The Center for Investigating Healthy Minds

Steve Arnold

Steve Arnold is co-founder and venture partner at Polaris Venture Partners, based in the firm’s Seattle office. Founded in 1996, Polaris is a diversified venture capital partnership managing over $3 billion. He served as vice president of Broadband Media Applications at Microsoft Corporation and as president and CEO of Continuum Productions (now Corbis), a private company founded by Bill Gates to pioneer the creation of large digital libraries for online distribution. Before joining Continuum, Steve served as vice president and general manager of LucasArts Games and Learning divisions, and as vice president of the New Media Group at Lucasfilm Ltd. He is co-founder and vice chairman of the board of directors of the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF), an operating foundation that promotes innovation and advocates for exemplary programs in public schools. Steve also serves on the boards of several early stage technology companies, including Impinj, Noetix, and In2Books, and on a number of non-profit boards, including The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), pioneering and promoting social and emotional learning programs in schools, and Islandwood, an outdoor learning center serving Seattle area 4th-6th grade students. Steve holds a BS with honors from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, and MA and PhD degrees from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco.

Ulco Visser

Chair, Strategic advisory board

In 2004, Ulco retired from a successful business career to launch and run The Impact Foundation. Ulco’s goal is to introduce proven inner practices into the educational mainstream. By working at the systems-level, Ulco architects collaborations between schoolteachers, research scientists and other stakeholders.

Ulco’s business experience spans the fields of travel, hospitality, and medical education. From 1991-2004, Ulco was the Chairman, Executive Vice President and COO of Medical World Conferences, a company that organized a range of conferences and continuing medical education. Previously, Ulco served in multiple leadership roles at Intrav, serving the upscale travel market with customized tours to exotic global destinations. Ulco began his career in a range of management positions at the Fairmont, Hilton, and Marriott hotel chains. As a seasoned entrepreneur, Ulco counts several failed start-ups as part of the journey as well.

A native of the Netherlands, Ulco has lived in the United States since 1982. He currently resides in Denver, Colorado.

Jim Walsh

Jim Walsh is founder and Chairman of the Board of the Human Energy Systems Alliance (HESA) Institute, an interdisciplinary research alliance dedicated to the scientific study of the Human Energy System. He is CEO and Chairman of the Board of Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate, the company he founded in 1992 and the first to successfully grow and produce chocolate in the United States.

Walsh also serves as Chairman of the Board of Intentional Chocolate, the first food product produced commercially to incorporate mind-matter technology. He serves as advisor to the Institute for Advanced Studies in Spirituality and Wellness at the Chicago Theological Seminary (formerly Boisen Institute).

Walsh’s involvements, including his work with the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds, are dedicated to the goal of improving health, wellness and quality-of-life through research, technology and new products.