“People say that a true mark of a brilliant person is the ability to make connections. If that’s true then Laurie is a Modern day Einstein.” Geraldine Laybourne

Laurie Meadoff has dedicated her life to envisioning a world without barriers and prejudices while striving to build bridges through tolerance and understanding. For more than 30 years, she has worked as an agent for social change, garnering an international reputation as an ardent advocate for those in need while possessing a proven track record for creating change through dialogue, media and the arts. She is also an innovative marketer with a penchant for utilizing strategic connections and collaborations to drive awareness and visibility to her many passionate projects and causes. 

Laurie is most well known for founding The CityKids Foundation, one of America’s most successful and steadfast organizations for multicultural youth. Created in 1985, the CityKids Foundation has helped to engage and motivate young people from diverse demographics to positively impact their lives, their communities, and the world using their voices. In her role as Founder and President Emeritus of the organization, Laurie successfully organized and executed numerous annual fundraising events sponsored by established corporations including Pepsi, Mastercard, and Burger King with participation from celebrities such as Demi Moore, Michael Bolton, Robert De Niro, Herbie Hancock, and Keith Haring to help build awareness. As a byproduct of the foundation’s achievements, which included a national Repertory tour of its members, Laurie co-created and executive produced the Emmy-nominated ABC series “CityKids” with renowned director and screenwriter Brian Henson. As a result of Laurie’s vision, drive, and excellence in communication, her community and youth outreach initiatives through media and performance have continued to thrive, and the relationships cultivated persist today.

Beyond her extensive work with the CityKids Foundation, Laurie  serves as CEO of Laurie Inc. and Team, a company designed to innovate, connect and activate brands and media from around with the world.  Her many successful collaborations include partnerships with Fran Drescher, Goldie Hawn and, most recently, Jane Seymour, with whom she co- produced the 13 part PBS series “Feel Grand” for The American Grandparents Association.

Her skillful talent for communicating is most notably exemplified through her cutting-edge work in the media realm. As the Founder and former CEO of Chat Ventures, Laurie executive produced programming on Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, ABC, HBO Family, MTV, and VH1.  She was the driving force behind Chat the Planet, a global dialogue initiative she  co created committed to using media and online dialogue tools as a means of breaking down barriers between people of different cultures and nationalities. Chat the Planet, which filmed in South Africa, Israel, Iraq, Iran, Australia, and Jordan, reached an incredible 350 million homes worldwide. Laurie also co-created and executive produced the Webby award-winning series,Hometown Baghdad, which reached three million web viewers at the height of the war in Iraq and aired on Nat Geo and Sundance Channel.

Her work has been covered by NPR, CNN, The Oprah Show, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the TODAY Show, Good Morning America, One World with Deepak Chopra on Sirius XM, and more.  Laurie was also a recipient of the prestigious Rockefeller Fellowship: Next Generation Leadership, where she participated in a yearlong fellowship studying issues of globalization . Laurie spoke in Doha at Brookings Institute and did a Ted X talk on innovation in India at GSF forum."

Featured in: Left-Field Leaders