Schmidt Futures and the Social Science Research Council hosted the Futures Forum on Preparedness to bring together health, science, and policy leaders from across the globe to debut groundbreaking research on the global COVID-19 response, reimagine the future of public health, and generate innovative, interdisciplinary solutions.

The highly informative program included six keynotes, numerous panels, one-on-one conversations with top public health leaders, and remarks by Schmidt Futures Co-Founders Eric and Wendy Schmidt. Notable speakers included Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization; Dr. Jim Yong Kim, Former President, World Bank Group; Dr. Fareed Zakaria, Host, CNN; U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME); Dr. George Gao, Director-General, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Vivek Murthy, Co-Chair of President-Elect Biden’s COVID-19 Advisory Board and former U.S. Surgeon General; and Dr. Matthew Hepburn, Vaccine Development Lead, Operation Warp Speed; among others.

Working on an accelerated timeline, and entirely remotely, Empire’s team of producers, creatives, and technical directors supported Schmidt Futures and the Social Science Research Council, handling logistics for more than 50 participants from around the world, technical production, and livestream broadcast into a Zoom webinar.

Schmidt Futures is a philanthropic initiative that bets early on exceptional people making the world better. The Social Science Research Council aims to foster innovative research, nurture new generations of social scientists, and mobilize necessary knowledge on important public issues.

Empire is honored to work with Schmidt Futures and support its critical mission.

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Empire was proud to partner with Every Mother Counts to produce their LoveEMC benefit. It was a special evening of community and camaraderie in support of EMC’s programs that help improve access to safe and respectful maternity care for every mother, everywhere.

Celebrating EMC’s 10-year anniversary, this virtual event was hosted by New York City’s stand-up comedian, Erin Jackson, with moving remarks by EMC’s CEO and Founder, Christy Turlington Burns. It featured special musical performances by Feist, who sang an acoustic version of “Human Touch,” the iconic Patti Smith and her daughter Jesse Paris Smith, who sang “Wing,” and all-female supergroup Latin Grammy-winners, Flor de Toloache, with their hits, “Indestructible” and “Our Love.”

In an extraordinarily challenging year, the program featured EMC’s “Delivering Hope” film series which took guests on a journey to understand and honor maternal health heroes from some of the countries where EMC works. It also showed a raw, hard-hitting, and passionate look at Birth Justice, grounded in the Black Lives Matter uprising of 2020.

From the incredible performances, moving video content, and powerful remarks, there were text to pledge moments to solicit donations as well as the launch of their silent auction hosted by Sotheby’s, which inspired the audience to give generously.

Empire worked in partnership with EMC to produce the high-level virtual experience, including shaping the run-of-show, developing original video packages, graphics, and animations, recording speakers and performances, editing all content, and managing the technical delivery of the livestream.

Empire was honored to work with EMC and support their mission to make pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother, everywhere. To learn more and donate to EMC, please visit everymothercounts.org.

Empire is a leading producer of virtual fundraising events.​

Empire was honored to produce The Nutrition for Growth Year of Action Program Launch. The Governments of Canada and Bangladesh, in partnership with Japan and supported by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, invited the global nutrition community to convene and kick off a year of milestone events to refocus and recommit to good nutrition.

Hosted by Elizabeth Nyamayaro, former United Nations Senior Adviser on Gender Equality, over 20 speakers from 14 countries in both the public and private sectors joined the moderated discussion and presentation to champion nutrition and sustainable development. These thought leaders assembled to represent the diversity of cultures, perspectives, and fields committed to unlocking global progress.

Featured speakers in today’s program included The Honorable Karina Gould, Minister of International Development, Canada; The Honorable Zahid Maleque, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Bangladesh;  Assistant Minister Ono Keiichi, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Japan; Henriette Fore, Executive Director, UNICEF;  Mamta Murthi, Vice President for Human Development, The World Bank; Melinda Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Joel Spicer, President & CEO, Nutrition International; and Andrew Morley, CEO World Vision International, among others.

