Dr. Stacy L. Smith

Dr. Stacy L. Smith is the recipient of the 2025 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award and the founder of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, a leading global think tank dedicated to research and advocacy on inequality within the entertainment industry. Smith has contributed significantly to the body of knowledge on this subject, authoring over 100 book chapters, articles, and reports on media and entertainment inequality. Her influence has extended to the digital stage as well, with her TED Talk reaching over 1.1 million views.

Smith has been a prominent figure at various high-profile venues, presenting her findings and advocating for change at institutions such as the United Nations, the White House, and film festivals in Sundance and Toronto. Her expertise has even been called upon by the U.S. Congress, where she has testified on the issue of inequality within the entertainment industry. In 2018, Smith introduced the inclusion rider, a contractual clause for actors that can require the cast and crew on a film to meet certain diversity criteria, which gained significant recognition during the Academy Awards.

Continuing her advocacy for representation in film, Smith launched the 4% challenge to encourage the hiring of more women directors, a campaign supported by Time’s Up, an advocacy group for women in the entertainment industry. Smith also champions Latino representation in film and has collaborated with actress and producer Eva Longoria. Alongside Cate Blanchett and Coco Francini, Smith co-launched the Proof of Concept Accelerator, an initiative backed by the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity, designed to support underrepresented creators in turning their ideas into reality.