About Proudly Human
The people protecting your right to choose human‑created work, and the first author in the world to declare it.
Why 23
Proudly Human is the trading name of 23 First Corporation, founded to preserve and celebrate human creativity.
Human beings are distinguished among mammals by having 23 pairs of chromosomes. Cats have 19 pairs, dogs have 39. Twenty‑three is distinctly human, uniquely us. So it is the number we put first.
Our founding purpose is to create, promote and administer the ProudlyHuman™ certification mark and Proudly Human Day. Part of what defines us as humans is our appreciation of the creativity of our fellow humans; when AI masquerades as human, we are denied the right to make an informed choice between AI‑originated and human‑originated work. We are not anti‑AI. We are pro‑human.
23 First Corporation is registered in the United States and Australia, and trades as Proudly Human.
Leadership
Dr. Alan Finkel AC
Founder and Executive Chairman
Alan is the former Chief Scientist of Australia and Chancellor of Monash University, and founder of successful biotech and edtech companies Axon Instruments and Stile Education. To the best of our knowledge, in his book Powering Up published June 2023, Alan Finkel became the first author in the world to make a declaration of human origin.
Trevor Woods
Founding Chief Executive
Trevor was a senior executive at top‑50 and top‑100 global universities in Australia and Canada where his responsibilities included technology and digital. He drove innovation and led large teams in global operations exceeding $3.5 billion. Trevor has led, participated in, and supported research projects; taught; and is a respected conference and event presenter.Alexander Gow
Managing Director, North America
Alex is an award‑winning songwriter and journalist. He received multiple ARIA nominations and won Best Adult Contemporary Album in 2015. He later served as Head of Audio at The Australian Financial Review, producing The Fin podcast, Walkley‑award winning reporting, and writing on music, creativity, and artificial intelligence.Leo Faber III
Head of Partnerships & Industry Engagement
Leo is a film and television producer with more than 25 years’ experience. He has produced, directed and written hundreds of hours of programming for the BBC, National Geographic, Discovery, Channel 4 and ITV. He previously served as Executive Producer in Factual and Culture at the ABC, Head of Content at Red Bull Media House Australia, and launched the VR collective BADFAITH, with work selected for Sundance, Berlin and Cannes.Belinda Hayes
Global Head of Communications and Media
Belinda is a senior communications executive with experience building reputations for global organizations including Monash University and government. She has led communications strategies across digital transformation, social media and AI, and has a background in editing and the publishing industry.Evan Woods
CTO
Evan transitioned from developing advanced machine learning and AI models for image analysis to enterprise‑scale web development at a Fortune 500 company. Following his contribution to major government and corporate initiatives, Evan founded a global software consulting agency, delivering technical solutions in sectors such as property, hospitality, logistics, charities, recruitment, and health.Max Keable
Principal Engineer
Max established his technical reputation as a teenager by developing a proprietary epilepsy detection device that was acquired by a global health organization and remains in commercial production. After completing his training at the University of Sydney, Max transitioned from an intern to leading a team of 25 engineers at a top‑tier app development agency within a single year.
The first known declaration of human origin
To the best of our knowledge, in his book Powering Up published June 2023, Alan Finkel became the first author in the world to make a declaration of human origin.
It is the first known use of a human‑origin declaration in publishing, and the example that shaped how Proudly Human certifies human‑created work today.
Certify your work as human
Show readers, listeners and viewers that a human created it.