Kathy Eldon has worked as an award-winning film and television producer, best selling author and journalist in England, Kenya, and the United States. In 1998, Kathy and her daughter, Amy, launched Creative Visions Foundation, inspired by the life of her son, Dan Eldon – Reuters photojournalist, artist, and creative activist. Creative Visions, a United Nations non-governmental organization, has helped incubate more than 500 projects and productions on five continents. In 2004, CV launched Rock your World (now called Creative Changemakers) a free online curriculum for middle and high school students, based on the Declaration of the Human Rights and the United Nations Sustainable Goals. The program, now partnered with Discovery Education, the largest educational platform in the world, is available online to 44 million youth globally.

In 1990, Kathy founded Creative Visions Productions to produce entertaining and impactful films that would inspire people to take action around critical issues. Documentaries and films that Kathy has produced have been distributed through global outlets including, Columbia Pictures, Netflix, CNN, PBS, TBS and OWN. Her many EP credits include Emmy-nominated “Dying to tell the Story,” Extraordinary Moms, an Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) special, that features actor, Julia Roberts, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and CNN Chief Correspondent, Christiane Amanpour and The Journey is the Destination, a feature about her son Dan’s life. Now available on Amazon, the award-winning film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

A graduate of Wellesley College, Kathy is the author of 17 books, including cookbooks, self-help books, social history books for students, and the best-selling collection of her son’s journal pages, The Journey is the Destination . Kathy is the author of the popular Catcher series of guided journals, published by Chronicle Books. Harper One published Kathy’s acclaimed memoir, In the Heart of Life . Her most recent book, Hope Rising, a collection of engaging spoken word poetry, inspired a 90-minute special presented by luminaries including Julian Lennon, Marianne Williamson, Kweku Mandela, Diva Zappa, Rain Phoenix and Joe Sumner.

Kathy, a popular speaker, has been featured on countless television and radio programs globally, including several appearances on Oprah. Her many awards include being nominated as a Point of Light by Kweku Mandela on the anniversary of his grandfather’s birthday. Kathy, who served as a Malibu Arts Commissioner and with the Malibu Chamber of Commerce, lives with her husband, designer Michael Bedner, a few steps away from the Dan Eldon Center for Creative Activism, a vibrant hub for creative individuals who want to help change their part of the world for the better.

See more at: www.kathyeldon.com

Jacoba Atlas is an award winning writer and producer, with extensive experience as a broadcast executive, at NBC, Turner Broadcasting, CNN and PBS.

She is president of Creative Visions Productions, a multi-media company whose mission is to use media to inform, engage and inspire. CVP most recent project is “Extraordinary Moms”. It aired on OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) in May and celebrated the power of mothers to change the world for the better. The 90 minute Special was hosted by Julia Roberts and featured Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Christiane Amanpour, along with less well known women who are having significant impact on the lives of children everywhere. CVP is currently developing “Prized Women”, a documentary film that examines the lives and commitment of the nine living women who have won the Nobel Peace Prize. “Prized Women” is being done with the support of the Nobel Women’s Initiative. CVP is also developing the feature film, “The Journey is the Destination” about the life of photojournalist Dan Eldon, who was killed at 22 while covering the conflict in Somalia for Reuters.

Jacoba Atlas is a filmmaker and broadcast executive with an extensive background in writing, directing and production. Atlas was a senior vice president for Content at PBS, overseeing the national schedule, representing 300 hours of annual programming. She was instrumental in bringing the Tony Hillerman mystery series to PBS (with executive producer, Robert Redford) as well as “American Family”, the first broadcast drama about a Latino family from executive producer, writer/director Gregory Nava. During her tenure, Bill Moyers’ award-winning news and information series, “Now with Bill Moyers” was developed, as were “Flashpoints” with Bryant Gumbel and Gwen Ifill and “History Detectives”, now in its 10th season. Other significant projects: “Touching the Void,” “Auschwitz: Behind the Nazi State”, “African American Lives” with Henry Louis Gates and “A Lion in the House”. Under her guidance, “Art 21”, a series about contemporary artists and “Craft in America” were produced. Both are recipients of 2008 Peabody Awards.

More than 30 Emmys were awarded to PBS programs during her tenure; and three documentaries were nominated for Academy Awards.