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Empire was honored to be selected by New York Public Radio (NYPR) to produce a series of three virtual events to support NYPR’s programming. For the first event, Empire collaborated with NYPR to produce the inaugural Lehrer Prize for Community Well-Being, which was established in honor of Peabody Award-winning host Brian Lehrer for his 30^th anniversary on-air with WNYC.

The Lehrer Prize aims to recognize a standout idea, individual, effort, or group that contributed meaningfully to improving the quality of life in the New York City region. During the program, Mr. Lehrer featured three award nominees, each with their remarkable story told through a mini-documentary video followed by a live conversation with Mr. Lehrer through Zoom. The 2020 award nominees included Allison James-Frison, Founder of Girls; Live, Love, Laugh, Inc., which helps girls ages 6 to 16 in the Newark area achieve sustainable health and happiness early on in their lives; Pedro Rodriguez, Executive Director of La Jornada, a food pantry in Queens which scaled up during the pandemic despite the risks to feed 10,000 families per month; and the winner of the Lehrer Prize, Heather Butts, Co-Founder and Executive Director of H.E.A.L.T.H. for Youths, whose attention is on the imperative need for wholistic approaches to healthy living, especially focused on young adults 18-21 who’ve grown out of foster care, public schools, and other support systems.

The program was emceed by WQXR host, Terrance McKnight, and included a special conversation with chef and humanitarian, José Andrés, Founder of World Central Kitchen; remarks from Goli Sheikholeslami, President and CEO of New York Public Radio; a musical performance by Violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins, President and Founder of Music Kitchen, with Pianist Donna Weng Friedman; and an upbeat “Thank You” montage comprised of video submissions featuring the many faces of show hosts from sister stations WNYC and WQXR radio.

Empire collaborated with NYPR on the production of the program, and scripted and produced the mini-documentary videos highlighting the work of the three award nominees. The mix of pre-recorded and live segments was streamed through NYPR’s studio The Greene Space to a Lehrer Prize event page, designed and built by Empire for the virtual event and hosted on the New York Public Radio website.

Empire is a proud producer of virtual, hybrid, and live programs and fundraisers, thought leadership conferences, experiential marketing events, and more. Click here to make a donation to New York Public Radio.

Empire was overjoyed to work with the Catholic Charities of Archdiocese of New York once again to help produce the 75th annual Cardinal’s Christmas Celebration held virtually this holiday season. The evening highlighted their many programs that support underserved women and children over the holidays and throughout each year.

The evening was hosted by Rosanna Scotto, Host, FOX 5 NY News, and featured festive choir performances by Saint Raymond Elementary Junior Choir and Young People's Chorus of New York City; remarks from Catherine Kinney, Luncheon Chair, Cardinal’s Christmas Celebration; Francis La Salla, Corporate Chair, Cardinal’s Christmas Celebration; Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, Executive Director and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York; and His Eminence, Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York; and a heartfelt tribute to the late Mary Higgins Clark, author, philanthropist, and dear friend of Catholic Charities.

Typically, the annual celebration is held as a luncheon chaired by Mary, whose passing this year left many bereft in an already challenging year. Dedicated in Loving Memory, the program included stories about her life and achievements through the lens of her son and daughter, Dave and Patricia Clark. Additional contributions from her granddaughter, Elizabeth Clark, and Former Assistant, Nadine Petry, illustrated Mary’s empathy for the women and children served by Catholic Charities, and the importance of her faith.

Empire wrote, directed, and produced the Mary Higgins Clark tribute video and five other feature videos in addition to producing the overall gala, including the Saint Raymond Elementary Junior Choir performances; the Catholic Charities Youth Programs Montage, narrated by Philip Dorian, Director of Agency Relations, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York; and the Catholic Charities Good Counsel Homes video, narrated by Christopher Bell, President & Founder, Good Counsel Homes, which featured moving testimonies from three current residents; and Jazmine Cherry, Case Manager, Good Counsel Homes.

