Kathy Najimy Author

Emmy– and Tony Award–winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth’s career spans film, television, voiceover, and stage. She received an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in Pushing Daisies, won a Tony Award for You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and received a Tony Award nomination for her original role of Glinda the Good Witch in the Broadway smash-hit Wicked. Kristin stars in the Apple TV+ musical comedy series Schmigadoon! She also starred in the Netflix comedy feature Holidate, voiced the character Daisy in the HBO MAX film The Witches, and hosted the Food Network series Candy Land. Kristin remains a passionate supporter of charities, including the Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center Foundation in her home state of Oklahoma, where she launched an annual Broadway Bootcamp providing young Broadway hopefuls with the opportunity to learn from mentors in the field.  She is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir, A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages published in 2009, and the children’s picture book, What Will I Do with My Love Today?, published in 2022.

Kathy Najimy is an award-winning actor, director, writer, producer, and activist known for her memorable performances in over twenty-five films and over one-hundred television projects, including Sister Act, Hocus Pocus, VEEP, King of the Hill, Younger, Dumplin’, and many more. Her performances have earned her prestigious accolades, including an American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress, the Hollywood Women’s Press Club Female Discovery of the Year, Ms. Magazine’s Woman of the Year and the NYC Lily Awards Actor/Activist of the year. Najimy is producing a series for television based on The Women’s Movement, and creating the off-Broadway hit Gloria: A Life, about the life of her friend, Gloria Steinem. For her over forty years of AIDS activism, Najimy has been honored with the GMHC Howard Ashman Lifetime achievement award, the LA Shanti’s Founder award, as well as the LA Gay and Lesbian Center’s Distinguished Achievement award. As a proud Lebanese American, she has received awards from the ACC and the ADC and has been honored with their Comedy Lifetime Achievement Award. Kathy is currently a member and speaker for Times Up NYC.

Grammy, Golden Globe, and Critic’s Choice Award–nominated producer, and Songwriter Hall of Fame inductee Linda Perry is one of the most accomplished artists working in music today. Beginning her musical journey as the lead singer of 4 Non-Blondes, she has profoundly impacted pop culture through her work as a producer and songwriter. Her resounding influence on female empowerment resonates through her sincere artistry, helping shape the sounds of P!nk, Christina Agulera, Alicia Keys, Britney Spears, Adele, Arianna Grande, Celine Dion, Miley Cyrus, James Blunt, and many more. In her latest venture, Perry has scored two critically acclaimed documentaries, Citizen Penn for Discovery Plus about the humanitarian efforts of Sean Penn, and Soleil Moon Frye’s documentary, Kid 90, for Hulu. A philanthropist at heart, Perry also curates legendary artist lineups for prestigious nonprofit concert events.

Named “Top New Female Vocalist” by The Academy of Country Music, Chely Wright rose to fame as a commercial country singer in the nineties, and has since released nine studio albums and charted more than fifteen singles on the Billboard charts, including “Shut Up and Drive,” “Single White Female,” and “The Bumper of My S.U.V.” In 2010, Wright released her eighth album, Lifted Off the Ground produced by Rodney Crowell, revealing a dramatic artistic transformation and emerging as a singer-songwriter of the first order. Chely made history by being the first country music star to publicly come out as gay, which she wrote about in her 2010 memoir Like Me. She’s written songs for film, TV, and for other artists, spanning multiple genres. Upon coming out, Wright endeavored into advocacy and corporate engagement around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Wright currently serves as Chief Diversity Officer at Unispace—a global strategy, design, and delivery firm. She is also Vice-Chair of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) Board of Directors, which is the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students.

Lauren Blitzer is the VP of Business Development at Sony Music Entertainment, where she has worked for the past decade. She is also the author of Same Sex in the City: (So Your Prince Charming Is Really a Cinderella) published in 2006. Lauren was born and raised in New York City, where she attended NYU, majoring in art history and photography. She started her career in sales at Condé Nast and soon after worked as a copywriter for J.Crew before moving into the non-profit world, raising funds for GLSEN, before moving to Sony Music Entertainment. Lauren currently lives on the Upper East Side with her wife, award-winning singer, writer, and DE&I executive Chely Wright and their twin boys, George and Everett.