Dr. Nelson is the president of ISSS and hosted the 45th conference at Asilomar in 2001. He is best known for his work in developing the curriculum for graduate level studies in Systems Thinking and Whole Systems Design. His book “The Design Way: intentional change in an unpredictable world; foundations and fundamentals of design Competence” has been well received in think tanks as famous IBM, Boeing, and Microsoft. His influence is reflected in the use of systemic design strategies for projects as diverse as student services delivery systems, fighter jets, and school curriculum.