Nonny de la Peña

Nonny de la Peña, founder of Emblematic Group, was selected by Wired Magazine as a #MakeTechHuman Agent of Change and has been called “The Godmother of Virtual Reality” by Engadget and The Guardian. Additionally, Fast Company named her “One of the People Who Made the World More Creative.” for her pioneering work in immersive storytelling. At Emblematic Group, she uses cutting edge technologies to tell important stories—both fictional and news-based—that create intense, empathic engagement on the part of viewers.

A Yale Poynter Media Fellow and a former correspondent for Newsweek, de la Peña has more than 20 years of award-winning experience in print, film and TV. She is widely credited with helping create the genre of immersive journalism and her virtual reality work has been featured by the New York Times, BBC, Mashable, Vice, Wired and many others. Showcases around the globe include the Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals, The World Economic Forum in Davos, The Victoria and Albert Museum, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, and Games For Change. She was also “in the room” when the Oculus Rift was first created.

A Peabody Award winner, de la Peña is the founding director of Arizona State University’s Narrative and Emerging Media Program, a best-in-class research and graduate program focused on using emerging technologies in the areas of arts, culture and nonfiction.