Prior to joining PBS, Atlas was a vice president and writer and producer with CNN and Turner Broadcasting. In that capacity she was responsible for documentaries such as the Emmy and Peabody winning “Survivors of the Holocaust” with executive producer, Steven Spielberg, “The Last Days of King and Kennedy” with executive producer Oliver Stone, as well as the Emmy nominated “Dying to Tell the Story,” (also shorted listed for an Oscar nomination) about journalists in war-zones, “Soldiers of Peace” which chronicled the efforts of teenagers in Colombia to bring peace to that country, “The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful” about the image of women and the movies, and “The Coming Plague” from the Pulitzer Prize winning non-fiction book about infectious diseases and their impact on society.

She was also the creator, writer and executive producer of the landmark, Emmy nominated series, “A Century of Women” which aired on TBS and CNN. This series chronicled the accomplishments of American women in the 20th century; the archive for “A Century of Women” is now in the Schlesinger Library at Harvard.

Amy was born in England and grew up in Nairobi where she attended the International School of Kenya. After graduating from Boston University with a degree in Communications, she moved to Los Angeles where she began her career in media with the Emmy-nominated documentary, Dying to Tell the Story, which she brought to TBS.

She was the associate producer and presenter of the film that wove the story of her brother, photographer Dan Eldon, who was killed while working as a photojournalist with Reuters News Agency in Somalia in 1993, together with those of other journalists working in conflict zones around the world. The 90-minute film was nominated for an Emmy and was short-listed for an Academy Award.

Amy also co-produced an acclaimed CNN documentary, Soldiers of Peace, a Children’s Crusade, for CNN. In 2003, she was the host and co-creator of Global Tribe, a PBS series about “change-makers,” —ordinary people finding solutions to the challenges they face. In 2011, together with Julia Roberts, Amy exec-produced Extraordinary Women, a 90-minute special for OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Network) which featured Julia Roberts, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rosie O’Donnell, Christiane Amanpour and three other exceptional women. Aired on Mother’s Day, the film illustrated the power of mothers to change the world around them.

Amy, the recipient of the Young Alumnae Award from Boston University and the Young Audiences of New York Award, has written four books, all published by Chronicle Books: Soul Catcher: A Journal to Help You Become Who You Really Are; Angel Catcher: A Journal of Loss and Remembrance, Love Catcher: A Journal to Invite Love into Your Life, and Angel Catcher for Kids.

Amy is co-founder and co-chair of Creative Visions Foundation, a 501 (c) 3 organization dedicated to supporting creative activists who use media and the arts to create awareness of critical issues and catalyze positive change. Located in the Dan Eldon Center for Creative Activism in Malibu, the foundation has overseen more than 100 projects and productions on five continents that have touched more than 100 million people.

Amy is married to director Jon Turteltaub and is the mother of two sons, Jack and Daniel and daughter, Arabella.

Mitra Best is an entrepreneurial leader in technology innovation and digital transformation with over 25 years of enterprise and startup experience working with C-level executives across industries and functions. Mitra is a PwC Partner and the firm’s first-ever Technology Impact Leader where she applies technology solutions to address pressing societal and environmental challenges — developing “tech for good.”

Mitra has a longstanding history of using her platform to uplift others. She leads the Women in Technology initiative at PwC with the mission to drive inclusivity and gender balance through the hiring and retention of women technologists. Mitra is a multilingual global citizen and a lifelong learner who values collaboration and engagement with purpose-driven initiatives. She is an avid social justice activist and has served on numerous boards with proven impact.

Ann Blinkhorn specializes in building leadership teams for businesses at the intersection of media and technology.

Ann founded Blinkhorn, L.L.C. in 2009 following seven years as a leading executive recruiter at Spencer Stuart. She has reshaped senior leadership teams for established media companies transforming their businesses, and has also recruited talent to earlier stage digital companies working to rapidly grow their brands and franchises. Ann has led CEO and other senior-level engagements for a diverse range of clients including Comcast, Discovery Communications, Microsoft, Dow Jones, MTV Networks, PBS and Huffington Post, among others. She has also worked closely with financial sponsors including top private equity and venture capital firms to recruit talent to portfolio companies.

