Ash Donaldson

Atheist, Brainstormer, Business leader, Concerned citizen, Consultant, Designer, Educator/Teacher, Explorer, Idea generator, Investor, Parent, Potential employer, World traveler

I'm an ex-pilot who was so amazed by the results of applying human factors to aviation, that I had to make it my life mission to apply human factors to the design of everything. Since then I've used this approach to designing anything: from startup websites to health services and government policy.

Increasing human thriving.

Healthcare is sick. Around the world, it's still shackled by a culture of eminence over evidence. This can be solved by the systematic application of human factors. As it has been done in aviation, energy, and other mission or safety critical industries.

Aviation, Behaviour Design, Health, Human Centred Design, Human Factors, Interaction Design, Qualitative Research, Service Design, Strategic Design

I started going to TED in 2008. At the time, it was outgrowing the single location, so my first experience was in the snow for TED@Aspen. This was the beginning of 'TEDActive' - a smaller, but more connected group of like minded folks. The next year it moved to Palm Springs. Very different location, but the same intimate vibe. When TED stopped hosting the TEDActive events, I moved over to The EG. This was a similar, small and amazing group of people I made friends with. After spending a few years concentrating on raising a small family, I'm now ready to return to TED for the connection, intellectual stimulation, and joy of widening my horizons again (as well as celebrating the 40th year of this amazing gathering).

Training dogs. It's a simple, yet undervalued skill that can be used across all aspects of life: from raising a family to leading a team. The key ingredients are simply: consistency and positive reinforcement.