Bio

Anne Connelly has been a leader in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector for over a decade. She is Faculty at Boston University's Questrom School of Business, where she teaches Blockchain-based Business Models for Social Impact. She has also lectured at Oxford University’s Saïd School of Business on Innovations for Impact Finance.

An entrepreneur and angel investor, Anne is a globally sought after consultant and an advisor for corporations, startups and non profits. She is the co-author of “Bitcoin and the Future of Fundraising”, a guide for charities on crypto donations, and the co-author of ‘Trust’, a graphic novel that teaches young Africans about blockchain. She is certified from the Institute of Corporate Directors and sits as a steward on the Gitcoin DAO, a decentralized organization that supports the creation of public goods. 

Anne previously worked with Doctors Without Borders as a field worker in Central African Republic and the DR Congo. She has a Bachelor of Life Sciences from Queen’s University, an MBA from McMaster University, and is certified in Strategic Disruption from Harvard Business School. She was honoured as one of CBC’s 12 Young Leaders Changing Canada and one of the Fifty Most Inspirational Women in Technology in Canada.

Speaking Topics:

Exploring Future Scenarios: A Future Forecasting Workshop

This is an interactive session designed to help participants visualize and analyze the potential ripple effects of emerging trends or decisions. Attendees will collaboratively map out the direct, indirect, and long-term consequences of a specific change or event, creating a visual representation of possible future scenarios. This workshop encourages creative thinking and strategic foresight, equipping participants with the tools to anticipate challenges, uncover opportunities, and make more informed decisions in an ever-evolving world.

Headlines from the Future: A Visionary Thinking Workshop

This is an engaging and thought-provoking session where participants review newspaper headlines related to future technological or societal milestones. Groups work together to predict when these headlines will appear on a timeline. By projecting themselves into the future, attendees will creatively articulate how today's decisions might shape tomorrow's world. This activity encourages participants to think beyond the immediate, sparking innovative ideas and strategic insights that can guide planning and decision-making. The workshop is ideal for anyone looking to sharpen their foresight skills and envision transformative possibilities for the future.

Intro to Exponential Thinking

Our world is changing at an exponential pace. In this talk, Anne Connelly will teach you how to change your mindset to adapt to this pace, and become an exponential leader. You’ll learn about the 6 D’s of exponential thinking: digitization, deception, disruption, demonetization, dematerialization, and democratization, and how they can help us prepare for the future. She will provide examples of exponential growth in the world, and highlight companies who have changed their strategies to thrive in a world of change.

Perfect for executives looking to amp up their team’s performance, this session will inspire participants to take a future forward approach to leadership, and guide them through the process of creating a Massive Transformative Purpose and define how they can use their skills and talents to create a positive impact on the world.

Blockchain and the Future of Decentralized Societies

The foundation of our society is built on trust - trust in governments, banks, and other institutions. But what happens when we can't trust the institutions we depend on? How can we reimagine what society looks like in a more globally connected digital world?

Blockchain technology enables us to completely redesign society by shifting power back into the hands of communities themselves. Using decentralized models, foundational elements of communities like money, identity, and governance can be reimagined to create a more democratized and accessible world.

Anne Connelly has over a decade of experience in the blockchain sector. In this talk, she’ll cover the basics of blockchain technology, look at how it impacts our lives as individuals, how it enables us to connect as communities, and what it will mean for traditional businesses. Touching on topics like cryptocurrencies, self-sovereign identities, and decentralized governance models, she’ll inspire you to see beyond the headlines and understand how the decentralization enabled by blockchains is impacting the world’s most vulnerable people. Finally, she’ll look at how the convergence of blockchains with other technologies will create a new world for humans as a species.

Blockchain is a powerful technology that has the potential to revolutionize a wide range of industries. It is still in its early stages, but it has the potential to create a more secure, transparent, and efficient world. This talk is relevant for professionals across a variety of industries and will educate and inform people who are both completely new to blockchain as well as those who already have experience. 

Blockchain and Education

The foundation of our society is built on trust - trust in governments, banks, and other institutions. But what happens when we can't trust the institutions we depend on? How can we reimagine what society looks like in a more globally connected digital world?

Blockchain technology enables us to completely redesign society by shifting power back into the hands of communities themselves. Using decentralized models, foundational elements of communities like money, identity, and governance can be reimagined to create a more democratized and accessible world.

