The Journey is the Destination – Kathy Eldon – TIFF 2016 – Episode 236

Kathy and I talk about social change, catalyzing action, creative activism and choosing love and why fearlessness matters more than we know.

For more information about Kathy head here and her new book head here.

For more information on Creative Visions.

The Journey is The Destination: IMDB

Hear my interview with Brownen Hughes, the filmmaker.

Biography

Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and a graduate of Wellesley College, Kathy has worked as a teacher, journalist, author, and film and television producer in England, Africa and the United States.  In 1997, Kathy launched Creative Visions Foundation, a global organization that supports “creative activists” who use their creative talents to change the world around them.  CVF was inspired by the life of Kathy’s son, Dan Eldon – artist, adventurer and activist – killed in 1993 while on assignment for Reuters New Agency in Somalia.

Since 2004, CVF has acted as an incubator, academy and agency for more than 200 projects and productions by artists, filmmakers, playwrights, and leaders of social movements on five continents who use media and the arts as vehicles of social change, impacting over 100 million people.

Kathy is also the Founder of Creative Visions Productions, which has produced award-winning films including “Dying to Tell the Story,” a TBS special about front line correspondents hosted by Amy; “Soldiers of Peace, a Children’s Crusade,” a CNN film profiling the Children’s Peace Movement in Colombia, and “Global Tribe,” a cutting edge PBS series hosted by Amy featuring grass-roots creative activists.  Once “Global Tribe,” an interactive website, inspired the development of Rock Your World, a common core curriculum that engaged middle and high school students in local and global issues.  Together with Julia Roberts, she exec-produced “Extraordinary Moms,” a special for the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) about the power of mothers to transform the world that featured then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rosie O’Donnell and Christiane Amanpour.

Currently she is developing “Best Care Possible,” a PBS special in association with WETA, about Palliative Care in America.  After many years of development, “Journey,” a feature film about Dan, directed by Bronwen Hughes (“Harriet the Spy,” “Forces of Nature,” “Stander”) will go into production in 2015.

Kathy is the co-founder of Sanctri, a Facebook application that enables individuals to not only remember those who have passed on, but also to celebrate their lives through creating enduring memorials and tributes.

Kathy is the author of 18 books, including “Angel Catcher,” “Soul Catcher,” and “Love Catcher” (Chronicle), a series of popular self-guided journals written with her daughter Amy Eldon Turteltaub that help people negotiate loss and grief, find their purpose and introduce more love into their lives.  Kathy edited the acclaimed collection of Dan’s journals, “Journey is the Destination: The Journals of Dan Eldon” (Chronicle), and has also written a variety of popular cookbooks, eating out guides and children’s social history books.  In 2013, Harper One published her memoir, “In the Heart of Life.”

Kathy has been profiled in a number of books, including Arianna Huffington’s “On Becoming Fearless,” “Those Who Dare: Real People, Real Courage” and “Fearless Women.”  Kathy was named one of MSN’s “10 Amazing Women You Have Never Heard Of,” together with Nobel Peace Prize winners Wangari Mathai and Jodi Williams.  Kathy was given a Euro-American Women’s Council Artemis Goddess Award for her work with young creative activists, and named a Civic Ventures Purpose Prize Fellow.

On Nelson Mandela’s Birthday in 2013, Kweku and Ndaba Mandela nominated Kathy for the George H.W. Bush “Points of Light” award and in February, 2014, Kathy was awarded a grant of $25,000 after being named the winner of the Unite4Humanity’s Inspiration Award in the Arts at a ceremony in the presence of President Bill Clinton.  Thanks to the PVBLIC Foundation, Kathy was awarded the 2015 Media for Social Impact Award at the United Nations.  Los Angeles Confidential Magazine named Kathy one of Los Angeles’ Most Influential Female Power Duos with actress and activist Maria Bello.

Kathy has been featured on countless television and radio programs globally, including several appearances on Oprah and a segment on Oprah’s “Producer’s Favorites.”  A popular speaker, she hosts “Caught in the Act,” a Huffington Post video blog that features dynamic creative activists.

Kathy lives in Malibu with her husband Michael Bedner, next to the Dan Eldon Center for Creative Activism, a vibrant hub for individuals who want to help change their bit of the world.