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Ellen McGirt

Ellen McGirt is an author, podcaster, speaker, community builder, and award-winning business journalist. She is the editor-in-chief of Design Observer, a media company that has maintained the same clear vision for more than two decades: to expand the definition of design in service of a better world. Ellen established the inclusive leadership beat at Fortune in 2016 with raceAhead, an award-winning newsletter on race, culture, and business. The Fortune, Time, Money, and Fast Company alumna has published over twenty magazine cover stories throughout her twenty-year career, exploring the people and ideas changing business for good. Ask her about fly fishing if you get the chance.

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The Observatory Newsletter

Ellen McGirt

Protestors at “No Kings” rallies are making their mark.

The Observatory Newsletter

Ellen McGirt

Systems are failing. Just ask airport staff.

The Observatory Newsletter

Ellen McGirt

If you have good taste and excellent discernment, this is your time to shine.

The Observatory Newsletter

Ellen McGirt

Every problem is a design problem. This one is public safety.

Arts + Culture

Ellen McGirt

Your Black History Month reading list

The Observatory Newsletter

Ellen McGirt

Designing for racial inclusion

The Observatory Newsletter

Ellen McGirt

A devotion to the human face

Arts + Culture

Ellen McGirt|Interviews

The face, reconsidered
hand pouring water from a clear pitcher into a clear glass

The Observatory Newsletter

Ellen McGirt

Branding the global water crisis

The Observatory Newsletter

Ellen McGirt

Innovators, don’t be afraid of the dark

The Observatory Newsletter

Ellen McGirt|New Ideas

Gen-AI is a threat to human thinking

The Observatory Newsletter

Ellen McGirt

Lessons in connoisseurship from the Golden Globes