Paul Propster

Paul is the former Founder and Chief Story Architect of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab’s StoryLab. StoryLab is NASA’s first “story accelerator”: a strategic communications shop that brings expertise to the Lab in using the tools and language of storytelling to support JPL's impact on humanity.

With more than 20 years in strategic communications, Paul has a knack for “communicating complexity” and the “right kind of crazy”. He has successfully executed large scale ecosystem campaigns ranging from billion-dollar science missions like Mars Sample Return to unveiling the habitability of Venus to finding the biosignatures of life on other worlds. These campaigns involved creating and leading a strategic communications plan including executive, crisis, and internal communications, managing multi-stakeholder interests, and building emotional investment that drives impact, enrollment, and funding.

In addition to creating compelling messages through StoryLab, Paul co-created a “Credible Messenger” workshop with Caltech to identify and grow authentic, credible messengers to activate narratives around the future of our planet, resources on other worlds, and the technology to make it all real.

Paul has consulted or spoke on story strategy and the power of a kindred quest through a shared story with NASA HQ and other NASA centers, the UN, Boston Consulting Group, Google X, The Moonshot Factory, Caltech, CSUN, ASU, CalArts, Art Center, SXSW, C2 Montreal, Lululemon, California Science Center, Exploratorium, and several other Institutions across the globe.