We’re here to put a dent in the universe.

Dent The Future is an invite-only community and annual conference for people who feel compelled to make a difference.

Sept 14-16, 2025 in Santa Fe, NM

Next Annual Conference

Get invited to a transformational experience

We bring curious, adventurous, and diverse professionals like you together to explore new approaches to thinking and push you to breakthrough ideas and new insights.

Past Presenters and Participants

More than a decade of pioneers, renowned experts, and innovative thought leaders.

Speakers at Dent The Future are also part of the community, taking part in activities, dinners, and hallway talks along with everyone else. Here are some of the people we’ve come to know since we started in 2012.


  • Cady Coleman is a scientist, wife, mother, pilot, musician, retired NASA Astronaut and a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions and a six-month trip aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

    Coleman currently serves as University Explorer at Arizona State University and as a consultant for a wide range of space-related projects. Her first Space Shuttle mission set the stage for astronauts to conduct pioneering research aboard the ISS in materials science, biotechnology, combustion science and fluid physics. Launching the Chandra X-Ray Observatory was the focus of her second mission, making it possible for scientists everywhere to learn about black holes and dark matter. During her space station expedition, Coleman was the Lead Robotics and Lead Science officer, performing hundreds of science experiments and the second-ever robotic capture of a supply ship from the station. During her ISS mission, she and her crew coached actress Sandra Bullock in preparation for Bullock's role in the movie Gravity.

  • Dr Alvy Ray Smith: Cofounded two successful startups: Pixar (sold to Disney) and Altamira (sold to Microsoft). First director of computer graphics at Lucasfilm. Original member of the Computer Graphics Lab at the New York Institute of Technology.

    First Graphics Fellow at Microsoft. At Xerox PARC for the birth of the personal computer, the internet, and some of the earliest color pixels. Received two technical Academy Awards, for the alpha channel and digital paint systems. Invented the first full-color paint program and the HSV (or HSB) color transform, and co-invented the alpha channel. Directed the Genesis Demo in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

    Hired John Lasseter and directed him in The Adventures of André & Wally B. Proposed and negotiated the Academy-Award winning Disney computer animation production system, CAPS. Instrumental, as a Regent, in initiating the Visible Human Project at the National Library of Medicine.

  • Bob Kramer is an American bladesmith, widely considered the greatest American knifesmith working today. Some consider his kitchen knives to be "the best in the world". His first knife shop in Seattle, Bladesmiths, opened in 1993. As of 2017 he forges steel and makes knives in Bellingham, Washington.

    Kramer initially sold his knives in the conventional fashion: $150 for an 8-inch chef's knife in 1995, $125–$225 in 2000, $475 in 2008. After a 2008 article in Cook's Illustrated that deemed his 8-inch chef's knife to have "outperformed every knife we've ever rated" Kramer began selling by a waiting list. The knives are now sold by auction only. At auction a new handmade knife by Kramer cost $30,000 in 2015, as much as 100 knives mass-produced with similar materials to his specifications.

    A handmade blade by Kramer was displayed as part of a juried art exhibition at Bellevue Arts Museum in 2016–2017. His knives are especially known for their fine Damascus steel patterns and exotic wood handles and "heirloom quality" polishing and finishing. Chef Christopher Kimball has called a Kramer chef's knife his "most prized tool".

    Kramer made a custom steel and meteorite knife for celebrity chef, Anthony Bourdain. The knife realized $231,250 including buyer's premium, at auction in October 2019.

  • Cathie Black served as the chairman and president of Hearst Magazines, a division of Hearst Corporation, from 1996 to 2010. During her tenure at Hearst Magazines, overseeing both the print and digital operations, she steered the global expansion of over 200 publications, among them Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, and Good Housekeeping, as well as launched some of the publishing company’s most successful new titles, including O, The Oprah Winfrey Magazine, and Food Network Magazine, and was a strong advocate for digital innovation.

    Prior to joining Hearst, Black served as President and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America. Black also served as president and publisher of USA Today, joining the newspaper when it was just a year old, and was widely credited for helping turn it into the number one newspaper in the U.S. Before her time in the newspaper business, Black was the publisher of New York Magazine, the first woman publisher of a consumer weekly in the country. She began her career in advertising sales.

    Black served on the boards of The Coca-Cola Company, Gannett Co. Inc., Hearst Corporation, and IBM and now is a board advisor and investor to several early stage companies. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, author of the best-selling book Basic Black, and has appeared on Forbes and Fortune’s lists of the most powerful women in business on numerous occasions.

  • Everett Harper

    Co-Founder and CEO of Truss

  • Elizabeth Loftus

    Psychologist who redefined our understanding of memory.

  • Hap Klopp

    Founder of The North Face

  • Maria Konnikova

    Bestselling author and poker champion

Why do some people — and not others — put a dent in the universe?

When we (Steve Broback and Jason Preston) started Dent in 2012, we were focused on understanding what led to the rare stories of success that alter the path of human history. Why this person? Why this team? Why this time?

Tricky questions! And the most important lesson surprised us: we learned that walking an impactful path can be an isolating experience, mired with distraction and trapped by groupthink. You are surrounded by people who question your ambition, or who can’t see the future you are willing into existence, or who can’t conceive of or connect with the weight you carry.

In these cases, a peer group is better than any lesson. A set of people who get it. Who are lost in their own crazy mission and who will help recharge your batteries. A set of people with different viewpoints and the power to spark new ideas.

This is the group you will find at Dent. The mix of disciplines, outlooks, and expertise is surprising and deep. Whatever your perspective, you are guaranteed to find someone who will challenge your ideas and push you to rethink the things you think you understand.

Sound like something you need?

  • Personal Growth

    Discover new purpose and deeper meaning

    Find opportunities for new life experiences

    Expand your ways of thinking and working

  • Connection

    Tap into a diverse network of peers

    Build friendships that will last a lifetime

    Participate in year-round experiences

  • Professional Impact

    Gain resources to elevate your influence

    Expand your network beyond your industry

    Find models for success and growth

Join a powerful new community

Dent The Future is by invitation only, and we love to meet new people. Click below to learn more about the annual conference and submit a request for an invitation to register.