Soledad O'Brien

CEO of Soledad O'Brien Productions

Soledad O'Brien

Soledad O’Brien is an award-winning documentarian, journalist, speaker, author, and philanthropist, and founder of Soledad O’Brien Productions, a media production company dedicated to telling empowering and authentic stories on a range of social issues. She anchors and produces "Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien," a Hearst political magazine program seen in 95% of the country. She is a correspondent for HBO Real Sports. was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of fame in May 2023.

Soledad has a national impact through her op-eds, social media, speeches and books, including her critically acclaimed memoir “The Next Big Story” and her 1.3 million Twitter followers. She gave Congressional testimony on media disinformation. She has anchored shows and specials on CNN, MSNBC and NBC’s Today Show, Nat Geo, BET, ABC, and CBS.

Soledad O’Brien Productions’ most recent projects include the Peabody-Award winning documentary, “The Rebellious Life of Rosa Parks” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and streams on Peacock, and the multi-part series “Black and Missing”, which won the Independent Spirit and NAACP awards and streams on HBO. Other productions have appeared on Discovery Plus, CNN, BET, PBS, and others. She also works with major foundations, like Ford and Gates, to produce impactful documentaries on topics like hunger, race and education.

O’Brien’s work has been recognized with four Emmy awards, three times with the George Foster Peabody Award, four times with the Gracie Award, which honors women in media, twice with Cine Awards for her work in documentary films and with an Alfred I. DuPont Award.

She founded the PowHerful foundation in 2011 which has helped dozens of young women get to and through college and connects with thousands of others through regional mentoring conferences.

Watch the Latest Philanthropy Content from T&C's 2022 Summit

This Is Our Youth

How November’s First Time Voters Envision Our Future

Introduction: Darren Walker | President, Ford Foundation

Thandiwe Abdullah, Charitie Ropati, Harry Sisson, Peren Tiemann, Kellen Zeng

Philanthropy is a Family Affair

A Conversation with Ayesha Curry With a Special Message from Steph Curry

Ayesha Curry | Co-Founder, Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation

Christopher Helfrich | CEO, Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation

Welcome to the Age of Rage Giving

How the News Cycle Determines America’s Philanthropic Habits

Moderator: Brian Stelter | Former anchor of CNN’s ”Reliable Sources”

Busy Phillips | Actress, Activist

Darren Walker | President, Ford Foundation

Shannon Watts | Founder, Moms Demand Action

Beyond the Museum Gala

The Evolving Art of Arts Funding

Introduction: Debi Larrison | Managing Director, National Art Credit Executive, Bank of America

Moderator: Salamishah Tillet | Professor of Africana Studies and Creative Writing, Rutgers University

Dr. Elizabeth Alexander | President, Mellon Foundation

Ebele Okobi | Trustee and Chair of the Development Board, Young Vic Theatre

Henry Timms | President and CEO, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

We Need An Intervention

A Game Plan for Mental Health in America’s Youth

Aeva Gaymon-Doomes, M.D. | Clinical Faculty, Howard University College of Medicine and George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences

Mitch Prinstein | Chief Science Officer, American Psychological Association

Andrew Solomon, Ph.D. | Professor of Clinical Psychology, Columbia University, and Best-Selling Author, “Far from the Tree”

The Power of Kindness

Jennifer Garner in Conversation with Cynthia McFadden

Moderator: Cynthia McFadden | Senior Investigative Correspondent, NBC News

Jennifer Garner | Actress, Philanthropist, Entrepreneur, and Save the Children Trustee

Mark Shriver | Special Advisor to the President; Chief Strategy Officer, Save the Children

The Future of Food

A Lunch Curated by Questlove

Prepared by Chef Tara Thomas and Chefs Annalysse Melendez and Kayla Atkins from Food Education Fund

We Are What We Eat

A Conversation with Questlove and Martha Stewart

Questlove | Academy Award-Winning Filmmaker, Grammy Award-Winning Musician, Producer, DJ, Director, Culinary Entrepreneur, and New York Times Best-Selling Author

Martha Stewart | Founder, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

Welcome Remarks

Stellene Volandes

Editor in Chief, Town & Country

Where Do We Stand?

On the State of Modern Giving

Introduction: David Lauren | Chief Branding and Innovation Officer, Ralph Lauren

Keynote: Darren Walker | President, Ford Foundation

Can Philanthropy Save the Future?

The Long Game: Lessons in Lasting Change

Moderator: Soledad O’Brien | CEO, Soledad O’Brien Productions

Dr. Cecilia Conrad | CEO, Lever for Change

Sarah Arison | President, Arison Arts Foundation

Christina Lewis | Founder and Chairwoman, BFO21; Vice Chair, Reginald F. Lewis Foundation

Sherrie Westin | President, Sesame Workshop

Can Philanthropy Save Our Kids?

The Modern Condition: Mental Health, Our Youth, and What YOU Can Do

Moderator: Deborah Roberts | Co-Anchor and Senior National Affairs Correspondent, ABC News 20/20

Dr. Warren Ng | Immediate Past President, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Professor, Psychiatry at Columbia Medical Center; Director, Clinical Services, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry NYPH CUIMC

Isaiah Santiago | Commissioner-Elect, Rochester City School Board

Karen Friedman | Director, Strategy and Quality Practices Mental Health, YMCA

Amanda Yarnell | Senior Director, Harvard T.H. Chan Schoo

Can Philanthropy Save the Arts?

A Whole New World: Supporting the Arts in a Radically Changing Landscape

Moderator: Stellene Volandes | Editor in Chief, Town & Country

Drew Watson | Head of Art Services, Bank of America Private Bank

Jody Gottfried Arnhold | Chair of the Board, 92nd Street Y, New York City; Dance Educator and Advocate; Founder, Dance Education Laboratory, (DEL), 92NY

Shanta Thake | Chief Artistic Officer, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

Leslie Odom Jr. | Producer; Creative; Entertainer

Can Philanthropy Save a City?

Building Blocks: How Can We Fix What’s Currently Ailing Us?

Moderator: Paul Goldberger | Architecture Critic and Author

Zach Iscol | Emergency Management Commissioner, NYC

William Rudin | Co-Chairman and CEO, Rudin

Oscar L. Tang | Retired financier; Co-Chairman, New York Philharmonic; Trustee Emeritus, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Co-Founder, Committee of 100

Agnes Hsu-Tang | Ph.D., Archaeologist, and former International Expert, UNESCO; Board Chair, New-York Historical Society; Co-Founder, Hsu-Tang Library, Oxford University Press

Geoffrey Canada | President, Harlem Children’s Zone

All Guests Please Proceed to the 44th Floor for the Lunch Program

What Feeds Us?

A Lunch Curated by Jody Williams and Rita Sodi

Introduction: William Li | Contributing Editor, Town & Country; Founder, Armature Projects

Jody Williams | Chef and Owner, Buvette NYC; Co-Chef and Owner, The Commerce Inn, Via Carota and Bar Pisellino

Rita Sodi | Chef and Owner, I Sodi; Co-Chef and Owner, The Commerce Inn, Via Carota and Bar Pisellino

A Special Message from Michael J. Fox

Michael J. Fox | Founder, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

A Life of Service

A Conversation with Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger | Bodybuilder; Actor; Author; Politician

Philanthropy Begins at Home

Charlize Theron in Conversation with Cynthia McFadden

Charlize Theron | Academy Award Winning Actress

Cynthia McFadden | Senior Investigative Correspondent, NBC News

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