About Responsive

The future is unpredictable.
Your work doesn’t have to be!

A Letter From Our Founder

I grew up in my dad's small business. My father and his sister built a 30-person environmental engineering firm in northern California, and my early experiences helping out in their office shaped my curiosity about work.

Over the last two decades, I've had a more diverse career than most: starting a restaurant, backflips on some of the biggest stages in the world, building startups, and consulting for enterprise. I saw the same patterns everywhere: bureaucracy, silos, and well-intentioned people stifled by the systems they helped to create.

Ten years ago, we organized a free unconference to explore Responsive.org. Instead of the dozen people we were expecting, 250 folks attended. They proposed ideas, shared what they knew, and listened to each other.

Over the last decade, the challenges facing organizations have only gotten more complex, but the underlying question remains the same:

What if how we've worked for the last hundred years didn't have to define work in the future?

That's what Responsive Conference has always been about, and that's what we'll explore in 2026.

Warmly,
Robin

Close-up of a handwritten signature on black background

Meet the Team

  • A smiling man with light skin, curly reddish-blonde hair, wearing a black shirt, standing outdoors with a blurred background of trees and buildings.

    Robin P. Zander

    Robin is the founder and CEO of Zander Media, a different kind of creative agency. He is the executive director of two annual events — Responsive Conference and Snafu Conference — and the author of two books, Responsive: What It Takes To Create A Thriving Organization and How To Do A Handstand, which became a best-seller in Japan. He writes Snafu, a free weekly newsletter about sales and persuasion.

  • Headshot of a smiling woman with blonde wavy hair wearing a black sleeveless top outdoors, with blurred greenery in the background.

    Rachel Murch

    Rachel Murch is the co-founder and CEO of Viggo, an organizational design software, and co-founder of Moanach, an org design consultancy. She previously led strategy at Zappos under the famed leadership of Tony Hseih, and brought Responsive Conference to Zappos in 2019. As part of the Responsive Conference team, Rachel supports with strategy and comms.

  • Black and white portrait of a woman with curly hair, wearing a black turtleneck and pearl earrings, looking directly at the camera with a neutral expression.

    Grace Moen

    Grace Moen is a Norwegian-American writer and producer. She hosts the "Health Care Incarcerated" podcast, studied journalism at Harvard, and produces a small selection of conferences. She serves as our Speaker Liaison.

  • A smiling man with spiked hair wearing a purple shirt against a white background.

    Zach Fish

    Zach Fish is an interactive experiential producer with a deep background in immersive event production. With 15 years experience programming genre-defying immersive experiences, Zach joins the Responsive team to make the conference an unforgettable experience for our attendees.

  • Nicole Piechowski

    Nicole Piechowski is a people operations manager, with over 7 years of experience in business operations and people management across various industries. A longtime attendee and Responsive team member, she serves our Volunteer and Registration coordinator.

  • Miki Johnson

    Miki Johnson anthropologist, co-founder of Job Portraits, and now a full-time coach. At Responsive Conference, she serves as our Lead Facilitator running the unconference sessions: the small-group, peer-driven conversations that have been part of Responsive since the beginning.

  • Jonathan Kofahl

    Jonathan Kofahl loves to tell stories that make a difference, which is why he made creative storytelling his work. From directing commercial shoots to designing meida, Jonathan brings good humor and a thoughtful thoroughness to every creative endeavor. He’s the face behind the best of the Responsive design.

“Responsive is all about the people doing the work—and doing it together”

“Responsive is a community of people who want to change the way we work—and are actually doing it”

“[For] anybody who wants to build an intentional workplace”

“Responsive brings people together in a way that makes the day-to-day less lonely”

“Responsive Conference reminded me why these kinds of events are so important”

What Is Responsive Org?

Responsive Org aims to develop a shared language and independent global community that promotes and enables a fundamental shift in our way of working and organizing. We aspire to act as the central hub for Responsive thinkers and practitioners.

Learn more at Responsive.org →

A speaker on stage at a conference, with a slide titled "The Power of Human Connection" and a picture of a smiling man. Audience seated in a theater-style room.
A person standing in front of a large, colorful infographic about the history and future of Zappos, with sketches, text, and diagrams discussing company values, culture, service, and growth.
Two women seated on stage having a conversation, one with long brown hair wearing a white jacket, and the other with black hair, glasses, and a black hat, speaking into a microphone, with a red banner in the background that reads "Response Innovation
Audience sitting in an auditorium engaged in conversation during a conference
Two people seated on a outdoor sofa, a woman speaking into a microphone and a man listening, both holding microphones, in a patio setting with umbrellas, potted plants, and a decorative wall.