The St. Nicholas Project video highlighted Catholic Charities’ work providing resources to recipients in need, which included testimonials from Mr. and Mrs. Esquivel and former recipients and volunteers of the Project, before leading into a text-to-pledge appeal by Jason and James Togba, brothers served by Catholic Charities Alianza Youth Services.

To close this beautiful program, His Eminence read The Birth of Christ as is Luncheon tradition. Students from St. John Chrysostom School reenacted the Christmas Tableau in the emotional feature video while wearing face coverings as the Cardinal narrated, reflecting the severe change in social-norms over the course of this year. The Nativity Scene faded into a closing choir performance of Silent Night, and the program ended with a digital donor scroll and tribute pages.

Empire is a proud event producer of galas and benefits, specializing in virtual and socially distanced on location video production, project management, virtual platform design, and more.

Empire was honored to produce the livestream program for the Greenberg Prize to End Blindness, a joint effort by leading scientists and figures from the worlds of business, politics, culture, art, music, and entertainment to rid the world of blindness.

Founded by Sanford and Susan Greenberg, the evening marked the culmination of years of challenging scientific work and celebrated thirteen doctors and researchers for their contributions to permanently and universally eradicate blindness. Their breathtaking advances were spotlighted through a series of powerful videos illustrating their discoveries and innovations as well as their impact both locally and worldwide.

In addition to the Visionary Prize and Outstanding Achievement winners, participants included writer Margaret Atwood; former Vice President of the United States, Al Gore; Founder and Chairman of Tishman Speyer Properties, Jerry I. Speyer; three-term Mayor of New York City, The Honorable Michael Bloomberg; United States Senator, Chris Coons; artist, Frank Stella; Nobel Laureate, Richard Axel; and Grammy Award-winners, Art Garfunkel and Diane Schuur.

The program also featured a moving tribute to late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, with footage of Justice Ginsburg reading from Sanford D. Greenberg's memoir, 'Hello Darkness, My Old Friend' and a recitation of remarks Justice Ginsburg was planning to deliver at the event.

Empire is honored to have teamed with executive producer Sanford Greenberg in creating the overall program, shaping the run-of-show, and writing a moving script, as well as coordinating speakers and talent logistics and managing overall visual design, original video packages, graphics and animations, editing, captioning for all guests, and the technical delivery of the livestream and website.  

For this expansive project, Empire and Sanford Greenberg collaborated with various partners including High10 Media, Pressure Creative, Presidential writer Jake Maccoby, and many others.

Empire is a leading content producer of virtual, broadcast, and livestream productions as well as distinguished awards and recognition programs.

To learn more visit: https://endblindness2020.com

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With the help of Empire, the fourth and final episode of the 2020 Unfinished Live digital series streamed live to an international audience. This final episode focused on the questions of “What is possible now?”, “What does a moral nation do?”, “Who do we want to be?”, “What are you protecting?”, and “What's a question that changed your life?” Writer, artist, and activist Baratunde Thurston again served as host live from Los Angeles.

The audience was invited to contemplate and connect with culture-shapers, impact leaders, change-makers, and artists for a fast-paced hour of live segments, dynamic films, showcased lived experience, creative expression, and real-world candor. Through conversations, exchanges, and roundtable discussions, experts joined everyday voices in a nuanced exploration of possibility and discovery.

Featured speakers for episode four included singer, songwriter, and musician, Bruce Springsteen; Black Futures Lab Principal, Alicia Garza; artist, poet, and chef, Precious Okoyomon; Serpentine Galleries Artistic Director, Hans Ulrich Obrist; playwright, actress , and professor, Anna Deavere Smith; Chairmanand CEO of Unfinished, Frank McCourt; Creative Producer, Director and ED of Sankofa.org, Gina Belafonte; Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer of Unfinished, Alison McCauley; photographer, artist, and education worker, Bayeté Ross Smith; and President of Unfinished Labs, Braxton Woodham.

