Patrick Cook-Deegan

Founder, Project Wayfinder

San Francisco

Patrick is the founder of Project Wayfinder launched at Stanford’s d.school and is a leader in purpose-driven education and leadership. He spent the last decade developing experiential education programs for mindfulness education (Inward Bound Mindfulness Education), wilderness education (Back to Earth), and social innovation (Brown University’s Social Innovation Initiative). Patrick is a longtime wilderness guide and has been deeply influenced by the history and practices of native traditions around the world.

Patrick has spoken at more than 100 schools including Duke, Yale, and UCLA. He has been featured in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, and NPR and written for Stanford Social Innovation Review, Edutopia, UC Berkeley’s Greater Good and the recently published book Purpose Rising. Patrick is an All-American high school lacrosse player, Fulbright Scholar, Brown University graduate, and former lecturer at Stanford's d.school. He is currently teaching an undergraduate course called "Wayfinding Your Purpose" at UC Berkeley and will be co-teaching a course called "Finding Your Purpose" at Stanford University from January 2019.