Jake's research examines the role of emerging technologies in transforming subjectivity, culture, and governance, and he has been leading explorations into new methods for communicating foresight. Jake is currently completing his Ph.D. at the Manoa School of Futures Studies on neuropolitics, neuropower, and alternative futures for the extended mind.

Before joining IFTF, Jake was a researcher at the Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies, leading and participating in major foresight projects with the city of Honolulu, State of Hawaii, and the Republic of South Korea. At the University of Hawaii, he taught courses in visual anthropology and futures studies, and co-organized the Honolulu Futures Salon.

In 2007, along with Stuart Candy, Jake launched FoundFutures, a series of public multimedia interventions that tangibly manifest alternative futures and create meaningful encounters with possibility. Besides distributed installations such as the "Postcards from the Future" project, FoundFutures has exhibited at well known galleries in Hawaii and California, including the Arts at Mark's Garage in Honolulu, and the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts in San Francisco.

Jake holds an M.A. from Temple University, and a B.A. from Auburn University, both in Visual Anthropology. His Master's thesis, "Alternatives in Anthropological Communication: Ethnographic Surrealism and Fake Documentary," examined cultural representation and the role of media conventions in the construction of truth.