Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian, Ph.D. is an award-winning designer of experiences, creative director and director with over a decade of experience working to build platforms that support plurality, the creation of organized communities and “impossible” productions, public events, expaeditions and projects with socio-political impacts. Uncategorizable, she is also a filmmaker, radio host, keynote speaker, amateur boxer and the author and director of five feature-length movies. She is the founder and director of the International Space Orchestra – the world’s first orchestra of NASA space scientists and astronauts; and the founder of the tuition-free university, University of the Underground. 

Her large-scale projects have included collaborations with artists like Massive Attack and Kid Cudi, and The Avalanches, to name a few. She is known for her large-scale collaborations with institutions through events, and she has done so at the United Nations, NASA, International Academy of Astronautics, and the International Astronautical Federation amongst many others.