Clark Aldrich is changing the trajectory of education. As a leading analyst he founded Gartner’s e-learning coverage and jump-started the adoption of distributed learning by the world’s largest organizations. His research and projects on game based and simulation based learning launched the gamification segment. He is the author of six books, including Unschooling Rules, which empowered the trend of student-centric micro-schools. Now his work on Short Sims is making educational media relevant for preparing students and employees to take leadership roles in a skills-based economy. Aldrich’s visionary and change-agent status has been codified through awards including numerous “Best of the Years”, a U.S. Patent, being highlighted in “top-of-the-profession” lists and cover stories by industry leading publications, roles on multiple boards, his role as columnists for several magazines, keynotes, and being featured in hundreds of news stories including by New York Times, NPR, CBS, and ABC. He has been called a ‘guru’ by Fortune Magazine and a ‘maverick’ by CNN. He has also lectured at the Army War College, the Naval War College, and FBI’s Quantico. Aldrich recently held Top Secret clearance for his strategic work with the US military. In this interview, Clark tells us more about his motivation to use simulations for teaching, and shares lifelong experiences and insights about how he sees games and simulations can be used for learning, for motivation and for change.