Cortney Harding is an in-demand expert in helping businesses understand that the future — powered by smartglasses, VR, spatial computing, and AI — is right in front of their eyes. She has created AI-powered conversational avatars for companies like Amazon, the NIH, and Verizon, and virtual reality training scenarios around topics like child abuse, workplace exclusion, mental health, Black maternal mortality, and racial bias for companies like Lowe’s, Walmart, PWC, Target, and more. She routinely leads workshops for Fortune 100 companies and universities on how to use AI and XR in education and training.

Her work has been honored on numerous occasions. As an executive producer on JFK Memento, she was nominated for an Emmy and the piece won the audience award for best XR at SXSW and Best in the World at the QLD XR Festival. Her work has also been honored as the Best VR/AR of 2019 at Mobile World Congress, a SXSW Innovation Award Finalist, and a Top HR Product by HR Executive.

She is currently a member of the Fast Future Executive faculty and a co-author of the "Fast Future Blur" (Wiley, 2024). She has taught at CalTech, NYU, Barnard, North Carolina State University, and New Mexico State University, as well as co-writing and co-teaching the Coursera course "What is the Metaverse?" on behalf of Meta. Her new book,“The Spatial Race,” was released in October 2025 on Fast Future Executive Books. 

Cortney has spoken at numerous conferences, including Davos, SXSW, Mobile World Congress, and Augmented World Expo, as well as corporate clients like Meta, Microsoft, and Coca-Cola.