Dr. Pam Davis

Speaker · Author · Founder, Wellbotics

I design experiences that change how people notice.

work with me

Background photo: A crowd of conference attendees gathers around Dr. Pam Davis after her IMPACT Talk at the APA Convention, Washington, DC.

IDEAS INTO EXPERIENCE

My fascination with noticing began as a patient. Childhood seizures and brain surgery, and later cancer treatment, sparked questions about how the brain determines what matters, and how we adapt.
I’ve followed that fascination ever since.

I spent nearly 30 years as a classroom educator, helping children learn by noticing, questioning, testing, and trying again. I earned my doctorate in Instructional Media and Technology at Teachers College, Columbia University, and taught doctoral research writing as a college professor. Today I work as an author, speaker, facilitator, and founder of Wellbotics.

Across those settings, I keep returning to the same question: What happens when we create the conditions for people to notice something they might otherwise miss?

I turn that question into experiences, using objects, robots, storytelling, reflection, and play. Sometimes, programming a robot makes an invisible process visible: how a system senses, decides, and responds. Other times, a story, an unexpected question, or a simple activity helps people recognize patterns in their own thinking.

The goal is the same: to make room for a different way of noticing.

Where I’ve spoken

Selected speaking & conference appearances

IMPACT Talk

American Psychological Association

APA Convention

Presentation

American Psychological Association

Technology, Mind & Society Conference

Presentation

HASTAC

Panel

MPI Greater New York

EdTalk

STEM Leadership Alliance

Hands-on workshop

The Riverside Church in the City of New York

Ways to work with me

I create participatory experiences for conferences, organizations, leadership teams, and destinations. Each is designed around the people, place, and ideas at hand.

Booking Attention in Action?
Download the session one-sheet (PDF)

  • Interactive Keynote: A talk the audience takes part in, where ideas about attention, cognition, and technology become something people can experience for themselves.
    In the room: research-grounded stories from my lived experience, a short sensory exercise, a live robot demonstration, and moments where the audience tests the ideas as they unfold.

  • Hands-On Lab: A pop-up makerspace where robots and other STEM tools become tangible models of human ideas.
    In the room: small groups program and debug robots to explore how systems respond, how decisions unfold, and what those processes reveal about their own thinking.

  • Curated Salon: A facilitated gathering where an object, a piece of media, or a place becomes the starting point for unexpected connections and new perspectives.
    In the room: a small group gathers around one object, film or place, and the conversation builds from there.

IDEAS i EXPLORE

Attention in Action

What changes when we really notice.

For planners, designers and leaders shaping what people notice in a space, an event or a workday.

Attention in Action one-sheet (PDF)

A Second Look

The stories hiding in familiar places and things.

For destinations, museums and communities looking again at what’s already there.

AI & HUMAN EXPERIENCE

Exploring intelligence, artificial and human.

For organizations navigating AI: exploring what machines sense and process, how humans interpret and respond, and what those differences mean.

My Work In Practice

Ideas are meant to be experienced.
I design and participate in experiences that bring people into conversation with ideas through objects, technology, storytelling, play, and reflection.

Dr. Pam Davis, pen to her chin, studies a projected slide titled “What is offense?” during a salon at The Riverside Church. The slide lists qualities like open mind, curious spirit, and boldness beside a word cloud featuring perspective, speak, and people.
The Trauma of Unforgiveness salon, The Riverside Church, New York City
Dr. Pam Davis stands beside a whiteboard covered in sticky notes, gesturing as she speaks to participants seated at a long table with papers, markers, and materials spread in front of them.
The Trauma of Unforgiveness salon, The Riverside Church, New York City
Four panelists seated on stage before a full audience, with Dr. Pam Davis second from right.
“AI + Empathy” panel at MPI Greater New York’s Global Meetings Industry Day, The Dominick Hotel, NYC, May 2026. Left to right: Elaine Morena, Adele Farina, Dr. Pam Davis, and moderator Mike Veny.
Dr. Pam Davis speaks on stage, gesturing toward the audience, beside a STEM Leadership Alliance banner.
EdTalk: “Using STEM to Connect Social-Emotional Learning,” Global STEM Leadership Alliance Summit, Orlando, Florida
Dr. Pam Davis, gesturing as she talks, explains her poster displayed on two monitors to a visitor. Small coding robots and paper path mats sit on the table in front of them.
Poster Presentation: “From Critical Making through Accessible Coding and Robotics,” HASTAC 2023: Critical Making & Social Justice, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
A crowd of conference attendees, many carrying tote bags, gathers around Dr. Pam Davis at the front of the room after her talk.
IMPACT Talk and presentation: “Wellbotics: Facilitation of Social-Emotional Learning through Coding and Robotics,” APA Convention, Washington, DC

What People Say About Me

 I really appreciated your perspective and the way you helped frame AI as something that can support human connection, not replace it. The conversation was thoughtful, timely, and one I’ll continue reflecting on.

Elaine

Commercial Strategy Executive