Melissa Jun Rowley

Melissa Jun Rowley is a journalist, entrepreneur, activist and international speaker focused on the intersection of storytelling, technology, and social justice. As the founder and CEO of Humanise, Inc., she is building TheToolbox.org: a data-driven, humanitarian initiative created by musical icon Peter Gabriel.

Passionate about global exploration, Melissa spoke at TEDx Adventure in the Panamanian jungle, between hiking and waterfall diving excursions. She also hiked through rainforest and visited organic farms in Costa Rica, while writing about the country’s eco-tourism industry. In 2013, she traveled to Seoul, Korea to write a Huffington Post series about Korean adoption laws, while in 2012, she delivered the keynote address at the Social Media Down Under conference in Sydney, Australia.

During the 2015 UN General Assembly, Melissa spoke at the Social Good Summit, a global event examining the impact of technology and new media on social equality initiatives around the world. As a journalist, she often writes about gender issues, the internet of things, smart cities and mobility. Her written work includes features for Fast Company, CBS News, NBC, Mic.com, Huffington Post, Mashable, Village Voice Media, Discovery News, BlogHer, MTV and Cisco's Technology News Network.