People of Long Now

Daniel Claussen leads the visioning and execution of strategies for early-stage and high-impact ventures that lie at the intersection of culture and environment. A change-making pragmatist, he’s happy doing the dirty work to make things real: brokering multi-party transactions, raising and placing capital and in general, solving complex projects through a combination of EQ, creativity, and hard work.

His primary focus is the future of place, where he is involved in a variety of projects to establish long-term sites for cultural experimentation and evolution. Most recently, Daniel led the acquisition of Fly Ranch: an undertaking to establish a permanent, year-round home for the Burning Man community. Previously, he helped develop investment mechanisms into SMEs in Somalia, into teams for the Tricorder XPRIZE, and into over 28,000 acres of ecological preservation and development projects. He holds an MBA in finance and sustainability from the University of Denver and a BA in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana.

At heart, Daniel is a steward of place and artist of experience: working to establish sites that demonstrate and forward humanity’s best creativity for the world.