Unfinished Live has partnered with an unparalleled, impact-driven partner network to create both the series and the impact platform (see below), including The Aspen Institute, The Shed, For Freedoms, Ford Foundation, Imperative 21, Ashoka, Georgetown University, MilM2, McCourt, and PolicyLink.

Empire is proud to serve as producer of this important series, managing the development and production of each episode as well as the overall project.

About Unfinished

Unfinished ​is an impact network and media platform devoted to the simple idea that if we open our minds and create the space for possibilities, we can advance powerful solutions to the most critical challenges of our time. By tapping into the power of communities, creative media, and new technology, we connect thought leaders, culture-shapers, policy-makers, and innovators to provoke ideas, elevate unheard voices, and pursue collaborations for greater impact.

To learn more visit: https://unfinished.com/

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Over the course of three days, Empire Japan (Tokyo) and Empire US (LA) had the opportunity to collaborate with Eurasia Group. Together, they produced the GZERO Summit, an annual event that brings together top global speakers and business leaders. This summit features wide-ranging discussions on the most pressing issues shaping our leaderless GZERO world. For the first time ever, the event was held in a fully remote, online format.

Over 1,500 participants registered for the event to listen to panel and roundtable discussions on a wide range of topics including how COVID-19 has drastically changed the state of the world. Special guests from Japan included Hiroshi Kajiyama, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry; Taro Kono, Minister in Charge of Administrative Reform; and Yasutoshi Nishimura, Minister of State for Economic Revitalization. From abroad, illustrious names such as Eric Schmidt, Former CEO and Executive Chairman, Google; Seamus O’Regan, Minister of Natural Resources, Canada; and Kevin Rudd, 26th Prime Minister of Australia, graced us with their presence during the live event.

Empire teams worked with Eurasia Group to identify and customize the event platform, manage registration, FAQ and Zen desk, speaker advance, video production in Tokyo, and production of all panel discussions live at our in-house LA Studio. This ambitious gathering of more than 60 speakers, over the course of three days across eight separate sessions, was a huge success.

To learn more, visit: https://www.gzerosummit.com

As the business environment has changed, companies are being forced to rethink the way they are organized. How do we reconnect with our customers, partners, employees, and communities in this new way of life? Salesforce hosted a virtual conference entitled “Salesforce Live” to address these issues and more.

This virtual conference offered discussions and opportunities about the future of business and introduced case studies of leading companies that are transforming their businesses and organizations.

Empire worked closely with Salesforce to develop and produce the opening session of the virtual conference. Using a motion tracking system to link a CG space in real-time, Empire created a virtual national park where Shinichi Koide, Chairman, President and CEO, Salesforce Japan, gave his welcoming speech.

Empire was responsible for the overall CG production, directing, filming, and editing. We are proud to have worked with Salesforce once again and continue to act as a leader in producing virtual events.​

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Empire had the opportunity to work with Slack to produce “Slack Tour Japan Online”. With over 3,000 registered attendees, this online conference introduced new ways of working with their communication platform and explored the latest in digital transformation.

Slack CEO and Co-Founder, Stewart Butterfield, along with Slack CPO, Tamar Yehoshua, led the opening session followed by a keynote by Seiji Sasaki, President of Slack, Japan. Other sessions spotlighted special guest speakers who provided tips on how to work remotely, transform their organizations, and increase productivity.

The highlight of the online event was the sponsor information hub, where participants experienced the collaboration between Slack and partner companies' services and solutions in a 3D space.

Empire was responsible for the overall planning, design, content distribution, production of the sponsor information hub, and online communication platform.

Empire is a leading producer of virtual and digital events. We strive to deliver the same high production value, immersive and interactive qualities we are known for in live events to virtual audiences.

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