Culture and Leadership

My talks are from the future and draw on my experiences using culture to lead and shift the world.

“Culture’s cutting edge transforms how we see the world and ourselves. Stories are the most effective way to know what you don’t know.”

Inspiring The Next Generation

Represented in speaking by CAA, Mehret’s talks and keynotes draw on her interdisciplinary experiences building pioneering media businesses, creating innovative cultural policy, and producing award-winning films and television shows that span documentary and fiction. Whether it’s showrunning Ethiopia’s first-ever teen drama series, Yegna, or producing her Emmy-nominated American Masters feature film How It Feels To Be Free, all of the stories she tells shift culture and the businesses she builds upend what people think is possible. The impact of her body of work on women and girls globally also makes her a leading expert in how narrative can be used to heal the world.

Signature Talks

Shift: How to Get Out of Your Own Way

In this talk, Mehret uses stories from her extraordinary life to take audiences on a journey that shows what happens when you let go of the expectations that keep you locked into jobs and career paths that are clearly not meant for you, contend with uncertainty, and start charting a new path. She invites audiences to explore The Great Resignation as a collective expression of something deeper – the possibility that we can create the lives that we desire if we give ourselves permission to seriously consider this proposition.

How a Strong Creative Industry Helps Economies Thrive

When global leaders think about which industries can fuel economic growth, the arts are often overlooked. But filmmaker Mehret Mandefro says the creative sector actually has the power to grow economies -- while also helping safeguard democracy. In this captivating talk, she shares a behind-the-scenes look at how she's putting culture back on the economic agenda in Ethiopia, and explains why other countries would benefit from doing the same.

The Most Potent Forms of Fear Come in the Name of Love

How does being miserable become the default pathway in life? In this inspiring talk, filmmaker Mehret Mandefro provokes audiences to consider the ways in which fear, wrapped in love, may have caused this outcome.