Ann’s background includes over 20 years of traditional and digital media operating experience combined with executive search experience. She began her media career at The New York Times Company, where she served as publisher of the first foreign-language edition of The New York Times, a joint venture in Russia with The Moscow News. She also served as president of the North American division of the International Herald Tribune,a Times affiliate. Prior to transitioning to executive search in 2002, Ann was part of the founding management team of zUniversity.com, where she launched and ran an online recruitment business.

Beyond her business activities, Ann has a strong interest in politics and public policy. She recently served as a consultant to the White House Office of Presidential Personnel in assessing talent for the Obama-Biden administration.

Ann earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and an A.B. degree from Smith College. She serves on the advisory boards of WFUV Radio (NYC public radio affiliate) and ProPublica, and previously served on the board of the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University.

Geralyn Dreyfous has a wide, distinguished background in the arts, extensive experience in consulting in the philanthropic sector, and participates on numerous boards and initiatives. She spent an early part of her career at the Philanthropic Initiative in Boston, which guides families of wealth in strategic giving opportunities, and taught Documentary and Narrative writing with Dr. Robert Coles at Harvard University. Geralyn is the Founder and Board Chair of the Utah Film Center, a non-profit that curates free screenings and outreach programs for communities throughout Utah. In 2007, she co-founded Impact Partners Film Fund with Dan Cogan, bringing together financiers and filmmakers so that they can create great films that entertain audiences, enrich lives, and ignite social change. Since its inception, IP has been involved in the financing of numerous award-winning films. In 2013, Geralyn co-founded Gamechanger Films, the first for-profit film fund dedicated exclusively to financing narrative features directed by women.

Geralyn’s independent executive producing and producing credits include the Academy Award winning “Born Into Brothels”; Emmy nominated “The Day My God Died”; Academy Award nominated “The Square,” Academy Award nominated “The Invisible War” and multiple film festival winners such as “Kick Like a Girl,” “In A Dream,” “Dhamma Brothers,” “Project Kashmir,” “Miss Representation,” “Connected,” “Anita,” and “The Crash Reel.” Geralyn was honored with the International Documentary Association’s Amicus Award in 2013 for her significant contribution to documentary filmmaking. Variety recognized Geralyn in their 2014 Women’s Impact Report highlighting her work in the entertainment industry.

Marni is an Executive Producer with a demonstrated history of providing effective strategic guidance in the philanthropy industry. She is skilled in Iconography, Strategic Marketing, Leadership, Branding & Identity, and Finance. Strong arts and design professional with an MBA focused in Finance & Entrepreneurial Studies from UCLA Anderson School of Management and a BA in Law and Public Policy from Brown University.

She is an investor with Impact Partners and serves as Executive Producer/ Co-Executive Producer on several documentary films offering guidance to independent filmmakers, showcasing the beauty of humanity, and engaging with pressing social issues to propel change. She also provides strategic intelligence to ensure storytelling has maximum social reach and impact.

Marni is also a Strategic Advisor to Curious Learning, a US nonprofit organization with a mission to use the power of mobile devices and large data analytics informed by the science of learning to provide the opportunity for children to learn to read and inspire a curiosity to keep learning in populations that have no access to school or are in under-resourced schools. She is working with their leadership to apply cutting-edge technology developed within Tuft’s Language & Learning Lab and MIT to tackle the world’s illiteracy crisis at a groundbreaking low cost/high efficacy per child. She is also helping them to expand their vision and shape messaging to help drive global partnerships and fundraising opportunities with the UN, UNESCO, The World Bank, an array of international NGOs, and private donors.

Gary Leibowitz is a seasoned global business and strategy leader, advisor and coach, with capital markets, investment banking and private equity career foundations. Leibowitz is currently Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at Unilever plc, a global leader in consumer products across the foods, home and personal care sectors. His career features deep experience with both industry

leaders and dynamic disruptors at early stages of development.

For over 25 years, Leibowitz has driven growth and transformation agendas across the business world, leading rigorous, insight-driven strategic decision processes, enhancing organizational effectiveness and winning and retaining Wall Street investor support. In addition to leadership roles in US and European business giants, he has maintained a focus on nurturing multi-stakeholder development in emerging markets across Africa and Latin America, building value chains from agricultural communities to female-led small retailer networks.

