Hank Pellissier is a freelance writer, speaker, and humanitarian activist whose work explores the intersections of cognitive enhancement, secular ethics, and global mutual aid. He is the author of Brighter Brains: 225 Ways to Raise or Injure IQ and Invent Utopia Now: Transhumanist Suggestions for the Pre-Singularity Era, as well as the editor of the essay collection Human Destiny is to Eliminate Death.
Pellissier earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Master of Arts in Humanities from California State University, Dominguez Hills. His journalistic contributions have appeared in a variety of prominent outlets; he served as the “Local Intelligence” columnist for the New York Times (San Francisco edition) and has written extensively for Salon, SFGate, and GreatSchools.org.
A significant portion of Pellissier’s career has been dedicated to the transhumanist and futurist movements. In 2012, he served as the Managing Director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET). He later founded the Brighter Brains Institute (BBI), through which he organized the Transhuman Visions conference series in the San Francisco Bay Area. His work often emphasizes "transhumanitarianism"—a term he coined to advocate for the integration of radical generosity and humanitarian action within the transhumanist philosophy. At the Religion and Transhumanism Conference in 2014, he furthered this dialogue by exploring how technological progress can be harnessed to alleviate human suffering on a global scale.
In recent years, Pellissier has shifted his focus toward international philanthropy through the Humanist Mutual Aid Network (formerly Humanist Global Charity). As its founder and director, he oversees projects that provide secular support to at-risk populations in Africa and South Asia.
Through his writing and activism, Pellissier remains a vocal advocate for the use of technology and secular humanism to "create paradise on earth," focusing on the tangible improvement of human intelligence and the eradication of poverty and disease.
