaged as Foresight Director of United Edge, a justice-based social enterprise. One of the co-founders of the Philippine Futures Thinking Society (PhilFutures), she has been an APF member since 2020. In 2017, she was awarded the Climate Reality Luntiang Dahon (Green Leaf) Award for Climate Leadership. A passionate environmentalist and animal rights activist, her work is focused on the futures of justice.
Sonja Blignaut
Waysfinding guide, More Beyond
South Africa
Sonja is a guide for liminal times. With over two decades of experience in complexity and systems change, she helps individuals, teams, and organisations navigate uncertainty with clarity and compassion. As the creator of Waycraft, she offers a practical yet deeply human approach that spans boardrooms and wild edges, supporting people and systems in building capacity, adapting, and moving forward in the unknown. morebeyond.co.za
Megan Nutt Bester
Creative Consultant & Visual Alchemist, Nutt Creative Consultants
South Africa
Based in Cape Town, Megan is a passionate creative consultant and founder of Nutt Creative. Guided by her ‘From Pencil to Pixel’ ethos, she bridges traditional artistry and digital innovation through a hands-on, human approach. With thoughtful storytelling and purposeful design, she helps brands evolve authentically in an ever-changing world. nuttcreative.com
Virginia Robin
Legal Futurist, Feel Better Futures
Australia
Virginia Robin is a lawyer turned Legal Futurist with over 30 years experience in the legal field. Now focused on innovation, she integrates systems theory, quantum physics, and Indigenous wisdom to reshape legal practice and conflict resolution. She equips law firms with emotional intelligence tools and created the Robin Method, a three-step decision-making model developed over 13 years and taught to nearly 10,000 global students. Virginia calls the Sunshine Coast Australia her home.
Narrated by Nicole Baker Rosa
Keep the Anthology Growing
The I Spy Like a Dragonfly anthology is an evolving, living collection and submissions remain open.
If this project speaks to you, or if you feel called to share a message with the next generation about imagination, hope, empathy, transformation, and the future, we warmly invite you to contribute at any time. New submissions will continue to be added to the digital anthology as it grows across communities, cultures, and ways of seeing.
Whether through a poem, story, dance, song, artwork, letter, or another creative expression, your voice becomes part of a larger tapestry helping children dream beyond inherited limitations and toward more beautiful possibilities.
Imagining better futures is not a one-time exercise. It is an ongoing act of collective becoming.
