Nonny De La Peña

Nonny de la Peña is ahead of her time. The former Newsweek correspondent and current CEO of Emblematic Group is widely credited with creating the immersive journalism genre, and has been called “the godmother of virtual reality” thanks to her use of cutting-edge tech to tell stories. Nonny’s empathetic approach to media has positioned her as a pioneer and changemaker. Through Emblematic’s WebVR platform REACH, viewers can enter intense, emotional scenarios, like walking the virtual streets of Los Angeles to understand hunger and homelessness. “I can tell you that it was the most emotional I’d ever seen people be in any of the pieces I’d worked on,” says Nonny.

Nonny works with clients like Google, Cartier, and World Economic Forum, and is also the founding director of ASU’s Narrative and Emerging Media program. Her VR work has been featured by the New York Times, BBC, Mashable, and more, and she was named by Fast Company as “One of the People Who Made the World More Creative.” Now that’s real.

Find Nonny on Instagram.