Leibowitz served as Senior Advisor in McKinsey & Company’s Global Consumer Practice, coaching world-leading as well as smaller clients on major strategic decisions and commercial effectiveness. Previously, for over a decade, Leibowitz co-architected and built SABMiller plc, a $100 billion global brewing group and Coca Cola bottler, originating in Africa and ultimately an industry leader in the US, Europe, Latin America, China and Australia. He successfully built influence and trust across numerous management teams, local distributors, boards and shareholders through challenging economic cycles, board change, joint ventures and large scale acquisitions.

Leibowitz’s early career began in investment banking at Merrill Lynch & Co. in the early 1990s and continued into private equity investment in the context of the transition from communism to market-led economies in Central & Eastern Europe. Leibowitz has served as a Board director or observer at private equity investee companies, corporate subsidiaries, and the UK Investor Relations Society, and he is an executive coach and mentor in connection with the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Leibowitz is based in both Los Angeles and London.

Jeanne Meyers is a co-founder and director of the My Hero Project. Jeanne has been directing the MY HERO website since its inception in 1995. She produces special events for MY HERO including The Laguna Beach Hero Fest, The International Day of Peace Event, Nelson Mandela Day and educational outreach programs in the USA and abroad.

Inessa is an angel investor and entrepreneur currently working at the intersection of food and technology, with a focus on addressing two global challenges: food waste and food insecurity. As the Director of Development and Investments at Treasure8, she connects social investors, family offices, foundations, and non-profits with opportunities to co-create a regenerative food system of the future. She also is engaged in a project to improve the outcomes of mothers and babies in the First 1,000 Days.

In addition to adding to a strong foundation for Treasure8, she co-founded the Future Food Center in San Francisco, a global innovation hub committed to building an abundant 21st-century food system. Inessa is a member and investor of the Seraph Group, a venture capital firm specializing in high-growth start-ups, seed stage, and early-stage companies.

Outside of the roles above, Inessa has provided years of smart capital and advisement to countless organizations all over the world who seek to develop women entrepreneurs, startups, and philanthropic endeavors. Noted for her technological inventions, she has also contributed to four U.S. patents throughout her career and served as one of the founding members of the Russian Language edition of PC Magazine in Russian Language. Lastly, as a community member of Treasure Island, she works to create a more sustainable and healthy ecosystem for the children and families of the island. Inessa earned a Bachelor of Arts from Moscow State University of Printing Arts and is fluent in Russian.

Dr. Mandeep Rai is a global authority on values, working with companies, institutions, and individuals around the world. She has traveled to more than 150 countries and reported as a broadcast journalist for the BBC World Service and Reuters, among others. She began her career in private banking at JPMorgan, and later worked for the United Nations, the European Commission, and grassroots NGOs before setting up the UAE’s first media venture capital fund. Mandeep studied philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE), has an MSc in development from the London School of Economics, and completed an MBA at London Business School, with a year at Harvard Business School and MIT. She also holds a PhD in global values.

Penny Rhodes had a 15 year career in the Institutional Investment Management Industry, beginning with First Chicago’s ANB Investments, and then along with three colleagues was a founding executive of Oak Brook Investments. Penny left Oak Brook in 2000 to become the mother of twins, and while being a full-time parent has continued to pursue entrepreneurial ventures, on-going education and her passion for environmental and social activism. She is currently working on an IP venture.

She has served in a development role on wind turbine prototypes, and has been enrolled in education programs on EarthShip off-grid home construction, sustainable architecture, the World Water Forum in Istanbul, Tama-Do sound healing with Fabien Maman, and UCLA extension. Penny’s volunteer work has included the Webster Elementary and 7 Arrows Elementary Schools, and Meals on Wheels, School on Wheels, Planned Parenthood, LA Skywatch, and Flying Elephants Foundation.

In 2006, Penny was part of the production team for a documentary on Jerusalem, which focused on the three monotheistic religions in conflict with one another, yet all calling Jerusalem their home. She is a 20 year attendee and Founder’s Circle member of the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA, most recently involved with Esalen’s Development and Feasibility Study. She is a graduate of the University of Iowa.

Futurist, Paramount Pictures

Ted spends his time and pursues his passion in a unique role in the motion picture entertainment industry.

As the Futurist at Paramount pictures, Ted works with studio leadership and the technology teams at Paramount / Viacom/CBS, exploring forms of new and emerging technologies, with an emphasis on Virtual and Mixed Reality.

