Sessions
Press
Participants
Reflections
Go Deeper
Gallery
Culture is power. It’s everywhere, from the media we consume to the clothes we wear. It has the power to inspire others and make world-changing impact. So why aren’t more changemakers at its center?
LETTER FROM OUR CEO
That’s the question we wanted to dig into at our first ever Make Good Famous Summit, which took place in May 2023 and brought together changemakers and leaders from across philanthropy, media, business, and the public sectors. The Make Good Famous Summit was more than a conference. It was a community.
We dared to dream of hopeful futures for hunger, education, justice, and our planet. We left better informed, supported and empowered to put the levers of culture to work for the forces of change.
We nurtured our spirits and made space for rest and renewal. We left better informed, supported and empowered to put the levers of culture to work for the forces of change.
This week was just the beginning – it’s time to send this electricity out into the world.
It’s time to Make Good Famous.
Carolina García Jayaram
CEO, The Elevate Prize Foundation
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
THE SUMMIT
EXPERIENCE
Community in action! Experience the inspiration, passion, joy and energy of Summit.
ELEVATE PRIZE
CATALYST AWARD
We’re proud to introduce our new Elevate Prize Catalyst Award winner: award-winning musician, performer, activist, and advocate Lizzo!
Lizzo’s passion for making the world a better place shines through, whether she’s bringing activists on stage at the People’s Choice Awards or standing up for access to reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare and LGBTQ+ rights. Every year, she champions and spotlights Black organizations through her Juneteenth Giveback initiative, amplifying their messages of justice, equality, and hope.
She has committed the funds from the Elevate Prize Catalyst Award to support five game-changing Black-led organizations and take the campaign to new heights.
Read more about Lizzo and the Elevate Prize Catalyst Award here.
ELEVATE PRIZE GET
LOUD AWARD
It was an honor to be able to present the prize in-person to WECOUNT at our Summit, and to learn more about their incredible work.
Congratulations to this month’s Elevate Prize Get Loud Award winner, WeCount!, a Miami-based membership organization on a mission to build power for immigrant workers and their
families through education, leadership development, and campaigns to win better working and living conditions for all.
Taking action with
Miami Waterkeeper
The hot sun didn’t deter us from heading to the beach with our trash bags to clean up the shoreline and support Miami Waterkeeper’s vital mission!
As part of the Make Good Famous Summit, many of our Elevate Prize winners, CNN Heroes, and members of the Elevate team volunteered their time to help restore the sand dune habitat of Miami’s Virginia Key ahead of the hurricane season. Volunteers removed invasive plant species, planted a nursery of native plants, and picked up trash from the beach, filling up bag after bag with debris.
“It’s super important to keep our beaches clean,” said Rachel Silverstein, an Elevate Prize winner and the Executive Director of Miami Waterkeeper, who organized the project. “It affects wildlife; they get entangled and trapped. It causes all sorts of issues.”Interested in volunteering with Miami Waterkeeper? Check out some opportunities here.
Culture that
elevates
We were blown away by some electric performances from The Hip Hop Kids, Tiffany Fantasia and Willie Stewart and Friends, who ensured we all went home dancing and inspired!
THE SESSIONS
▶
REIMAGINING CULTURE TO POWER CHANGE
Featuring: Joseph S. Deitch, Founder, The Elevate Prize Foundation and Carolina Garcia Jayaram, Founding CEO, The Elevate Prize Foundation
Culture shapes the world, influencing creativity, human connection, and innovation. Movements are born through meaningful shifts in culture – from the magic of communities coming together to connect through shared values.
How do you define culture? What role does culture play in driving sustainable change? How is its impact measured? How can diverse networks organize together for positive change?
Social impact executives, media leaders, and cultural experts investigate the data, behavioral patterns, and trends that lead to cultural shifts and the movements they inspire.
▶
REIMAGINING CULTURE TO POWER CHANGE PANEL
Moderated by Carolina García Jayarm
▶
FROM A MOMENT TO A MOVEMENT
Moderated by Suzanne Kianpour
▶
CHANGING THE NARRATIVE: MEDIA’S ROLE IN INSPIRING EQUITY
Moderated by Shaniqua McClendon
PRESS
PARTICIPANTS
ELEVATE PRIZE WINNERS
CNN HEROES (2022 AND 2021)
Speakers & facilitators
REFLECTIONS
GO DEEPER
Take a look at Flood Zone, artist Anastasia Samoylova’s photobook about life on the knife-edge of climate change.
Dr. Ian Miller spoke to us about National Geographic Explorers who are working to inspire, educate, preserve and protect marine environments. Learn more here.
Good Is The New Cool. Check out the breakthrough book from Afdhel Aziz and Bobby Jones to learn more about leading with good.
Download better workplace guides from DEI consultant, Melina Cordero, to stop ticking boxes and start trailblazing.
Watch a short video from Fearless Communicators (and their leader, Eduardo Placer) to improve your own public speaking and storytelling skills.
Listen to a podcast from Anasa Troutman’s organization, The Big We, an innovative high impact media company, foundation, and investment fund revolutionizing how inspiration becomes transformation.
The future of storytelling is intersectional. Watch some shorts from Elevate Prize Winner Elijah McKinnon’s organization Open TV and learn more.
Follow our Gen Z speakers on social media, and you’ll get a flavor of the impact they made in their session, Generation Activist.
Tiana Day Founder,
Youth Advocates For Change
Aidan Kohn-Murphy
Founder & Senior Advisor, Gen-Z for Change
Lara Rudar,
Youth Delegate, UN Climate Change
JC Feliciano Arce,
Executive Director, Youth Advocates for Change
GALLERY
SEE ALL
