SXSW Austin

Deb Haaland is a proud member of the Pueblo of Laguna in New Mexico. As U.S. Secretary of the Interior, she brings her whole self to the job: her Indigenous and immigrant ancestry, her triumphs, and her struggles. She’s an anomaly in the leadership structure, but she argues that voices like hers should be the norm. During her “Auntie Deb’s Guide to Equity & Inclusion” discussion at SXSW® 2022, she spoke about why representation matters, how to take it to the next level, and what is possible when we recognize America’s full history and provide space for all voices to have a seat at the table.

Lena Dunham is not afraid to make mistakes when it comes to storytelling. Her first SXSW® film, Creative Nonfiction, didn’t get into the festival the first time she submitted it. She reworked it and resubmitted the next year, and only then did she gain entry. She was babysitting when she got the congratulatory call, and as she smiled to herself about it, the little boy she was babysitting at the time stabbed her with a mechanical pencil, saying only, “I hate to see you smile.” The inspiring and humorous keynote she later delivered at SXSW® 2014 was to a house packed with attendees, many of whom had waited in line for over an hour to see her.

A writer, producer, director, and distributor of independent film, Ava DuVernay is the winner of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Best Director Award and the John Cassavetes Independent Spirit Award. She spoke at SXSW® 2015 about the importance of attention and intention, specifically in relation to her 2004 film, Selma, which chronicles the historic 1965 voting rights campaign led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and which was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, including Best Director. For Selma, DuVernay was also the first black female director to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

The name Dr. Christopher Emdin is synonymous with education, which is why it was no surprise that he was chosen to deliver the opening keynote at SXSW® EDU in 2017. A professor of education and curriculum theory at the University of Southern California, Dr. Emdin also serves as Director of Youth Engagement and Community Partnerships at the USC Race and Equity Center. He is Scholar/Griot in Residence at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and is the creator of the #HipHopEd social media movement, Science Genius B.A.T.T.L.E.S., and the CREATE Accelerator. Recently named one of the 27 people bridging divides in the U.S. by Time magazine, Dr. Emdin believes “education is not memorization. It is the activation of the imagination and a path towards liberation.”

Farhana Yamin is a climate change and development policy expert and an internationally recognized environmental lawyer. She has advised leaders and ministers on climate negotiations for 30 years, representing small islands and developing countries, and has attended nearly every major climate summit since 1991. Her work explores how activists are building the global climate justice movement and how to bring about equitable, transformational change within the systems that perpetuate climate crises, from energy to manufacturing to policy. Her session at SXSW® 2022, “Why We Need To Go All-in On Climate Justice,” covered topics related to movement-building, effective activism for systems change, and the role of philanthropy in supporting climate justice movements and activism.

Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Grammy winner Lady Gaga is a one-of-a-kind artist and performer who has graced the SXSW® stages multiple times. In addition to her musical success, she launched Born This Way Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering youth, embracing differences, and inspiring kindness and bravery. The organization’s teen mental health first aid project is inspired by her own struggles with mental health and the support she received, which she credits with saving her life. According to Gaga, “I know what it means to have someone support me and understand what I’m going through, and every young person in the world should have someone to turn to when they’re hurting. It saved my life, and it will save theirs.”

A Japanese organizing consultant, author, and TV presenter, Marie Kondō’s acclaimed KonMari Method provides spiritual clarity to people seeking to declutter. At SXSW® 2017, she highlighted that the principles behind her KonMari Method are meant to steer an individual to cherish only the belongings that bring true joy in an age of compulsive consumerism. During her session, she explained the central idea, saying: “How do you choose what to keep? Ask, ‘Does it spark joy?’ If it sparks joy, keep it! If it does not, get rid of it.”

Michelle Obama hosted a keynote at SXSW® 2016 Music to discuss Let Girls Learn, a White House initiative dedicated to educating young girls around the world. Sharing the stage with Missy Elliott, Diane Warren, Sophia Bush, and Queen Latifah, their discussion centered around the #62MillionGirls campaign on social media, intended to help that number of girls around the world who are denied education for various reasons—logistical challenges, financial issues, lack of adequate bathroom facilities, or because of attitudes and beliefs that deter and oppress. Michelle movingly spoke about her own experience of rising above the low expectations which plagued her as a child growing up on the south side of Chicago.

Elisabeth Moss’ original aspiration was to be a professional dancer. In her adolescence, she studied ballet at the School of American Ballet in NYC but started getting acting roles in the early 1990s. Interviewed in conjunction with the screening of her film Her Smell at the 2019 SXSW® Film Festival, she discussed how she brings authenticity and real-life experiences to her work as an actress. She has starred in (and won awards for) Mad Men and The Handmaid’s Tale, and was named the “Queen of Peak TV” by Vulture.

Michael Pollan’s many award-winning books and articles cover the places where the human and natural worlds intersect: on our plates, in our farms and gardens, and in our minds. His writings have received numerous awards and he is especially well-known for his simple and straightforward philosophy of eating: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” During the Featured Session at SXSW® 2019, he elaborated on the renaissance of the scientific study of psychedelics as a mode of therapy for mental illness and how they could be utilized as a tool for understanding the mind.

A true music icon, Quincy Jones is famous for working with musical greats including Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis Presley. He is an Academy Award-nominated songwriter, producer, and arranger (and the recipient of a record number of Grammy nominations and wins). Three of Michael Jackson’s most successful albums: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), and Bad (1987) were produced by Jones, and Thriller remains the top selling album of all time. A career as long and successful as his inevitably contains great stories, and he delighted audiences in the keynote at SXSW® 2009 with his description of a life lived through the metaphor of music.

Bruce Springsteen needs no introduction. When the Boss gave the keynote at SXSW® 2012, he delivered in the way of a true leader—he spoke about the duality of the universe, how everyone sees their own truth, and how, in rock & roll, there is no wrong way. Here is an excerpt from his talk: “So, rumble, young musicians, rumble. Open your ears and open your hearts. Don’t take yourself too seriously, and take yourself as seriously as death itself… Be able to keep two completely contradictory ideas alive and well inside of your heart and head at all times. If it doesn’t drive you crazy, it will make you strong.”

Temple Grandin is widely known for her work as a scientist and animal behaviorist, and especially for her advocacy for the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter. She both inspires and motivates through her powerful story of living with autism, and she was the subject of the 2010 biographical drama film, Temple Grandin, which won a Golden Globe and an Emmy. Her keynote opened SXSW® EDU in 2016, in which she argued that every learner’s brain is wired differently and that educators should focus on students’ strengths, rather than labeling their deficiencies.

An American futurist, author, and founder and CEO of the management consulting firm Future Today Institute, Amy Webb’s career started in journalism, focusing on technology and economics. Since 2007, she has authored the Future Today Institute’s annual Tech Trend Report presented at SXSW®, which discusses the future of technologies and their impacts on society. Webb delves into the ineffable quality of emerging tech trends, noting that the ones you should pay attention to are hard to encapsulate in buzzwords and may not always seem important at first. She believes we must pay attention to and know how to identify emerging trends, since they are “the waypoints that route us to the future.”