Prior to joining Paramount, Ted was the Futurist at 20th Century Fox, where he worked on the evolving art, science and technology of advanced interactive visual storytelling. He was part of the creation team for the Martian VR and Wild VR experiences, which premiered at CES and Sundance as groundbreaking projects that pushed the envelope of Virtual Reality storytelling,

In addition, Ted was part of the creation teams for the Alien, Planet of the Apes and Predator VR experiences at Fox, and at his current home at Paramount Pictures, he’s been instrumental in bringing the Grease Mixed Reality and the Quiet Place Virtual reality projects to life.

Teri Schwartz is the Dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT) where she has launched an exciting new vision and actionable strategic plan that re-imagines entertainment and performing arts education as an interdisciplinary enterprise grounded in humanistic story, social impact, industry partnerships, technology and innovation and diversity/global diversity. Reframing UCLA TFT as the “Storytelling School”, she has dynamically led the School for 10 years and is its first woman dean. Dean Schwartz has raised over $100 million for student, faculty, facilities and high impact programmatic support including a recently announced $20m gift for scholarships for diversity and ethical leadership and $10m to renovate the iconic Freud Playhouse.

From 2003-2009, Schwartz successfully served as the founding dean of the Loyola Marymount University School of Film and Television Schwartz is an award-winning feature film producer, whose many films have garnered nominations for Academy, Emmy, Golden Globe, People’s Choice, Grammy and MTV awards. In 2018, Schwartz produced the feature documentary WATERSCHOOL in partnership with the Swarovski crystal company. Seven final year TFT him students served in key positions. WATERSCHOOL focuses on how environmental education empowers and transforms the lives of young women and girls living in underserved communities along the major rivers of the world. WATERSCHOOL screened at Sundance, Cannes, World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Toronto. The film is currently streaming on Netflix in 193 countries and translated into 26 languages. A global social action campaign launched to support WATERSCHOOL in alignment with Schwartz’ focus on social impact and diversity.

Service and Memberships: Producers Guild of America; Directors Guild of America; Academy of Television Arts and Sciences; Television Academy Foundation’s Board of Directors; The Hawn Foundation Board of Directors; the Geffen Playhouse Board of Directors; the UCLA TFT/UCA Storytelling Institute in Cannes Executive Board; the NAACP Entertainment Industry Advisory Board; the Board of Trustees of the Swarovski Foundation. Schwartz was recently appointed by the University of California’s Board of Regents to the California State Summer School for the Arts Board of Trustees.

Recent awards: 2018 UCLA Community School Bruin Partnership Award for Service and Distinction; 2015 CayFilm International Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Film Producing; 2013 Caucus for Producers, Writers & Directors American Spirit Award for Special Achievement in Educating New Filmmakers; Variety’s 2012 Media Mentor of the Year. Schwartz has been a keynote speaker at industry conferences, universities and festivals worldwide.

A native of Los Angeles, Schwartz graduated Magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, BA English Lit. UCLA ’71. She received her Master of Arts in Film, University of London ’73.

Tenzin Seldon is an established leader, founder, and investor with over two decades of experience in the climate space. She co-founded a net-negative infrastructure company that utilizes the redevelopment and adaptive reuse of historic buildings.

Previously, Tenzin also worked at the United Nations Environment Programme in Thailand, where she oversaw the region’s disaster risk reduction policy. She is an advisor and serves on several private and public boards, including Marathon Digital Holdings, Stanford University’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, UN NGO Creative Visions Foundation, and One Earth. Tenzin has led various investment deals in the climate sector and holds board positions in companies such as Mast Reforestation, Endera, Twelve, and BlocPower.

Tenzin’s work has been recognized globally: as Forbes’ “Most Likely to Impact the Next Century”; World Economic Forum Global Shaper; a Harry S. Truman Scholar by the U.S. Congress; and one of OZY Magazine’s “5 Civil Rights Leaders for a New Generation”. In 2018, she received the 21st Century Icon Awards by the London Stock Exchange.

Tenzin graduated at the top of her class from Stanford University, earning Phi Beta Kappa honors and graduating summa cum laude with highest distinction. She went on to become the first Tibetan-American Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, where she received her Master’s degree.