When celebrities lend their names to a good cause, they often mobilize their supporters to follow suit while attracting some welcome publicity. But who manages their pursuits ? How do these influencers connect with the issues that the world is facing ?
In my quest to push the boundaries of giving, I knew I had to connect with the people behind the scenes. I had to connect with the agencies that represent celebrities, giving them a platform to what later become mainstream causes. Grassroots efforts and systemic change come from backstage Hollywood more often than we think.
I was introduced to Creative Artists Agency (CAA) through a friend and immediately knew this was no ordinary talent agency and that Michelle Kydd Lee is no ordinary executive. Michelle is the Chief Innovation Officer of CAA where she also founded the agency’s philanthropic arm, the CAA Foundation, in 1995. I came to Michelle ready to explode with great ideas on smarter giving, and much to my surprise, she has been pushing Hollywood to get involved for decades. And very successfully, might I add ! While we see celebrity A-listers at charity galas, Michelle is behind the scenes urging new artists to share their success and get involved. Thank you for leveraging the support of these influencers to give a voice to important causes. Your work is truly appreciated, Michelle !
Michelle, part of your role at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) is to oversee the CAA Foundation’s philanthropic efforts. You’ve created an interesting intersection between pop culture and social impact. How are they intermixing?
At CAA, we subscribe to the belief that when we take care of each other, good things happen. I was the first person hired by the new leadership of the agency and was charged with establishing a department that would focus on developing ideas that would make a positive impact on the world. In 1995, the CAA Foundation was born – the first-ever philanthropic arm of a Hollywood agency. Today, the CAA Foundation, through the leadership of Co-Directors Rachel Kropa and Natalie Tran, creates opportunities for our employees and clients to access the tremendous resources of the agency to create social change.
We provided on-site relief in Haiti following the devastating earthquake in 2010. We were in The Rockaways immediately after Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and continue to bring support to the area. We were in Tuscaloosa after the tornado in 2011 and floods in Tennessee in 2010, created Bama Rising and the Nashville Rising Flood Benefit, which collectively raised $4.4 million for those shattered regions, and continue to coordinate annual volunteer trips to both areas annually. We have a special place in our hearts even 12 years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Every year we return to New Orleans, with teams of volunteers to assist in rebuilding homes for NOLA’s citizens.
During this year’s presidential election, we formed CAA Civics, a bi-partisan employee committee group dedicated to promoting civic engagement and citizenship. Partnered with Rock The Vote; were the only agency to participate in Take Tuesday; established an educational speakers series to foster greater citizenship; and coordinated employee participation in #ADayWithoutAWoman and women’s marches globally.
Additionally, we hosted Take Action Day, a day-long, nonpartisan summit, providing clients, colleagues, and industry peers an opportunity to be updated and informed about the work of a wide range of organizations and individuals. And at this very moment, we are gearing up for CAA AMPLIFY, an invitation-only event convening multicultural artists and leaders from entertainment, sports, media, corporate brand marketing, and technology to inform, inspire, and connect multicultural leaders to accelerate the growth, value, and visibility of diversity in business.
I am remarkably proud of what we have been able to accomplish over the past two decades. We have supported thousands of organizations - both philanthropically and through collaborations with our employees, clients, and policymakers.
You’ve held an instrumental role at CAA. You helped launch the foundation in 1995 and have led the development of the company since the beginning. What changes have you seen in clients over time? What were some of the obstacles you faced as a woman in charge in those first few years when corporate culture was predominantly male-heavy?
When we launched the CAA Foundation in 1995, it was the first-of-its-kind, and quickly became the gold standard for client service in philanthropy and positive social change. But back then, clients were just realizing that their influence could help others and were interested in learning how to use this power to make a difference. For some, this is what they would build on, whereas today so many people view activism as a part of their DNA. The obstacles we faced had less to do with gender and more to do with being the first. Our efforts involved showing people the opportunities that existed and bringing in experts in the field to educate our clients about the issues facing the planet.
I led the CAA Foundation until 2015, when I was elevated to my current role as Chief Innovation Officer, where I am now charged to help run our company. One aspect that I especially enjoy is ideating state-of-the-art approaches to empower, develop, and inspire employees across the company, with a focus on creating growth opportunities for women- both inside and outside the agency. While the entertainment industry has long had incredibly strong and brilliant female leaders, like Sherry Lansing, Oprah Winfrey, and Kathleen Kennedy, it is always important for every underrepresented group to see leaders that in some way resemble themselves. Here at CAA, I am proud to work alongside many remarkable female leaders, who manage divisions of the company and are extraordinary agents and executives.
As businesses are increasing their involvement in social causes, consumers are becoming wary of inauthentic initiatives. What are entertainers and performers doing to maintain their image to ensure they are getting involved in a cause that won’t hurt them? What is your take on this? Is any involvement in social good better than nothing?
There truly is no better time than now for each of us to be educated about the world around us. What may seem like a step forward in environmental stewardship to some, can look like “greenwashing” to others. These are serious times and I believe that the role of the artist, who can hold up a mirror to society to better see ourselves, is incredibly important. I appreciate the incredible work of great storytellers who can take complicated issues, like Ava DuVernay in her criminal justice reform documentary 13TH, and provide a narrative that educates more people about the need for our society to evolve.
You sit on the board of the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation, a great initiative to promote healthy lifestyles in schools across the country. As a mother of two young children, how have you seen the need for such organizations arise as technology further replaces playtime and outdoor activities with iPhones and tablets? How can parents create a healthy balance between the two?
The JK Livin’ Foundation has done some truly remarkable work. Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves are fantastic examples of artists who use their influence to help kids envision a better future and give them the tools to make it happen. Under the leadership of Shannon Maybrey Rotenberg (who was previously a member of the CAA Foundation team), JK Livin’ has shown that healthy lifestyles result in healthy futures. The entire board consists of parents of young kids, who encourage an active lifestyle and healthy face-to-face communication at a time when so many of us have our heads buried in screens. What all kids - and humans of all ages - really want is to connect and be part of a community. Programs like JK Livin’ help create that environment.
This summer, CAA is holding CAA AMPLIFY, an exclusive event around diversity and inclusion in the workplace, to discuss new strategies of implementing sustainable change. What initiatives towards diversity has CAA taken internally and how have they been effective?
A number of years ago, CAA implemented a strategy to address issues of diversity and inclusion in our industry. We developed programs to ensure a more diversified workplace, and launched a series of industry events to support and advance underrepresented voices in Hollywood. In 2005, we began recruiting at top-tier colleges and universities, historically black colleges (HBCUs), colleges with high Latino populations, and women’s colleges, resulting in a significant change to the pipeline of young staff hired by CAA. Within the past five years, roughly 43% of the interns in CAA’s global internship program have been ethnically diverse and nearly 50% have been women.
We launched The Writers’ Boot Camp, an annual workshop designed for emerging television writers to help them move more quickly through the writers’ room and rise through the ranks, where they can eventually have more creative control of a show; and You’re Up, a networking and educational event to foster the development of multicultural future industry leaders.
And, as I mentioned previously, this June, we are launching CAA AMPLIFY, further building upon our longstanding commitment to making change.
What is one of the most exciting philanthropic opportunities you’ve been able to create for a client at CAA?
I was very happy to have connected Matthew McConaughey to Shannon Maybrey Rotenberg and truly admire what they have done for countless kids.
What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned as a corporate innovator?
Vision is about great ideas. Activation is about bringing those ideas to life. Innovation is often about making things uncomfortable to create something new. A great idea is only an idea unless you can actually make it come to life.
Finally, do you think that by doing good, you’re more successful?
It’s worked for me!