Nonny de la Peña, New Arizona Fellow and founder of Emblematic Group, was named 2018 WSJ Technology Innovator of the Year and one of CNET’s 20 Most Influential Latinos in Tech in 2017, as well as being called “The Godmother of Virtual Reality” by Engadget and the Guardian for her leadership using cutting edge technologies to tell important stories. Her latest breakthrough is Emblematic's WebVR platform REACH, a no code toolset which creates scalable distribution in the medium, democratizes content authorship, and empowers new voices to share their stories. A Yale Poynter Media Fellow, New America Fellow, and a former correspondent for Newsweek, de la Peña is widely credited with pioneering the genre of immersive journalism. She was selected by WIRED as a #MakeTechHuman Agent of Change, and Fast Company named her “One of the People Who Made the World More Creative” for her work in immersive storytelling. Under her leadership, Emblematic has built a critically acclaimed body of work using a range of technologies from 360 video, to VR, AR, and XR technologies, and AI and machine learning. Emblematic’s diverse roster of world class clients includes Cartier, Google, Lenovo, Italian fashion brand GCDS, and the World Economic Forum.
