Kerry Washington

Emmy-winning, SAG and Golden Globe-nominated actor, director and producer Kerry Washington is a versatile and fearless multi-hyphenate who has received high acclaim for her work in film, television and theater.

Washington is a lifelong advocate and activist. She is dedicated to using her voice to support an equitable and fully participatory democracy by ensuring that all eligible Americans—particularly those who have been historically underrepresented—are engaged and empowered to affect change in their communities. Washington has been involved with many social and political causes, including her service on President Obama’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She is a co-chair of Mrs. Obama’s When We All Vote campaign and is the Founder of Influence Change, a strategic initiative that partners with high impact, nonprofit organizations to increase voter turnout. In 2021, Washington partnered with the Movement Voter Project to launch a Cohort of 10 grassroots organizations to provide them with resources and storytelling support to scale their impact as they advocate for an equitable democracy.

In addition to her civic engagement work, Washington is an Angel of Baby2Baby, an organization that provides children living in poverty with diapers, clothing and all the basic necessities that every child deserves. She is also a co-chair of the Black Voices for Black Justice Fund, an organization dedicated to funding and amplifying the voices of Black leaders who are helping build a more equitable America.

Along with George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Mindy Kaling, Grant Heslov, Eva Longoria and Nicole Avant, Washington is also a founding member of The Roybal School of Film and Television Production. The specialized academy, alongside Los Angeles Unified School District, and housed within the Edward R. Roybal Learning Center in the Westlake area of Los Angeles, is set to launch in Fall 2022 as a magnet school and is part of an effort to drive transformational change across the entertainment industry for students from underserved communities.