Ernest J. Wilson III is the founder and director of the USC Center for Third Space Thinking, which is devoted to research, teaching and executive education on soft skills in the digital age. Through the Center for Third Space Thinking, Wilson’s most recent research focuses on critical workforce competencies and talent and skills development in the 21st Century.

Wilson’s experience at the intersection of communication and public policy spans the private and public sectors.

He is a faculty fellow at the Center on Public Diplomacy, a member of the board of the Pacific Council on International Policy and the National Academies’ Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was on the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (2000–2010), the last year as chairman. He has served as a consultant to international agencies such as the World Bank and the United Nations, worked on the White House National Security Council, was director of the International Programs and Resources on the National Security Council at the White House (1993–94) and the Policy and Planning Unit, Office of the Director, U.S. Information Agency (1994). He has advised President Obama’s transition team on matters of communication technology and public diplomacy, and has led research centers and academic departments at premier institutions of higher education. He is a member of the Carnegie-Knight Commission on the Future of Journalism Education and The National Academies Board on Research Data and Information. He was also deputy director of the Global Information Infrastructure Commission (1994–1995).

Formerly a professor and senior research scholar at the University of Maryland, College Park, Wilson was director of that university’s Center for International Development and Conflict Management (1995–2002). He previously served on the faculties of the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania.

Awards and honors:

International Studies Association Distinguished Scholar (2009)
Twenty-Five Year Achievement Award, Public Policy and International Affairs Program (2005)
Professor-in-Residence and W.E.B. DuBois Lecture (1998)
Fellow Center for Global Communications (1997-present)
International Affairs Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations (1985-1986)