Anne Connelly has over a decade of experience in the blockchain sector. In this talk, she’ll cover the basics of blockchain technology, look at how it impacts our lives as individuals, how it enables us to connect as communities, and what it will mean for the education sector. Touching on topics like cryptocurrencies, verified educational credentials, and decentralized education models, she’ll inspire you to see beyond the headlines and understand how the decentralization enabled by blockchains is impacting the world’s most vulnerable people. 

Blockchain is a powerful technology that has the potential to revolutionize education. It is still in its early stages, but it has the potential to create a more secure, transparent, and efficient world. This talk is relevant for professionals across a variety of industries and will educate and inform people who are both completely new to blockchain as well as those who already have experience. 

NFTs and the Tokenization of Assets

The foundation of our society is built on trust - trust in governments, banks, and other institutions. But what happens when we can't trust the institutions we depend on? How can we reimagine what asset ownership looks like in a more globally connected digital world?

Blockchain technology enables us to completely redesign society by shifting power back into the hands of communities themselves. Using decentralized models, foundational elements of communities like land titles, art, and identity can be reimagined to create a more democratized and accessible world.

Anne Connelly has over a decade of experience in the blockchain sector. In this talk, she’ll cover the basics of blockchain technology and dive into the world of Non-Fungible Tokens. She’ll explore applications in art, fashion, real estate, and impact, and look at how they fit in with the metaverse. She'll inspire you to see beyond the headlines and understand how the decentralization enabled by blockchains is impacting the world’s most vulnerable people. 

Blockchain is a powerful technology that has the potential to revolutionize access to asset ownership. It is still in its early stages, but it has the potential to create a more secure, transparent, and efficient world. This talk is relevant for professionals across a variety of industries and will educate and inform people who are both completely new to blockchain as well as those who already have experience. 

Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies

The foundation of our society is built on trust - trust in governments, banks, and other institutions. But what happens when we can't trust the institutions we depend on? How can we reimagine what money looks like in a more globally connected digital world?

Blockchain technology enables us to completely redesign society by shifting power back into the hands of communities themselves. Using decentralized models, foundational elements of communities like money, identity and governance can be reimagined to create a more democratized and accessible world.

Anne Connelly has over a decade of experience in the blockchain sector. In this talk, she’ll cover the basics of blockchain technology and dive into the latest innovations in the sector. She’ll explore cryptocurrencies, how to buy and store them, what are the different types and what they can be used for, and how this new form of money will impact your industry. She'll inspire you to see beyond the headlines and understand how the cryptocurrencies are impacting the world’s most vulnerable people. 

Blockchain is a powerful technology that has the potential to revolutionize money as we know it. It is still in its early stages, but it has the potential to create a more secure, transparent, and efficient world. This talk is relevant for professionals across a variety of industries and will educate and inform people who are both completely new to blockchain as well as those who already have experience. 

Web3

The foundation of our society is built on trust - trust in governments, banks, and other institutions. But what happens when we can't trust the institutions we depend on? How can we reimagine what society looks like in a more globally connected digital world? 

The world is shifting from web2 to web3 and enabling the decentralization of societies thanks to blockchain technology and its ability to shift power back into the hands of communities. Using decentralized models, foundational elements of communities like money, identity, and governance can be reimagined to create a more democratized and accessible world.

Anne Connelly has over a decade of experience in the blockchain and web3 sector. In this talk, she’ll explain society’s transition from web1 to web3 and what that means for the world. She’ll cover the basics of blockchain technology and how that enables web3, look at how it impacts our lives as individuals, how it enables us to connect as communities, and what it will mean for society moving forward. Touching on topics like cryptocurrencies, self-sovereign identity, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), she’ll inspire you to see beyond the headlines and understand how the decentralization enabled by blockchains is impacting the world’s most vulnerable people. 

Decentralized Innovations in Impact Finance

The foundation of our society is built on trust - trust in governments, banks, and other institutions. But what happens when we can't trust the institutions we depend on? How can we reimagine what impact looks like in a more globally connected digital world?

Blockchain technology enables us to completely redesign legacy structures by shifting power into the hands of communities themselves. 

Anne Connelly has over a decade of experience in the blockchain sector. In this talk, she’ll cover the basics of blockchain technology and dive into the world of NFT-based impact outcomes, tokenized impact markets, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). She'll inspire you to see beyond the headlines and understand how the decentralization enabled by blockchains is impacting the world’s most vulnerable people. 

Blockchain is a powerful technology that has the potential to revolutionize impact finance. It is still in its early stages, but it has the potential to create a more secure, transparent, and efficient world. This talk is relevant for professionals across a variety of industries and will educate and inform people who are both completely new to blockchain as well as those who already have experience.