Who we are and what we cover
Thought Ecology was launched in May 2025 and is the brainchild of Dr. Mark Drapeau, a scientist, researcher, writer, and advisor to executives and other decision makers. Mark’s work has been described in the news as ‘A Little Bit of Vogue and a Little Bit of Wired' and that still applies to his analysis and writing today. If that sounds interesting to you, you’ll probably enjoy Thought Ecology. Thought Ecology maps the patterns behind power, progress, and disruption—connecting ideas across politics, technology, economics, culture, and science to reveal the systems beneath the surface.
About Dr. Mark Drapeau
Career
Mark bridges scientific rigor with strategic problem-solving, translating complex research into actionable intelligence for organizations navigating uncertainty. With 20+ years of experience spanning academia, government, and the private sector, he specializes in identifying patterns, anticipating change, and communicating insights that drive decision advantage for leaders and organizations.
Mark was most recently Partner and Chief Research Officer at Washington, DC based RXN Group, a public affairs firm, and Editor In Chief at the Data Catalyst Institute, a think tank. Previously, he held senior research and strategy positions at Atlantic Media Strategies (now Long Dash), Sub Rosa (now Syndicate Sub Rosa), and Microsoft. Prior to that, Drapeau held AAAS and NIH postdoctoral fellowships at the U.S. Department of Defense's Center for Technology and National Security Policy and New York University's Center for Developmental Genetics, respectively.
In a part-time capacity, from 2019-20, Mark served on the Board of Advisors of Modzy, an AI and machine learning company incubated by Booz Allen Hamilton and spun out in 2021. During 2015-6, he served as interim VP of Content and Publisher/Executive Editor of The Futurist magazine, a publication of the World Future Society. From 2009-14, he was a member of the advisory board of Strategic Social, a global technology, media and research company acquired by Constellis Group. During 2012, Mark was an advisor to Startup DC (an offshoot of Startup America) and co-created Entreprelooza!, a series of local events that fundraised for entrepreneurship-related causes. During 2010-11 he was a Founding Board Member of the DC chapter of the Awesome Foundation. From 2009-10, Mark was the program committee co-chair for O’Reilly Media’s Gov 2.0 Expo, and a member of the program committee for their Gov 2.0 Summit. In 2009, he taught an early course about social media and journalism named “Journalism in a New Media Age” as an adjunct professor in the School of Media & Public Affairs at The George Washington University.
Mark holds a B.S. in Biology from the University of Rochester and a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of California–Irvine’s Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. His academic research primarily focused on the evolutionary genetic basis of complex animal behaviors (parasitoid wasps, fruit flies, honey bees).
Over the years, Mark’s work has received media coverage from CNN, BBC, NPR, Vanity Fair, TechCrunch, Fast Company, Bloomberg, RealClearPolitics, DefenseOne, Federal News Network, GovLoop, WashingtonExec, FutureCommerce, Technical.ly, Washington Life, Seth Godin, and more.
Writing
Mark’s biological research with a focus on genetics, evolution, and behavior has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Nature, Genetics, Evolution, Evolutionary Ecology Research, Genome Research, Molecular Systems Biology, the Journal of Neurobiology, the Journal of Biological Rhythms, and Experimental Gerontology. In the area of national security and military strategy, his research has been published by Defense Horizons and Defense & Technology Papers, and he is the co-editor of the book Bio-Inspired Innovation and National Security (2010). More recently, his research on the economics of small businesses was published in the journal Entrepreneurship & Regional Development.
More broadly, Dr. Drapeau’s opinion writing has been published by Science, The New York Times, The Washington Times, The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, Public Diplomacy Magazine, Advancing Philanthropy, Fast Company, NextGov/Federal Computer Week, FedScoop, Forbes.com, Data Catalyst Institute, RealClearMarkets, PBS MediaShift, Personal Democracy Forum’s techPresident, Washington Life Magazine (and 2), Mediaite, DC Journal, American Scientist, The Scientist, BioScience, The American Biology Teacher, HuffPost, Medium, Mashable, ReadWriteWeb, O’Reilly Radar, True/Slant, Microsoft’s blog, and other publications.
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